Arabica (coffee) : The café arabica comes from the Arabian coffee tree (Botanical name: Coffea arabica) Is a shrub family of Rubiaceae.
The Arabian coffee tree is a small arbre less than 9 m in height, which appreciates the shade oftrees taller. The leaves persistent, bright green, elliptical in shape with a short petiole. The flowers white soft, are grouped in clusters of 3 to 7 in the leaf axils. Their corolla gamopatal is tube-shaped with 4 or 5 lobes. The fruits are berries, called " cherries », bright red or purple in color when ripe, with pulp is sweet. They contain two seeds, placed face to face, with the characteristic shape of grains de café.
Unlike other species of the genus Coffea, which are diploids, coffee Coffea arabica is tetraploid, that is, each cell has a total of 44 (4 × 11) chromosomes instead of 22 (2 × 11).
Area of distribution of the arabica coffee tree: This coffee tree is native to East Africa: Ethiopia, South Sudan (Boma plateau), Kenya, or Yemen
Saudi Arabia. The only species of coffee tree cultivated until 1865, it is widespread in tropical regions, particularly in Central America (Costa Rica, Honduras) and in South America (Brazil).
Habitat and culture: This species prefers land at altitude (200 to 2 meters above sea level). Its cultivation area extends on both sides of the equator from the 000th degree of north latitude to the 28th degree of south latitude, but it gives the best results in the most temperate zones.
The Arabian coffee tree is very affected by global warming. This shrub has an optimal development between temperatures of 18 to 21 degrees Celsius. It goes without saying that for some time the average temperature has been rising so it is possible that in a few years, certain regions where the crop is present will no longer be favorable to it, because the quality of the grain and the yield of coffee trees will have declined. Arabica needs specific climatic conditions to have a good production.
Indeed, in addition to the temperature, the plants must undergo a period of drought of a few weeks followed by rain for floral development. Global warming therefore harms the growth of plants that are not adapted to the new conditions.
In addition, intensive crops, that is to say monocultures whose aim is to have a high yield, expose the coffee trees to a higher temperature variation and a faster loss of water than if they were were grown in an agroforestry environment. Indeed, agro-forestry creates a microclimate, which makes it possible to keep a relatively constant temperature between day and night and to retain a certain humidity, thus promoting better yields. However, it has been shown that an obsolete and diseased forest is no more advantageous than intensive cultivation. For this to be more productive, it is therefore important that the quantity of trees is sufficient and that they are mature and healthy.
Coffee trees are known to be affected by a fungus (Hemileia vastatrix) which causes coffee rust disease. L'Hemileia vastatrix eliminates the chlorophylls from the leaves, hence the appearance of yellow spots on them. The loss of these pigments prevents the leaves from photosynthesising and leads to their senescence. This decreases the yield of the coffee plants and can cause them to die. In addition, the Arabian coffee tree is also a victim of herbivory which is becoming more and more extensive due to the increase in temperature. Indeed, the coffee beetle (*) (hypothenemus hampei) wreaks havoc on crops by feeding on coffee beans. Rising temperatures are becoming more and more favorable to the proliferation of this insect, because it can thus complete several life cycles, unlike a few decades ago, before 1984, when it only completed one cycle.
(*) bark beetle: Insect beetle that lives under the bark of trees, digging many galleries.
All of these issues lead to a rather impressive decrease in coffee production. As mentioned above, global warming is very devastating either directly or indirectly for this crop. Research is underway to try to preserve this crop, the product of which is in great demand worldwide. The problem with cultivated coffee trees is that they do not have a great genetic diversity. This is due to the founder effect, i.e. the origins of cultivated Arabica coffee come from a small amount of wild plants that have been selected for a few centuries. Thus, genetic recombinations, that is to say the reorganization of the genetic code leading to new DNA sequences, are of no use given the low variation of genetic material between cultivated coffee trees. Research then turned to the genetic material of wild coffee trees, which is much more diversified than that of cultivars in order to create new individuals that are increasingly resistant to new climatic conditions, diseases and insects. But again, there is a complication, because the phenomenon of deforestation, which is on the rise in certain regions where wild coffee trees are present, is destroying their natural habitat.
Production: The Brazil (30 million 60 kg bags in 2008) and the Colombia (12 million bags) are the two main producers of Arabica in the world and together represent 55% of world production. 85% of Arabica coffee is produced on the American continent. According to gourmets, the blend of Brazilian and Colombian Arabica coffee is the best on the planet. By integrating the sector , the government is now trying to improve profits, and thus reduce poverty.
Use of arabica coffee : The seeds roasted the plants, known as café, are used to prepare the beverage of the same name, café. There are several species in the genus Coffea fit to give the drink, but the Coffea arabica is generally the most appreciated by connoisseurs. Its most important rival is robusta coffee: easier to grow and therefore cheaper, offering a better yield and a much higher caffeine level (250 mg of caffeine per cup of robusta, 100 mg for arabica), it is widely used in mixtures and now represents 35% of world production, compared to 25% in the 1980s.
In France, Arabicas accounted for approximately 50% of green coffee imports in 2008.
Gourmet coffees are prepared almost exclusively with a variety of Coffea Arabica of great quality. Some of the best varieties used around the world include: Blue Mountain from Jamaica, Supremo Colombiano from Colombia, Tarrazú from Costa Rica, Antigua from Guatemala and Sidamo from Ethiopia. However, since the revival of cultivation on Reunion Island, then its marketing in 2007, the old variety Pointed bourbon (Coffea Arabica var. laurina), whose cultivation had ceased in the 50s, it took ten years to become one of the best cafes in the world, but also the most expensive on the market, ahead of the Blue mountain.
Check Robusta coffee.