From the BBC: Seven wild coffee species also feature on the list of new species, most of which were discovered in the mountains of northern Madagascar. Two of the plants – Coffea ambongensis and Coffea boinensis – have the largest seeds of any coffee species, whose “beans” are more than twice the size of Arabica coffee (Coffea arabica), the main species used in commercial coffee production.
Chris Tingom I’ll mention that I think this would be a perfect april fools joke. But it appears to be real. 0 Reply December 24, 2009
Psyd And curious. I’ve heard about the new species of coffees, but what I haven’t heard anything about is how they taste! MMMmmm…. 0 Reply December 24, 2009
Tom Maegdlin If biologists are just now discovering new types of primates in Madagascar, new coffee wouldn’t surprise me. I have heard rediculous estimates of how many undocumented varietals of coffee there are in Ethiopia and other African regions. In the 1000’s. 0 Reply December 26, 2009
Psyd A bit of a huge difference betwixt varieties of a species and whole different species. Varieties are what makes Kenyan Arabicas different from Ethiopians. Species is the difference between a Robusta and an Arabica. Granted, it could go far to the other side of Rubusta, but what if it went to the far side of Arabica? A bean that is as much better than Arabica as Arabica is better than Robusta? 0 Reply December 27, 2009