Where The Wild Coffee Grows

"Enchanting . . . An absorbing narrative of politics, ecology, and economics."--New York Times Book Review (Editor's Choice) Located between the Great Rift Valley and the Nile, the cloud forests in southwestern Ethiopia are the original home of Arabica, the most prevalent and superior of the two main species of coffee being cultivated today. Virtually unknown to European explorers, the Kafa region was essentially off-limits to foreigners well into the twentieth century, which allowed the world's original coffee culture to develop in virtual isolation in the forests where the Kafa people continue to forage for wild coffee berries. Deftly blending in the long, fascinating history of our favorite drink, award-winning author Jeff Koehler takes readers from these forest beginnings along the spectacular journey of its spread around the globe. With cafés on virtually every corner of every town in the world, coffee has never been so popular--nor tasted so good. Yet diseases and climate change are battering production in Latin America, where 85 percent of Arabica grows. As the industry tries to safeguard the species' future, breeders are returning to the original coffee forests, which are under threat and swiftly shrinking. "The forests around Kafa are not important just because they are the origin of a drink that means so much to so many," writes Koehler. "They are important because deep in their shady understory lies a key to saving the faltering coffee industry. They hold not just the past but also the future of coffee." "A must-read for coffee enthusiasts."--Smithsonian (Best of the Year) "Reads like an engaging multimystery detective novel."--Wall Street Journal "Fascinating . . . How a local crop transformed into a global commodity."--Real Simple (Best of the Month) Coffee is one of the largest and most valuable commodities in the world. This is the story of its origins, its history, and the threat to its future, by the IACP Award–winning author of Darjeeling.

Coffea arabica, one of the economically most important crops worldwide, occurs naturally in the undergrowth of montane rainforests of Ethiopia. The study provides the first detailed ecophysiological investigations of wild coffee populations. It demonstrates the inter- and intra-regional variability in phenotypic and hydrological characteristics of wild coffee. The results reveal very different strategies of wild coffee seedlings for coping with drought stress. The ecophysiological diversity shows the importance of Ethiopian wild coffee populations as gene pools for future breeding programs, and underlines the need for an in-situ conservation strategy. The study includes recommendations for coffee forest management and the use of wild arabica coffee in Ethiopia.

This richly illustrated volume is the first complete atlas of coffee production in Ethiopia, birth-place of coffee drinking and the main home of wild arabica coffee (Coffea arabica). Around 15 million Ethiopians are coffee farmers, and Ethiopia is Africa's largest coffee producer and one of the most important coffee-growing regions of the world, renowned for its diversity of flavour profiles, including those of the celebrated coffees of Harar, Limu, Sidamo, and Yirgacheffe. The aim of the Coffee Atlas of Ethiopia is to inform the reader about the coffee landscape of Ethiopia. It shows where coffee is grown, where the natural coffee forests are located, and where coffee could be grown. The atlas maps are accompanied by information on coffee farming, environment and climate, and a description of the main coffee areas. Also included in the atlas are key coffee origins, coffee towns and coffee delivery centres, as well as other useful items. The atlas can be used to assess the potential and vulnerability for coffee farming in Ethiopia, as well as provide a logistics resource for the coffee sector and those otherwise working with, or interested in, coffee. It is also an essential reference for resource managers.

Many Americans' concept of Haiti goes little beyond disaster, despair, or darkness, if not a single question: "Why is Haiti so poor?" After living in Haiti for nearly four years working as a journalist and then with small-scale coffee farmers, Tate Watkins uses his experience to try to give a glimpse into how things work, or often don't, in the country.Watkins uses coffee as the vehicle to explore the country, tracing the history of the crop from its introduction to the French colony that predated Haiti, which once grew half the world's coffee, to the struggling Haitian coffee sector of today. He also examines how the historical and political foundations of the nation still affect everyday life for coffee farmers and all Haitians, often hamstringing their efforts to get ahead, and documents why the tens of millions of dollars in recent aid spending hasn't been able to stem the decline of the coffee sector. He notes, however, that the evolution of the high-end coffee market might just provide opportunities for Haitian coffee farmers to help themselves, despite the underlying difficulties they face.In Haitian Coffee Grows on Trees, Watkins outlines how, despite the fact that Haiti isn't set up in a way that would help everyday people flourish, small changes still have the potential to add up to real improvements in the lives of ordinary Haitians.

Aspects of global coffee culture are explored as they relate to the settings where the beverage is produced, prepared and consumed as part of coffee related tourism. Of particular note on the one hand is the potential of such tourism for developing tourism destinations, products and experiences; while on the other hand improving the livelihoods of coffee producers.

Wild, a coffee trader and historian delivers a rollicking history of the most valuable legally traded commodity in the world after oil, and an industry that employs 100 million people throughout the world.

Coffee Biotechnology and Quality is a comprehensive volume containing 45 specialised chapters by internationally recognised experts. The book aims to provide a guide for those wishing to learn about recent advances in coffee cultivation and post-harvest technology. It provides a quantitative and rational approach to the major areas of coffee research, including breeding and cloning, tissue culture and genetics, pest control, post-harvest technology and bioconversion of coffee industry residues into commercially valuable products. The chapters review recent experimental work, allowing a conceptual framework for future research to be identified and developed. The book will be of interest to researchers and students involved in any area of coffee research. Consequently, plant breeders, microbiologists, biotechnologists and biochemical engineers will find the book to be a unique and invaluable guide.

The Craft and Science of Coffee follows the coffee plant from its origins in East Africa to its current role as a global product that influences millions of lives though sustainable development, economics, and consumer desire. For most, coffee is a beloved beverage. However, for some it is also an object of scientifically study, and for others it is approached as a craft, both building on skills and experience. By combining the research and insights of the scientific community and expertise of the crafts people, this unique book brings readers into a sustained and inclusive conversation, one where academic and industrial thought leaders, coffee farmers, and baristas are quoted, each informing and enriching each other. This unusual approach guides the reader on a journey from coffee farmer to roaster, market analyst to barista, in a style that is both rigorous and experience based, universally relevant and personally engaging. From on-farming processes to consumer benefits, the reader is given a deeper appreciation and understanding of coffee's complexity and is invited to form their own educated opinions on the ever changing situation, including potential routes to further shape the coffee future in a responsible manner. Presents a novel synthesis of coffee research and real-world experience that aids understanding, appreciation, and potential action. Includes contributions from a multitude of experts who address complex subjects with a conversational approach. Provides expert discourse on the coffee calue chain, from agricultural and production practices, sustainability, post-harvest processing, and quality aspects to the economic analysis of the consumer value proposition. Engages with the key challenges of future coffee production and potential solutions.