Sunday, May 25, 2003

Do all species of coffea produce a palatable coffee? A reader needs advice on which species to plant.

I've decided to grow a few coffee plants which may, if I can keep the them alive, eventually produce a modest crop. I've started with Caffea kona and C. arabica. I've found more than a dozen species of the coffea genus referred to on the net. The two most popular, commercially and on google, are C. arabica and C. caephora (AKA C. robusta) though C. liberica and C. excelsa (like C. kona) also appear to be cultivated.

The questions are these: do all species of coffea produce a palatable coffee? If so, are you aware of a guide describing them from a culinary perspective?

The motivation is this: If I'm going to cultivate a private coffee reserve it might as well be exotic - I can buy coffea arabica anywhere. But if would be a shame to tend to Coffea dactylifera for five years only to discover it is toxic or worse.

Your council would be appreciated,

Jay


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