Almost all the world’s coffee is arabica or robusta. A third species, Coffea liberica, makes up less than 1.5% of commercial production. It had its chance in the late 1800s and lost. Now researchers and roasters are looking at it again, mostly at one of its forms, excelsa.
A Big Tree With Big Beans
Liberica is native to western and central Africa, from Liberia to Uganda and Angola. It’s a big plant, growing up to 20 meters tall, and pickers need ladders to reach the fruit. Its cherries, beans and leaves are among the largest of any coffee. Beans measured in Malaysia were about 12 mm long and roughly double the weight of arabica beans.
Why It Failed the First Time
In the late 1800s, coffee leaf rust tore through arabica plantations across Asia, starting in Ceylon. Planters turned to liberica, which held out longer. In the Philippines, liberica farms survived longer than arabica and robusta, but in the end the disease got them too and the Philippine coffee industry collapsed. Robusta ended up filling the role liberica might have had.
Excelsa: Now Part of Liberica
Excelsa used to be treated as its own species. In 2006 botanists reclassified it as a variety of liberica, Coffea liberica var. dewevrei. Its beans are smaller than classic liberica’s, and it’s the form getting most of the new attention. South Sudan and Malaysia are among the places growing it now.
Why It’s Back
In 2022, researchers at Kew and in Uganda argued that liberica could become a major crop again. The first attempt failed, they wrote, because the wrong plant material was chosen for spreading around the world. Interest is rising again because of climate change and fragile supply chains. Liberica grows in places arabica and robusta struggle, including acidic peat soils in Indonesia, and it’s being looked at as one way to keep coffee growing as the climate warms.
What It Tastes Like
Good liberica can be fruity, with jackfruit-like aromas, moderate acidity and a fairly full body, and the roast changes it a lot. In the Philippines it’s kapeng barako, a strong coffee from Batangas and Cavite. Malaysia grows it in Johor, and Indonesia in Java and West Kalimantan.
Don’t expect it in your local café yet. At under 1.5% of world production, liberica is a curiosity outside the places that grow it. If you find a bag of excelsa, try it as espresso and in a cortado. That full body should hold up well with milk.