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Transcript/ScriptClimate Change Coffee
HEADLINE: ‘Amazing’ New Beans Could Save Coffee from Climate Change
TEASER: African farmers test cultivation of drought- and heat-tolerant coffee species with flavors of ‘guava, pineapple and passionfruit’
PUBLISHED AT: 2/7/2022 AT 4:35pm
BYLINE: Henry Ridgwell
CONTRIBUTOR:
DATELINE: London
VIDEOGRAPHER: Henry Ridgwell
VIDEO EDITOR: Ridgwell, Unger
SCRIPT EDITORS: Bowman, MAS
VIDEO SOURCE (S): VOA, AFP, Royal Botanic Gardens Kew, YouTube/World Barista Championships
PLATFORMS (mark with X): WEB _X_ TV _X_ RADIO __
TRT: 3:20
VID APPROVED BY: MAS
TYPE: VPKGF
EDITOR NOTES:))
((INTRO)) [[Millions of people around the world enjoy drinking coffee. But the daily caffeine fix could be under threat - because climate change is killing coffee plants. As Henry Ridgwell reports, scientists in London are working with farmers in Africa to find a solution.]]
Outside the vast glasshouses at London’s Kew Botanic Gardens, the temperature is below freezing. Inside, the heat and humidity replicate a tropical jungle. Aaron Davis leads Kew’s research into coffee.
((Aaron Davis, Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew, London))
“This is arabica coffee, our preferred coffee, the one we drink in high streets and at home. It has a superior taste. And this coffee provides us with about 60 per cent of the coffee that we drink globally. The other species over here is robusta coffee. This has a slightly larger leaf. This coffee provides us with the other 40 per cent of the world’s coffee supply.”
The cultivation of arabica and robusta coffee beans supports millions of livelihoods across Africa, South America and Asia. But they’re under threat because of climate change.
((Aaron Davis, Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew, London))
“In some cases, yields are dramatically reduced because of increased temperatures or reduced rainfall. But in some cases, as we’ve seen in Ethiopia, you might get a complete harvest failure and death of the trees.”
((VIDEO: ROYAL BOTANIC GARDENS KEW FOOTAGE OF LIBERICA COFFEE))
((cf. courtesy ‘Royal Botanic Gardens Kew’))
The solution could be growing deep in the forests of West Africa. There are around 130 species of coffee plant – but not all taste good. In Sierra Leone, Davis and his team identified one candidate growing in the wild – stenophylla.
((Aaron Davis, Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew, London))
“And this is extremely heat tolerant. And is an interesting species because it matches Arabica in terms of its superb taste.”
A further two coffee species also show promise for commercial cultivation in a changing climate – liberica and eugenioides.
((Aaron Davis, Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew, London))
“That has low yields and very small beans, but it has an amazing taste.”
((cf. courtesy ‘YouTube / World Barista Championship’))
Some believe the taste is far superior. At the 2021 World Barista Championships in Milan, Australia’s Hugh Kelly won third prize with his eugenioides espresso.
((Hugh Kelly, Australian Barista))
“Today you’ll taste pink guava, fresh pineapple and passionfruit.”
Researchers hope Kelly’s success could be the breakthrough moment for these relatively unknown beans.
The team at Kew Botanic Gardens is working with farmers in Africa on cultivating the new coffees commercially. Catherine Kiwuka oversees the projects in Uganda.
((Catherine Kiwuka, Uganda National Agricultural Research Organization))
((cf. Skype logo))
“What requirements do they need? How do we boost its productivity? Instead of it being dominated by only two species, we have the opportunity to tap into the value of other coffee species.”
((cf. courtesy ‘Royal Botanic Gardens Kew’))
It's hoped that substantial volumes of libercia coffee will be exported from Uganda to Europe this year. Researchers hope it will provide a sustainable income for farmers – and an exciting new taste for coffee drinkers.
Henry Ridgwell, for VOA News, London.
NewsML Media TopicsDisaster, Accident and Emergency Incident, Arts, Culture, Entertainment and Media
NetworkVOA
Embargo DateFebruary 7, 2022 17:08 EST
Description EnglishAfrican farmers test cultivation of drought- and heat-tolerant coffee species with flavors of ‘guava, pineapple and passionfruit’
BylineHenry Ridgwell
Brand / Language ServiceVoice of America - English
