Arabica coffee
Coffea arabica in fruit - Brazil
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae Division: Magnoliophyta Class: magnoliopsida Order: Gentianales Family: Rubiaceae Genus: Coffea Species: C. arabica
Binomial name
Coffea arabica L.

Coffea arabica is a species of coffee indigenous to Ethiopia. It is also known as the "coffee shrub of Arabia", "mountain coffee" or "arabica coffee". Coffea arabica is believed to be the first species of coffee to be cultivated, being grown in southwest Arabia for well over 1,000 years. It is considered to produce better coffee than the other major commercially grown coffee species, Coffea canephora (robusta). Arabica contains less caffeine than any other commercially cultivated species of coffee. Wild plants grow to between 7-12 m tall, and have an open branching system; the leaves are opposite, simple elliptic-ovate to oblong, 6-12 cm long and 4-8 cm broad, glossy dark green. The flowers are produced in axillary clusters, each flower white, and 1-1.5 cm diameter. The fruit is a berry 10-15 mm long, maturing bright red to purple, containing two seeds (the coffee 'bean'). Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... Scientific classification or biological classification is a method by which biologists group and categorize species of organisms. ... Divisions Green algae Chlorophyta Charophyta Land plants (embryophytes) Non-vascular plants (bryophytes) Marchantiophyta - liverworts Anthocerotophyta - hornworts Bryophyta - mosses Vascular plants (tracheophytes) †Rhyniophyta - rhyniophytes †Zosterophyllophyta - zosterophylls Lycopodiophyta - clubmosses †Trimerophytophyta - trimerophytes Pteridophyta - ferns and horsetails Seed plants (spermatophytes) †Pteridospermatophyta - seed ferns Pinophyta - conifers Cycadophyta - cycads Ginkgophyta - ginkgo Gnetophyta - gnetae Magnoliophyta - flowering plants... It has been suggested that Angiospermae, and Anthophyta be merged into this article or section. ... Magnoliopsida is the botanical name for a class: this name is formed by replacing the termination -aceae in the name Magnoliaceae by the termination -opsida (Art 16 of the ICBN). ... Families Gentianaceae (gentian family) Apocynaceae (dogbane family) Gelsemiaceae Loganiaceae (logania family) Rubiaceae (coffee family) The Gentianales are an order of flowering plants, included within the asterid group of dicotyledons. ... Type Genus Rubia L. Genera See text For a full list, see: List of Rubiaceae genera Egyptian Starcluster Pentas lanceolata White luculia gratissima Rubiaceae Juss. ... Species Coffea arabica - Arabica Coffee Coffea benghalensis - Bengal coffee Coffea canephora - Robusta coffee Coffea congensis - Congo coffee Coffea excelsa - Liberian coffee Coffea gallienii Coffea bonnieri Coffea mogeneti Coffea liberica - Liberian coffee Coffea stenophylla - Sierra Leonian coffee Coffea (coffee) is a genus of ten species of flowering plants in the family... In biology, binomial nomenclature is the formal method of naming species. ... Carolus Linnaeus, also known after his ennoblement as  , (May 23, 1707 – January 10, 1778), was a Swedish botanist, physician and zoologist[1] who laid the foundations for the modern scheme of nomenclature. ... A cup of coffee Coffee is a widely consumed beverage prepared from the roasted seeds—commonly referred to as beans—of the coffee plant. ... The Arabian Peninsula The Arabian Peninsula is a mainly desert peninsula in Southwest Asia at the junction of Africa and Asia and an important part of the greater Middle East. ... Binomial name Coffea canephora L. Coffea canephora (robusta) is a species of coffee which has its origins in Africa. ... Caffeine is a xanthine alkaloid compound that acts as a stimulant in humans. ... Foliage redirects here. ... A Phalaenopsis flower A flower, (<Old French flo(u)r<Latin florem<flos), also known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants (plants of the division Magnoliophyta, also called angiosperms). ... Fruit stall in Barcelona, Spain. ... Several types of berries from the market. ... A ripe red jalapeño cut open to show the seeds For other uses, see Seed (disambiguation). ...

Cultivation

Coffea arabica flowers - Brazil

Unroasted coffee(Coffea arabica) beans - Brazil

Coffea arabica takes about seven years to fully mature and does best with 1,000-1,500 mm of rain, evenly distributed throughout the year. It is usually cultivated between 1,300 and 1,500 m altitude, but there are plantations as low as sea level and as high as 2,800 m. The plant can tolerate low temperatures, but not frost, and it does best when the temperature hovers around 20°C (68°F). Commercial cultivars mostly only grow to about 5 m, and are frequently trimmed as low as 2 m to facilitate harvesting. Unlike Coffea canephora (robusta), Coffea arabica prefers to be grown in light shade. Download high resolution version (2048x1536, 909 KB) Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... Download high resolution version (2048x1536, 909 KB) Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (2048x1536, 1659 KB) Unroasted coffee(COFFEA ARABICA) beans - Brazil This photo was taken in May-2005 by Fernando Rebelo File links The following pages link to this file: Coffee Metadata This file contains additional information, probably added from the digital camera... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (2048x1536, 1659 KB) Unroasted coffee(COFFEA ARABICA) beans - Brazil This photo was taken in May-2005 by Fernando Rebelo File links The following pages link to this file: Coffee Metadata This file contains additional information, probably added from the digital camera... This Osteospermum Pink Whirls is a successful cultivar. ... Binomial name Coffea canephora L. Coffea canephora (robusta) is a species of coffee which has its origins in Africa. ...

Drawing of Coffea arabica

Three to four years after planting coffea arabica produces small, white and highly fragrant flowers. The sweet fragrance resembles the sweet smell of jasmine flowers. The flowers that open on sunny days produce the greatest numbers of berries. This can be a curse however as coffee plants tend to produce too many berries; this can lead to an inferior harvest and even damage yield in the following years as the plant will favor the ripening of berries to the detriment of its own health. On well kept planatations this is prevented by pruning the tree. The flowers themselves only last a few days leaving behind only the thick dark green leaves. The drupes, or berries, then begin to appear. These are as dark green as the foliage, until they begin to ripen, at first to yellow and then light red and finally darkening to a glossy deep red. At this point they are called 'cherries' and are ready for picking. The berries are oblong and about 1 cm long. Inferior coffee results from picking them too early or too late, so many are picked by hand. But they are sometimes shaken off the tree onto mats. Image File history File links Koeh-189. ... Image File history File links Koeh-189. ... Species See text Jasmine (Jasminum) is a genus of shrubs and vines in the Family Oleaceae, with about 200 species, native to tropical and warm temperate regions of the Old World. ... The peach is a typical drupe (stone fruit) In botany, a drupe is a type of fruit in which an outer fleshy part (exocarp or skin and mesocarp or flesh) surrounds a shell (the pit or stone) of hardened endocarp with a seed inside. ...

The trees are difficult to cultivate and each tree can produce anywhere from 0.5-5 kg of dried beans, depending on the tree's individual character and the climate that season. The berries themselves are edible. They are very sweet, with a texture somewhat like a grape. The real prize of this cash crop are the beans inside. Each berry holds two locules containing the beans. The coffee beans are actually two seeds within the fruit, there is sometimes a third seed or one seed, a peaberry in the fruits at tips of the branches. These seeds are covered in two membranes, the outer one is called the 'parchment' and the inner one is called the 'silver skin'. In agriculture, a cash crop is a crop which is grown for money. ... Peaberry is a type of coffee bean. ...

In perfect conditions, like those of Java, trees are planted at all times of the year and are harvested year round. In less ideal conditions, like those in parts of Brazil, the trees have a season and are harvested only in winter. Gourmet coffees are almost exclusively high-quality mild varieties of coffea arabica. Java (Indonesian, Javanese, and Sundanese: Jawa) is an island of Indonesia, and the site of its capital city, Jakarta. ...

History and legend

Main article: Coffee

Coffea arabica plantation, São João do Manhuaçu, Minas Gerais, Brazil

According to legend, human cultivation of coffee began after goats in Ethiopia were seen becoming frisky after eating the leaves and fruits of the coffee tree. In reality, human consumption of coffee fruits probably began long before humans took up pastoralism. In Ethiopia there are still some locales where people drink a tea made from the leaves of the coffee tree. A cup of coffee Coffee is a widely consumed beverage prepared from the roasted seeds—commonly referred to as beans—of the coffee plant. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (2000x762, 1205 KB) Please see the file description page for further information. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (2000x762, 1205 KB) Please see the file description page for further information. ... Flag of Minas Gerais See other Brazilian States Capital Belo Horizonte Largest City Belo Horizonte Area 586,528. ... Look up Legend in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Species See Species and subspecies The goat is a mammal in the genus Capra, which consists of nine species: the Ibex, the West Caucasian Tur, the East Caucasian Tur, the Markhor, and the Wild Goat. ... Popular Japanese fashion magazine throughout the 1990s; the photography of which has recently been reissued in two collections from Phaidon press. ... It has been suggested that Pastoralist be merged into this article or section. ... Tea leaves in a Chinese gaiwan. ...

The first written record of coffee, made from roasted coffee beans, comes from Arabian scholars who wrote that it was useful in prolonging their working hours. The Arab innovation of making a brew from roasted beans, spread first among the Egyptians and Turks and later on found its way around the world . Wikibooks Cookbook has more about this subject: Roasting Roasting is a cooking method that utilizes dry heat, whether an open flame, oven, or other heat source. ... For other uses, see Arab (disambiguation). ...

News from current research

Coffea arabica in Brazil

Brazilian biologists have found an Ethiopian Coffea arabica that naturally contains very little caffeine. Paulo Mazzafera, a researcher of Universidade Estadual de Campinas, recently published findings in the journal Nature about these strains of Coffea arabica plants. While beans of normal Coffea arabica plants contains 12 milligrams of caffeine per gram of dry mass, these newly found mutants contain only 0.76 milligrams of caffeine per gram with all the taste of normal coffee. Download high resolution version (2048x1536, 1192 KB) Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... Download high resolution version (2048x1536, 1192 KB) Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... Main entrance of the Campinas campus Universidade Estadual de Campinas (State University of Campinas), shortly Unicamp, is one of the public universities of the State of São Paulo, Brazil. ... First title page, November 4, 1869 Nature is one of the oldest and most reputable scientific journals, first published on 4 November 1869. ...

Literature

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

Coffea

• Paulo Mazzafera et al: A naturally decaffeinated arabica coffee. Nature 429: 826 (June 2004)
• The World of caffeine: The Science and Culture of the World's Most Popular Drug. By Bennet Alan Weinberg, and Bonnie K. Bealer

Image File history File links Commons-logo. ... First title page, November 4, 1869 Nature is one of the oldest and most reputable scientific journals, first published on 4 November 1869. ...

External links

• CoffeeResearch.org - Coffee plant, harvesting, fertilization, processing, and diseases.