Scientists at Kew Gardens in London have begun a desperate bid to find a new bean of coffee which can thrive as the climate warms, before the world’s supplies run out.
Currently, just one variety of coffee bean — Coffea arabica — is primarily grown throughout the world by manufacturers. But it cannot survive at high temperatures, and botanists fear that up to 100 per cent of current crops will be lost by 2080 if climate change predictions for global warming hold true.
Now scientists at the Royal Botanic gardens in Kew have begun studying the 124 other species of coffee bean in the hope that they will not only stand up to warmer temperatures, but also taste as good as the arabica variety.
Launching Kew’s new science strategy for the next five years, Prof Kathy Willis, its director of science, said, “Coffee, after oil, is the second most important global commodity. There are 125 species in the world, but we just drink one. Coffea arabica is from Ethiopia but it doesn’t like it when it gets too hot, and it dies.
“We have another 124 species out there, 39 in Madagascar alone, which are the closest wild relatives.
“There are some that grow in very dry environments. But we need to know if they will grow, and importantly, what do they taste like? That’s what our team has been doing.”
Global consumption of coffee has increased significantly over the past few decades. It is now believed to be the world’s favourite beverage, with an estimated 500 billion cups consumed each year. In the UK, consumers drink approximately 70 million cups of coffee per day.
In recent years, harvests have been poor in countries such as Ethiopia and unless a new bean is found soon that can resist warming temperatures, global coffee supplies will drop and prices rise significantly.
Scientists at the Royal Botanic Gardens have been working with Sainsbury’s and Starbucks. But recent government cuts have meant that 47 science positions have been lost at Kew and the organisation will no longer be sending any experts out into the field, relying instead on partner agencies to do the ground work. Projects such as saving coffee could be under threat if the gardens do not receive sufficient funding in the government’s forthcoming comprehensive spending review.
Richard Deverell, the director of Kew, said, “We deeply regret the funding cuts that have been affecting Kew and we’ve had to make hard choices. We faced a £5 million funding hole in our accounts. The big uncertainty is the comprehensive spending review. We have no idea what the funding will be. Clearly we have to make the best possible case for the Government. “We have to make that argument. We have to grow our self-generated income.”