The moment was bittersweet. To regrow the elusive species, they needed to cross this plant with another — but a second stenophylla plant was not in sight. A few days later, they ventured to Kambui Hills. After just an hour of hiking — a drop in the bucket compared with Sarmu’s four-year search — they uncovered 20 plants. At all life stages, stenophylla was flourishing: seedlings, saplings and trees.
, driving prices higher. By 2050, coffee demand is forecast to triple — but the way coffee has been produced up to this point cannot be scaled to rise to that challenge.“Even though you’ve got these two species which cover a range of climatic conditions, it’s really not going to be enough in terms of adapting to climate change,” explained Aaron Davis, the lead researcher on the study and a senior research leader at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
Stenophylla’s potential has excited Sierra Leone residents, including 28-year-old, self-taught coffee roaster Hannah Tarawally. Coffee production slowed in the wake of her country’s civil war, which ended in 2002. Determined to reconnect farmers to coffee markets, Stenophylla balances fruity and floral flavors with notes of peach, blackcurrant, elderflower syrup and jasmine. The Specialty Coffee Association rates coffees on a 100-point scale; those that rise above 80 points are among specialty coffee’s highest ranks. Stenophylla scored 80.25 points, alluding to its prospect of being embraced by global markets. And if it is, Tarawally hopes to “create more employment for our youths, especially females” to match rising demand.
Robusta’s potential has captured the attention of 35-year-old entrepreneur Sahra Nguyen, who sells single-origin robusta via Nguyen Coffee Supply, the company she founded in 2018.