Is Excelsa coffee rare?
Ron Dizon- Found in Africa 1903 of the 20th century
- Resilient and productive species
- Cultivated in Southeast Asia (Philippines, Vietnam, India)
- AKA Coffea dewevrei
- 15 year ago 2006 reclassified as a Liberica Species
- Excelsa Grows in altitues of between 1000-1300 masl
- Comparison to arabica or robusta it’s a tree-like plant not a shrub. Grows vertically, requires extensive care to grow the plant.
- Resistant to many of the common diseases and pest then most plants. (includes coffee rust, nematodes, coffee leaf miner moth, )
- Bean shape differences, beans are smaller and rounder.
- Excelsa trees grow 15m tall, needed attention pruned frequently, hard to manage because of the trees height. Requires more labor, increases the cost of production.
- Excelsa bean has a thicker mucilage in comparison to Arabica, has less soluble solids. This requires roaster to develop a new roast profile
- With lower solubility potentials of roasting at higher temps for longer periods to reach optimum flavors
- Medium light roast flavor profiles berry-like and fruity notes popcorn like flavors.
- Darker roast fuller body and notes of chocolate and cream
- Excelsa was considered an individual coffee type until 2006 when it was re-classified as a type of Liberica by Aaron P. Davis, a British botanist
- Arabica is the most popular coffee bean in the world, making up 60% of all global coffee consumption.
- Robusta coffee is the second most produced coffee in the world, making up around 40% of the worldwide coffee production.
- Excelsa makes up 7% of the global coffee production.
- Liberica’s makes up most of the remaining 2% of produced coffee
Based off the facts let’s look at its own species, and that Philippines cultivates this rare species.It’s clear the lack of awareness of how rare this bean is, and Teofilo Coffee exposes what we believe is rare. When people ask about the differences between Philippines coffee, I reply with we cultivate 2 commonly known bean species Arabica, Robusta, but we also have rare species like Excelsa and Liberica. Most coffee countries tend to focus more on Arabica and Robusta.