Coffee (Liberian)
Coffea liberica

Family: Rubiaceae

What it is like

An evergreen tree up to 17 m high. There are two kinds of branches, those which grow upwards and those which grow sideways, bearing fruit. The leaves are large and leathery. They are oblong and 15-30 cm long by 5-15 cm wide. They taper to a short tip and the base is wedge shaped. There are 7-10 pairs of side veins. The leaf stalk is stout and 1-2 cm long. The flower cluster is in the axils of leaves. There are usually 1-3 flower clusters in each axil, with 1-4 flowers in each. The flowers are white, star like, and have a scent. The fruit are oval and 2-3 cm long by 2-2.5 cm wide. They are streaked red when ripe, and mature black. The mature seeds are up to 1.5 cm long.

There are about 40 Coffea species.

Where it is found

A tropical plant. It suits the hot, wet, lowland tropics. It requires heavy rainfall and high temperatures. It benefits from light shade. It can grow on a range of soils, including poor soils. It can grow in temperatures between 18-28°C. It cannot tolerate frost. It grows naturally in Liberia in West Africa. It grows up to 1,200 m above sea level. In Yunnan.

Countries/locations it is found in

Africa, Angola, Asia, Australia, Cameroon, Central Africa, Central America, China, Congo DR, Costa Rica, Côte d'Ivoire, Cuba, East Africa, East Timor, Fiji, Gabon, Ghana, Grenada, Guam, Guianas, Guinea, Guinée, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Hawaii, India, Indochina, Indonesia, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Malaysia, Mozambique, Myanmar, Nigeria, Pacific, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Rotuma, Samoa, Sao Tome and Principe, SE Asia, Sierra Leone, Singapore, South Africa, Southern Africa, South America, Suriname, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Trinidad, USA, Venezuela, Wallis and Futuna, West Africa (country/location of origin), West Indies

How it is used for food

The seeds make a bitter drink. They are roasted.

Edible parts

Seeds - coffee

How it is grown

Plants are grown from seed. Seed breed fairly true. The seed are put in a nursery and planted out at 4 m x 4 m spacing. Trees are often not pruned. Sometimes the plants are topped at 2 m and excessive side branches removed. Usually fruit are dried on the tree and processed by dry methods. The seeds have a hard shell making it more difficult to remove than Arabican coffee. Plants can also be grown from cuttings or by grafting.

Flowering occurs at irregular intervals but not in flushes. Fruit mature one year after flowering. Fruit of various stages of ripeness are found on the one tree. Plants are cross pollinated.

Its other names

Local names

Cofeeiro, Kopi liberia, Liberian coffee

Synonyms

Many, Coffea abeokutae Cramer; Coffea klainei Pierre ex De Wild.; Coffea excelsa A. Chev.; Coffea dewevrei de Wild. & Th. Dur.;