Harvest-ready coffee beans are seen at a plantation in Meppady, Wayanad, Kerala.
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While the world’s coffee drinkers favour Arabica or Robusta, a newly identified hybrid called Coffea x libex (the X denotes its hybrid status) — or just Libex — could be their brew of choice in future.The world drinks roughly 17,000 tonnes of Arabica and 10,000 tonnes of Robusta beans (pre-roasting) every day. Together, they account for more than 99.99% of global coffee production. However, they are susceptible to rising temperatures and erratic rainfall.Libex on the other hand may be able to grow and crop in warmer temperatures and a wider range of rainfall patterns, according to new research by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, in the U.K.It was recently published in Scientific Reports.This work builds on a 2025 study in Nature Plants that settled a longstanding botanical debate when it ‘proved’ that Liberica and Excelsa are distinct species rather than varieties of the same plant.
If Arabica harvesting is delayed, the cherries either over-ripen or dry and fall to the ground, where they get damaged and cannot be used.
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