The relationship between coffee bean quality and altitude, the relationship between air temperature, and the harm of climate change to coffee trees.

Professional coffee knowledge exchange more coffee bean information please follow the coffee workshop (Wechat official account cafe_style)

Altitude: a symbol of coffee quality?

Higher altitude is often associated with better sweetness and more complex coffee flavor; to be exact, there is a correlation between the two, but not causality. To a large extent, the factors that affect the quality of coffee come more from the temperature of its growing environment.

Coffee trees grow more slowly at relatively low temperatures, and coffee cherries mature longer, which means coffee cherries have more time to develop more complex flavors.

(at the same time, it also brings these shortcomings: coffee trees have low yields, require more maintenance, and are harvested later. Coffee trees should not grow in places where the climate is too warm, nor should they grow in places where the climate is too cold. )

There are more reasons for "relatively low temperatures are better"

In low-temperature producing areas, pests and diseases that hinder the growth of coffee trees are not easy to survive. Leaf rust, for example, is a fungus that attacks coffee leaves, preventing the leaves from photosynthesis and failing to get enough nutrients to sustain growth. In 2012, leaf rust destroyed growing areas in Latin America and caused more than $100 million in economic losses in just two years. According to SCA Science Manager-Emma Sage, one of the fatal points of leaf rust is temperature.

In an official report from SCAA in 2012, Sage noted that the ideal temperature for leaf rust outbreaks is 21-25 °C and cannot survive when the temperature is below 15 °C. The ideal growth temperature of coffee is 17-23 °C. when the temperature is lower than 14 °C and higher than 30 °C, it is not conducive to the growth of coffee trees. This means that the reproduction of leaf rust slows down at low temperatures.

Similarly, coffee moths cause millions of dollars in damage, and they can thrive at temperatures between 20 and 30 °C.

Coffee farms are above this range (usually at higher elevations) and are less vulnerable to leaf rust, coffee moths, and other pests that are difficult to survive in cold environments, and accordingly, the final cup test is less affected by bad flavor.

Climate change, on the one hand, makes coffee beans lose their original suitable growth environment (temperature, rainfall, wind speed, light). The low temperature and high discharge at high altitude can make the coffee beans elongate during the growing period, thus making the coffee fruit fuller, higher sugar content and more mellow flavor. However, the ideal growth area of high-quality coffee beans is shrinking as a result of climate warming and abnormal rainfall. On the other hand, rising temperatures gradually erode diseases and insect pests to coffee crops at higher elevations, hurting coffee production.

Ethiopia is one of the coffee-producing areas most affected by climate change, and coffee cultivation is mainly concentrated in the southern highlands between 1100 and 2300 meters above sea level. There are different varieties of coffee, such as Arabica coffee, which grows at an optimal temperature between 15 °C and 23.9 °C and requires rich and mild precipitation. But as a result of global warming and drought, growers have to relocate coffee-producing areas to higher elevations. It is expected that by 2040, the planting area will soon move to the summit of the Ethiopian mountains. If global warming is not contained, nearly 60 per cent of the country's coffee-producing areas will no longer be suitable for growing coffee crops.

It's going to be a huge number. In Central America, for example, climate change and various diseases and insect pests hit coffee-producing areas between 2012 and 2016, resulting in millions of job losses and billions of dollars in losses. About 2.25 billion cups of coffee are sold worldwide every day, and 125 million people depend on coffee for their livelihood. Among them, 80% of the coffee farmers are small farmers in developing countries, they are very difficult to face the impact of climate change, the relocation of coffee growing areas need the assistance of large enterprises, so more and more small coffee farmers give up planting. At the same time, large coffee manufacturers such as Starbucks and illy are also facing the crisis of shortage of raw materials for coffee beans.

For more professional coffee exchanges, please scan the code and follow Wechat: qiannjie

Please indicate the source of the reprint.