Excelsa was recently re-classified as a variety of
Liberica.
"Excelsa was recently re-classified as a variety of Liberica. However, even though the plants may be taxonomically similar, the actual
coffee is so dramatically different that we still think of them as entirely separate species. It accounts for about 7% of world coffee production. It grows on large, vigorous trees at medium altitudes. Many beans have a distinctive "
teardrop" shape, which gives it a family resemblance to Liberica, but their average size is much smaller.
Excelsa grows mainly in Southeast Asia, where it is used as a blending coffee, especially in house blends, to add complexity and depth. Excelsa has a distinctive
tart, fruity, dark, mysterious taste. In blends, it enhances the middle and back palate and
lingering finish of the coffee, giving the cup more substance and power.
Brewed on its own, it is a compelling and unique coffee experience, like a good Scotch. However, like Scotch, a cup of pure Excelsa is not everyone's favorite drink. And most people don't find the aroma of Excelsa beans themselves to be attractive, although some people love it. It would be a mainstay coffee for many coffee shops if it had the intense and pleasing aroma of Arabica or Liberica, but it doesn't."
Liberica
Liberica, Coffea liberica
A unique and irreplacable part of our worldwide coffee heritage, Liberica is an entirely separate species of coffee, with a very distinctive taste profile. It grows on vigorous 20- 30-foot trees in
jungle environments - which is fortunate, because if it weren't strong enough to grow
wild, it would have gone extinct. the type of men who worked in the nearby sugar cane fields and drank a LOT of coffee to keep up their energy during their hard work. Also, it is amusing to us that these roughs enjoy sitting around the town squares in the evening, still drinking coffee and playing rough games... like... chess? Yes, it's true.
After the coffee rust in 1890 destroyed over 90% of the world's Arabica stocks, Liberica was chosen as its replacement in the Philippines by the Secretary of the Interior of the USA, since at the time, the Philippines was a US territory and the Minister of Agriculture there reported his counterpart in the USA. This was a fateful decision because it helped propel the Philippines into prominence as a coffee supplier. In fact, many of the original USA coffee brands and blends used quite a bit of Philippine coffee and Liberica. However, when the Philippines gained independence and asked the USA to remove its military bases, the USA responded by ending the importation of key crops such as rice, sugar, coconuts and coffee, plunging the Philippines into a steep decline economically. Liberica languished for decades until
1995, when a conservation effort took the last remaining 500 plants they could find and began a program of propagation and cooperative re-planting in a number of Philippine growing regions. Unfortunately, the current obsession with Arabica has resulted once again in reducing the stock and range of Liberica, as well as cross-breeding with other species to make the high bushes more accessible.
Today we struggle to find pure Liberica and support the efforts to keep it as a distinct species and
irreplaceable part of the coffee genome. Liberica beans can be huge, and have the unique characteristic in which many Liberica beans are asymmetric - one side is "lower" than the other, causing a little "hook" at the bottom of the bean. It is the only bean species in the world with this irregular shape.
Its almond-shaped beans have an
exceptional aroma, almost floral and fruity, while its flavor is full and slightly smokey. This is a highly
polarizing coffee. Some people are not even sure it tastes like coffee, or say it tastes woody or too jungle-y; others find it revelatory. Our favorite way to use it is as a mixer. Almost any coffee can be taken to the next level by adding about 10% Liberica. The aroma it adds is incredible, a true
wow-factor.
http://lenscoffee.com/coffee-species-beyond-arabica/
