What Is Liberica Coffee and Why Is It So Rare?
Liberica is the large-bean species among the three main coffee types, alongside Arabica and Robusta. It accounts for roughly 1% of global economically cultivated coffee production. First found in Liberia, West Africa, its trees grow taller than Arabica and Robusta, and the variety shows strong disease resistance and environmental adaptability, which is why some farms still keep it.
Its leaves are larger than those of ordinary coffee trees, and the fruit and beans are noticeably bigger, with thick skin that makes pulp separation difficult during post-processing. Some farms plant Liberica around Arabica to draw coffee berry borers and other pests away from the main crop. It also has a semi-wild history in Borneo and appeared at the 2018 Coffee Summit in Stuttgart.
Among the three major coffee varieties, Arabica and Robusta dominate the mainstream trading market, while the large-bean Liberica accounts for only about 1% of the global economically cultivated coffee production, making it quite rare. This time, Front Street Coffee takes you to get to know Liberica: its plant morphology, fruit characteristics, disease-resistant advantages, and why it is more labor-intensive in post-processing. The article will also sort out its semi-wild cultivation history in Borneo, as well as its appearance and award-winning experience at the 2018 Coffee Summit in Stuttgart, Germany, and finally append Front Street's pour-over parameters and flavor description for sun-dried Liberica, helping you fully understand this niche coffee species.
Friends who have studied coffee a little usually know that coffee beans can be divided into three major categories: Arabica, the small-bean species; Robusta, the medium-bean species; and Liberica, the large-bean species. Typica, Geisha, Bourbon, and others we often mention in daily life actually all belong under the Arabica species. You have already heard a lot about Arabica and Robusta, so today Front Street Coffee will talk about the large-bean species among the three major categories—Liberica coffee.
Liberica Coffee Leberica
Global coffee trade is basically centered on Arabica and Robusta, and Liberica currently accounts for only about 1% of the total economically cultivated coffee production, an extremely limited amount.
Liberica was first discovered in Liberia in West Africa. Its coffee trees usually grow taller than Arabica and Robusta, and this variety has quite strong disease resistance and adaptability to the environment. From the appearance of the tree, Liberica's leaves are larger than those of ordinary coffee trees; looking at the fruit shape, it is often considerably larger than ordinary coffee beans, and the outer skin is thick, making the skin and pulp difficult to separate, so it is relatively troublesome in the post-processing stage.
Some farms plant a small amount of Liberica coffee, arranging them around Arabica coffee to attract coffee berry borers or other pests, thereby protecting the Arabica coffee.
Liberica coffee trees have grown for many years in the semi-wild environment of Borneo in Malaysia. Earlier literature records that in 1892, leaf rust in Sri Lanka caused a severe reduction in local coffee production, and the British colonists then looked for fertile land to grow coffee and found Borneo. But the coffee there was eventually abandoned in favor of crops with higher profits such as tea, pepper, and rubber, leaving only a small number of Liberica trees.
In 2018, specialty Liberica from Borneo appeared for the first time at the Stuttgart Coffee Summit in Germany and won the Green Coffee Quality Award.
Front Street Coffee also brewed a pot of sun-dried Liberica coffee, and the parameters and flavor are shared as follows:
Parameters: 15 g coffee grounds, water temperature 89°C, coffee-to-water ratio 1:15, medium-fine grind (BG 5T: 58% passing through China standard No. 20 sieve), staged extraction.
First use 33 g of water for blooming. Once the coffee bed is observed changing from wet to dry, the blooming can be ended. The blooming time is 30 seconds; then pour water in a small stream in circles at the center until 120 g and stop. When the water level drops and is about to expose the coffee bed, continue pouring until 228 g and stop. When the water level is about to expose the coffee bed, remove the dripper. The extraction time (starting timing from the beginning of blooming) is 1’45”.
Flavor: The dry aroma smells of fermentation, jackfruit, and a faint chocolate aroma; the wet aroma is a rich fermented fruity fragrance; on the palate there are acidity notes of star fruit, tropical fruits, and jackfruit, a barley tea-like tea sensation, and rose floral notes.
The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.
