The climate crisis will jeopardise coffee. A rescue plan is brewing in Vietnam
Researchers are trying to produce a super coffee that withstands climate threats, write Rebecca Tan and Nhung Nguyen Thuan Sarzynski shows off a robusta coffee plant in Lam Dong province F or decades, the world of coffee has had one star: the arabica bean. It is complex and deliciously refined, according to companies such as Starbucks that have refused to use any other bean. It has engendered obsession among Java aficionados. But the climate crisis , as it tends to do, is shifting fortunes. The sophisticated arabica is hypersensitive to fluctuations in temperatures and faces dim prospects in a warming world. Once spurned as its ugly stepsister, the bulkier robusta plant so named because it grows robustly in tough conditions is mounting its revenge. Vietnam is responsible for more than half of the global robusta supply, government data shows, and it plays an increasingly vital role in efforts to rescue coffee from the effects of the climate crisis . The robusta farmed here, on the rolling hills of Vietnams central highlands, is more resilient and has higher yields than virtually anywhere else, scientists say, with some varieties producing two or three times more beans of varieties in other parts of the world. Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies Robusta coffee cherries are seen budding on a tree in Lam Dong province Thanh Hue/The Washington Post Toi Nguyen, a producer of robusta coffee, checks coffee beans on his farm Thanh Hue/The Washington Post Dinh Thi Mung walks on her coffee farm in the Di Linh district of Lam Dong province Thanh Hue/The Washington Post The ECOM experimental farm in Bao Loc, Vietnam Thanh Hue/The Washington Post People drive motorbikes past a farm where robusta coffee is intercropped with other plants in Lam Dong province Thanh Hue/The Washington Post Producer Toi Nguyen at his coffee factory Thanh Hue/The Washington Post Thuan Sarzynski shows off a robusta coffee plant in Lam Dong province Thanh Hue/The Washington Post Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today. Log in New to The Independent? Or if you would prefer: Want an ad-free experience? Hi {{indy.fullName}}