- Coffee fruit is classed as a drupe, not a berry.
- The leaves of coffee plants grow up to around 15 cm in length and usually have wavy edges.
- Leaves are formed in pairs each side of the branch. Flowers grow in groups of up to 16 buds out of each leaf axil.
- A leaf axil is a join in the branch between leaves.
- Coffee plants branches usually form off a single trunk.
- The flowers have five petals and are self fertilising. They look and smell like jasmine.
- The roots of coffee plants are mainly found in the top 30 cm (1 ft) of the soil and spread out in a circle of around 150 cm (5 ft) in diameter.
- Peaberries are a type of bean that forms in a cherry on its own after the plant initiates a termination of one ovary.
- The International Multi Location Trials are an initiative of World Coffee Research (WCR).
- The 31 top-performing varieties with highly rated sensory profiles and resistance to diseases and pests were planted in research plots across the globe.
- WCR has established that average summertime temperatures of 32° C (90° F) are an upper limit for viable coffee production.
- Farmers can reduce outer leaf temperature by 2° C and inner leaf temperature by 6° C under 45 percent shade cover.
- The agronomists we spoke to consider shade the most viable option for sustainable coffee production.
- The best coffee soil for coffee farming has high water retention but is also well draining. Poorly drained soil becomes anaerobic.
- Microorganisms in anaerobic soil metabolise nitrogen into a gas, in which form it is no longer available to plants.
- Ideal coffee soils are acidic.
Glossary
Cultivar A category of cultivated plants that describes the most basic unit, i.e. the smallest unit of classification used in the International Code of Nomenclature for Cultivated Plants (ICNCP).
Drupe A type of fleshy fruit with a hard kernel inside.