{ "id": "coffea-arabica", "url": "https://coffearium.org/entries/coffea-arabica/", "license": "CC-BY-4.0", "title": "Coffea arabica", "summary": "The species behind arabica coffee. A natural hybrid of two other coffee species, native to the highland forests of south-western Ethiopia and South Sudan, self-fertile, narrow in diversity and listed as Endangered in the wild.", "domain": "botany", "kind": "Species", "stage": "plant", "topics": [ "sustainability" ], "topicSections": { "sustainability": { "id": "threats-and-climate-change", "label": "Threats and climate change" } }, "lang": "en", "status": "verified", "reviewer": "Coffearium verification pass", "lastVerified": "2026-10-16T00:00:00.000Z", "updated": "2026-10-16T00:00:00.000Z", "added": "2026-10-16T00:00:00.000Z", "brief": [ "*C. arabica* is an allotetraploid hybrid of *C. eugenioides* and *C. canephora*, with 44 chromosomes (2n = 4x = 44).1,2", "Wild arabica grows in the highland forests of south-western Ethiopia and eastern South Sudan; a population on Mount Marsabit, Kenya, may be introduced.3,4", "The species mainly fertilises itself and has the lowest genetic diversity yet reported in a crop species.2", "In 2025/26, arabica made up 52.8% of world coffee production by the count of the US Department of Agriculture (USDA); estimates of a typical share range up to about 65%.15,5", "The IUCN Red List (International Union for Conservation of Nature) lists wild arabica as Endangered, on projected losses from climate change.14,4" ], "quickFacts": [ { "label": "Family", "value": "Rubiaceae" }, { "label": "Origin", "value": "Hybrid of C. canephora × C. eugenioides" }, { "label": "Chromosomes", "value": "2n = 4x = 44 (allotetraploid)" }, { "label": "Native range", "value": "SW Ethiopia, E South Sudan (Boma Plateau); Mt Marsabit, Kenya, disputed" }, { "label": "Breeding system", "value": "Mainly self-fertilising" }, { "label": "Flower to ripe fruit", "value": "220–243 days (average)" }, { "label": "Optimum mean annual temperature", "value": "18–21 °C" }, { "label": "Share of world production", "value": "52.8% (USDA, 2025/26)" }, { "label": "IUCN Red List", "value": "Endangered (EN A3b)" } ], "aka": [ "Arabica", "Arabica coffee", "Arabian coffee" ], "linkTerms": [ "C. arabica", "wild arabica", "arabica species" ], "related": [ "coffea-genus", "arabica-varieties", "coffea-canephora", "liberica-and-excelsa", "coffee-leaf-rust", "site-selection-and-climate", "shade-and-agroforestry", "caffeine", "coffee-cherry-anatomy", "harvest-calendars", "arabica-or-robusta", "polyploidy-and-the-arabica-genome", "the-arabica-bottleneck", "flowering-and-pollination", "fruit-development", "branching-and-fruiting-wood", "coffea-eugenioides" ], "contested": [ "Age of the species: a 2024 genome study dates the founding hybridisation to 350,000–610,000 years ago1; a 2020 genome study gave a broad interval of 10,000 or 665,000 years before present2; a 2017 textbook chapter, citing a 2012 study, describes a very recent speciation.8", "Mount Marsabit, Kenya: Plants of the World Online includes it in the native range3; the 2019 Red List study treats it as an area where arabica was probably introduced and cultivated.4", "Altitude of wild arabica: Kew gives 950–1,950 m5; a 2006 and a 2025 review give 1,600–2,800 m.6,7", "Share of world production: USDA counts give 52.8–57.8% for 2024/25 to 2026/27 and the International Coffee Organization 57.5% for 2024/2515,16; the 2024 genome study says about 60% and Kew about 65%.1,5" ], "corrections": [], "sources": [ { "id": "s1", "title": "The genome and population genomics of allopolyploid Coffea arabica reveal the diversification history of modern coffee cultivars", "authors": "Salojärvi, J.; Rambani, A.; Yu, Z.; Guyot, R.; et al.", "year": 2024, "publisher": "Nature Genetics 56(4), 721–731", "url": "https://repository.up.ac.za/items/a8e96560-6731-4d2a-bc81-ca77e24236ce/full", "doi": "10.1038/s41588-024-01695-w", "tier": "A", "quote": "We find evidence for a founding polyploidy event 350,000–610,000 years ago, followed by several pre-domestication bottlenecks, resulting in narrow genetic variation. A split between wild accessions and cultivar progenitors occurred ~30.5 thousand years ago, followed by a period of migration between the two populations.", "accessed": "2026-10-16T00:00:00.000Z" }, { "id": "s2", "title": "A single polyploidization event at the origin of the tetraploid genome of Coffea arabica is responsible for the extremely low genetic variation in wild and cultivated germplasm", "authors": "Scalabrin, S.; Toniutti, L.; Di Gaspero, G.; et al.; Bertrand, B.", "year": 2020, "publisher": "Scientific Reports 10, 4642", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-61216-7", "doi": "10.1038/s41598-020-61216-7", "tier": "A", "quote": "The mating system is primarily based on self-fertilization, although pollinator-mediated outcrossing may occasionally occur.", "accessed": "2026-10-16T00:00:00.000Z" }, { "id": "s3", "title": "Coffea arabica L.", "authors": "Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew", "year": 2026, "publisher": "Plants of the World Online (World Checklist of Vascular Plants)", "url": "https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:747038-1/general-information", "tier": "A", "quote": "The native range of this species is E. South Sudan, SW. Ethiopia, N. Kenya (Mt. Marsibit).", "accessed": "2026-10-16T00:00:00.000Z" }, { "id": "s4", "title": "Least concern to endangered: Applying climate change projections profoundly influences the extinction risk assessment for wild Arabica coffee", "authors": "Moat, J.; Gole, T. W.; Davis, A. P.", "year": 2019, "publisher": "Global Change Biology 25(2), 390–403", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.14341", "doi": "10.1111/gcb.14341", "tier": "A", "quote": "population numbers could reduce by 50% or more (with a few models showing over 80%) by 2088", "accessed": "2026-10-16T00:00:00.000Z" }, { "id": "s5", "title": "Arabica coffee", "authors": "Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew", "year": 2026, "publisher": "Kew, plant profile (copy in the UK Government Web Archive, March 2026)", "url": "https://tnaqa.mirrorweb.com/ukgwa/20260303070131mp_/https://www.kew.org/plants/arabica-coffee", "tier": "A", "tierNote": "A (public botanic research institution) for its range, altitude and conservation data; the production share is a general statement without a stated year or source and is given only as Kew’s figure.", "quote": "It grows at high altitude, from 950 to 1,950 m above sea level.", "accessed": "2026-10-16T00:00:00.000Z" }, { "id": "s6", "title": "Impacts of drought and temperature stress on coffee physiology and production: a review", "authors": "DaMatta, F. M.; Ramalho, J. D. C.", "year": 2006, "publisher": "Brazilian Journal of Plant Physiology 18(1), 55–81", "url": "https://www.scielo.br/j/bjpp/a/bDfpJwLr4xLcznSwy4b9zkf/?lang=en", "doi": "10.1590/S1677-04202006000100006", "tier": "A", "quote": "In this environment, arabica coffee became established as an understorey shrub (Sylvain, 1955).", "accessed": "2026-10-16T00:00:00.000Z" }, { "id": "s7", "title": "Flowering and Fruiting of Coffea arabica L.: A Comprehensive Perspective from Phenology", "authors": "Unigarro, C. A.; Cayón Salinas, D. G.; León-Burgos, A. F.; Flórez-Ramos, C. P.", "year": 2025, "publisher": "Plants 14(21), 3396", "url": "https://www.mdpi.com/2223-7747/14/21/3396", "doi": "10.3390/plants14213396", "tier": "A", "quote": "self-pollination can contribute to 56.4% to 95.3% of the fruit set under Colombian conditions", "accessed": "2026-10-16T00:00:00.000Z" }, { "id": "s8", "title": "The Coffee Tree – Genetic Diversity and Origin", "authors": "Herrera, J. C.; Lambot, C.", "year": 2017, "publisher": "In: Folmer, B. (ed.), The Craft and Science of Coffee, Academic Press, ch. 1, pp. 1–16", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-803520-7.00001-3", "doi": "10.1016/B978-0-12-803520-7.00001-3", "tier": "B", "quote": "Originally, Arabica was a shrub living in the undergrowth of the forests surrounding the southwest of Ethiopia and the north of Kenya, at altitudes between 1300 and 2000 m.", "accessed": "2026-10-16T00:00:00.000Z" }, { "id": "s9", "title": "Cultivating Coffee Quality – Terroir and Agro-Ecosystem", "authors": "Lambot, C.; Herrera, J. C.; Bertrand, B.; Sadeghian, S.; Benavides, P.; Gaitán, A.", "year": 2017, "publisher": "In: Folmer, B. (ed.), The Craft and Science of Coffee, Academic Press, ch. 2, pp. 17–49", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-803520-7.00002-5", "doi": "10.1016/B978-0-12-803520-7.00002-5", "tier": "B", "quote": "This species originated from a narrow region of southwestern Ethiopia and the Boma Plateau (South Sudan).", "accessed": "2026-10-16T00:00:00.000Z" }, { "id": "s10", "title": "Influence of Various Factors on Caffeine Content in Coffee Brews", "authors": "Olechno, E.; Puścion-Jakubik, A.; Zujko, M. E.; Socha, K.", "year": 2021, "publisher": "Foods 10(6), 1208", "url": "https://mdpi-res.com/d_attachment/foods/foods-10-01208/article_deploy/foods-10-01208.pdf", "doi": "10.3390/foods10061208", "tier": "A", "quote": "Arabica green beans contain, on average, 0.9 to 1.5% dry weight of caffeine. In contrast, Robusta green beans have between 1.2 and 2.4% of the alkaloid.", "accessed": "2026-10-16T00:00:00.000Z" }, { "id": "s11", "title": "The lipid fraction of the coffee bean", "authors": "Speer, K.; Kölling-Speer, I.", "year": 2006, "publisher": "Brazilian Journal of Plant Physiology 18(1), 201–216", "url": "https://www.scielo.br/j/bjpp/a/sLcktB9RbKvXRPMmy4kjtfC/?lang=en", "doi": "10.1590/S1677-04202006000100014", "tier": "A", "quote": "The lipid content of green Arabica coffee beans averages some 15 %,", "accessed": "2026-10-16T00:00:00.000Z" }, { "id": "s12", "title": "Caffeine, trigonelline, chlorogenic acids and sucrose diversity in wild Coffea arabica L. and Coffea canephora P. accessions", "authors": "Ky, C. L.; Louarn, J.; Dussert, S.; Guyot, B.; Hamon, S.; Noirot, M.", "year": 2001, "publisher": "Food Chemistry 75(2), 223–230", "url": "https://agritrop.cirad.fr/526749", "tier": "A", "quote": "C. arabica showed more trigonelline and sucrose and that C. canephora presented more CGA and caffeine.", "abstractOnly": true, "accessed": "2026-10-16T00:00:00.000Z" }, { "id": "s13", "title": "The Chemistry of Roasting – Decoding Flavor Formation", "authors": "Poisson, L.; Blank, I.; Dunkel, A.; Hofmann, T.", "year": 2017, "publisher": "In: Folmer, B. (ed.), The Craft and Science of Coffee, Academic Press, ch. 12, pp. 273–309", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-803520-7.00012-8", "tier": "B", "quote": "Lipids constitute 15–18% of Arabica and 8–12% of Robusta raw beans (Viani and Petracco, 2007).", "accessed": "2026-10-16T00:00:00.000Z" }, { "id": "s14", "title": "The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, version 2026-1 (via GBIF.org)", "authors": "IUCN", "year": 2026, "publisher": "International Union for Conservation of Nature; GBIF, licence CC BY 4.0", "url": "https://doi.org/10.15468/0qnb58", "doi": "10.15468/0qnb58", "tier": "A", "tierNote": "Checklist dataset; the categories used here (C. arabica EN, C. canephora LC) are the values in the editor’s download of 12 Oct 2026 that feeds the species index.", "accessed": "2026-10-16T00:00:00.000Z" }, { "id": "s15", "title": "Coffee: World Markets and Trade (July 2026)", "authors": "USDA Foreign Agricultural Service", "year": 2026, "publisher": "United States Department of Agriculture, Foreign Agricultural Service", "url": "https://apps.fas.usda.gov/psdonline/circulars/2026/07/coffee.pdf", "tier": "A", "quote": "World coffee production for 2026/27 is forecast 10.8 million bags higher than the previous year to a record 189.7 million", "accessed": "2026-10-16T00:00:00.000Z" }, { "id": "s16", "title": "Coffee Market Report – February 2026", "authors": "International Coffee Organization", "year": 2026, "publisher": "International Coffee Organization (ICO)", "url": "https://ico.org/documents/cy2025-26/cmr-0226-e.pdf", "tier": "A", "tierNote": "A for its statistics (Table 3, World supply/demand balance).", "accessed": "2026-10-16T00:00:00.000Z" }, { "id": "s17", "title": "Resilience potential of the Ethiopian coffee sector under climate change", "authors": "Moat, J.; Williams, J.; Baena, S.; Wilkinson, T.; Gole, T. W.; Challa, Z. K.; Demissew, S.; Davis, A. P.", "year": 2017, "publisher": "Nature Plants 3, 17081", "url": "https://pages.uoregon.edu/chendon/coffee_literature/old_literature/2017%20Nat.%20Plants,%20Ethiopian%20coffee%20and%20climate%20change.pdf", "doi": "10.1038/nplants.2017.81", "tier": "A", "quote": "39–59% of the current growing area could experience climatic changes that are large enough to render them unsuitable for coffee farming, in the absence of significant interventions or major influencing factors.", "accessed": "2026-10-16T00:00:00.000Z" }, { "id": "s18", "title": "A bitter cup: climate change profile of global production of Arabica and Robusta coffee", "authors": "Bunn, C.; Läderach, P.; Ovalle Rivera, O.; Kirschke, D.", "year": 2015, "publisher": "Climatic Change 129(1), 89–101", "url": "https://ideas.repec.org/a/spr/climat/v129y2015i1p89-101.html", "doi": "10.1007/s10584-014-1306-x", "tier": "A", "quote": "Climate change will reduce the global area suitable for coffee by about 50 % across emission scenarios.", "abstractOnly": true, "accessed": "2026-10-16T00:00:00.000Z" }, { "id": "s19", "title": "Molecular characterisation and origin of the Coffea arabica L. genome", "authors": "Lashermes, P.; Combes, M. C.; Robert, J.; Trouslot, P.; D’Hont, A.; Anthony, F.; Charrier, A.", "year": 1999, "publisher": "Molecular and General Genetics 261(2), 259–266", "url": "https://agritrop.cirad.fr/519522", "tier": "A", "quote": "These results clearly suggest that C. arabica is an amphidiploid formed by hybridisation between C. eugenioides and C. canephora", "abstractOnly": true, "accessed": "2026-10-16T00:00:00.000Z" } ], "markdown": "## A hybrid species\n\n*Coffea arabica* is a species of the coffee genus, *Coffea*, and the source of arabica coffee.1 It arose when two other coffee species, *C. canephora* and *C. eugenioides*, crossed in the wild.1\n\nThe hybrid kept both parents’ full sets of chromosomes. That makes it a tetraploid, with four sets and 44 chromosomes in all.2 Because the sets come from two different species, botanists call it an allotetraploid.1,2 *C. canephora*, one of the two parents, is the species grown as robusta.8\n\nWhen the cross happened is not settled. A 2024 genome study puts it at 350,000–610,000 years ago; earlier estimates differ widely (see Contested).1,2\n\n## Where it grows wild\n\nWild arabica is native to the forests of south-western Ethiopia and eastern South Sudan.3,9 In South Sudan the species grows on the Boma Plateau.9,4 A third area, Mount Marsabit in northern Kenya, is included in the native range by Kew’s Plants of the World Online. A 2019 study considers it more likely an area where arabica was introduced and cultivated.3,4\n\nIt is a highland plant. Kew gives an altitude of 950–1,950 m for the wild populations, but two reviews give a higher range (see the figure).5,6,7 In its native forests, arabica became established as an understorey shrub, growing in the shade of taller trees.6\n\n
\n
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Altitude of wild arabica as given by three sources, with the range where coffee was mostly grown in Ethiopia in 2017 for comparison. The sources disagree by 850 m at the upper end.5,6,7,17
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\n\n## The plant\n\nThe arabica plant is a shrub or small tree, 2–8 m tall, with evergreen, usually shiny leaves.5,3 Its flowers are white and sweetly scented. The fruits are red, sometimes yellow or purple.5 Each fruit, the coffee cherry, holds two seeds; their structure is described in [Coffee cherry anatomy](/entries/coffee-cherry-anatomy/).\n\nThe species can fertilise itself. Its flowers mainly self-pollinate, although insects sometimes carry pollen between plants.2 *C. canephora* (robusta), by contrast, is strictly self-incompatible, according to a 2017 textbook chapter: it needs pollen from another plant.8\n\nFlowering follows a dry spell. A short dry period of 2–4 months helps to trigger it.6 Once the flower buds are mature, a rainfall of 5–10 mm can start them growing again.7 The fruit takes on average 220–243 days from flowering to ripeness.7 When and how often each origin picks is covered in [Harvest calendars](/entries/harvest-calendars/).\n\n## Climate it needs\n\n*C. arabica* is a plant of cool, moist highlands. Its optimum mean annual temperature is 18–21 °C, and its optimum rainfall 1,200–1,800 mm a year.6 Above 23 °C, the fruits develop and ripen faster, which often lowers quality.6 Frost can kill the plant.6 *C. canephora*, from lowland forest, has a warmer optimum of 22–26 °C according to this 2006 review6; a 2020 yield study in South-East Asia found its best yields below 20.5 °C (see Coffea canephora). How growers match these needs to a site is covered in Site selection and climate.\n\n## How much coffee is arabica\n\nIn its July 2026 count, the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) put arabica at 94.4 million of 178.8 million 60-kg bags for 2025/26. That is 52.8% by our calculation.15 The share moves from year to year with the size of the harvests, above all in Brazil.15 Other sources give about 60% or about 65% as a typical share.1,5\n\n
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Arabica share of world coffee production. USDA and International Coffee Organization (ICO) shares are our calculation from their bag counts; 2026/27 is a USDA forecast of July 2026.15,16,1,5
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\n\n## Threats and climate change\n\nWild arabica is listed as Endangered on the Red List of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).14 The listing rests on climate change. A 2019 study projected that wild populations could fall by 50% or more by 2088, and by over 80% in a few models. Without climate change in the assessment, the species would be Least Concern.4\n\nFarmed arabica faces the same pressure. In Ethiopia, 39–59% of the current coffee-growing area could become unsuitable for coffee by the end of this century, if nothing is done.17 The same study found that moving coffee to new areas, together with forest conservation, could increase the suitable area at least fourfold.17 Worldwide, a 2015 study projected that climate change will reduce the area suitable for coffee by about 50% across emission scenarios.18\n\n*C. arabica* is also susceptible to coffee leaf rust. Breeders took resistance genes mainly from the Timor Hybrid, a natural cross of arabica and robusta (see [Arabica varieties and their lines](/entries/arabica-varieties/)).8 The index below shows arabica among all accepted coffee species with their Red List categories. Search a name or a country, or filter by region and category.\n\n
\n\n\n\n## Genome and origin\n\n*C. arabica* is an allopolyploid with 2n = 4x = 44 chromosomes.2 Its two subgenomes descend from *C. canephora* and *C. eugenioides*, which a 1999 study showed with molecular markers and genomic in situ hybridisation; genome assemblies of arabica and both parents confirmed it in 2024.19,8,1 The 1999 study also found low divergence between the subgenomes and the parent species, which pointed to a relatively recent origin.19 The 2024 study found evidence for a single founding polyploidy event 350,000–610,000 years ago, followed by several bottlenecks before domestication.1 It also found that wild accessions and the ancestors of cultivars split about 30,500 years ago, with gene flow between the two afterwards.1\n\nDating the event is difficult because the subgenomes have diverged little from their parent species.19,8 A 2020 genome study gave a broad interval of 10,000 or 665,000 years before present.2 A 2017 textbook chapter, citing a 2012 study, describes the speciation as very recent.8\n\n
\n
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Published estimates of when C. arabica arose, in thousand years before present, and of the split between wild and cultivated populations. The 2017 textbook chapter gives no interval of its own and is not drawn.1,2
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\n\n## A narrow gene pool\n\n*C. arabica* has little genetic diversity, for three reasons that add up. The species probably arose from a single hybridisation event, so it started from very few individuals.2 Bottlenecks before domestication narrowed it further.1 And predominant self-fertilisation leads to high levels of inbreeding.2 A 2020 study found in arabica the lowest level of genetic diversity reported so far in any crop species.2 Domestication narrowed it again: the traditional varieties Typica and Bourbon derive from populations grown in Yemen; that history is told in [Arabica varieties and their lines](/entries/arabica-varieties/).8\n\nEthiopia’s wild coffee forests are the main storehouse of *C. arabica*.17 The metro map in the varieties entry shows how breeders worked with that narrow base and where robusta genes entered it.\n\n## Reproduction and fruit cycle\n\nThe mating system is primarily self-fertilisation; pollinator-mediated outcrossing may occur occasionally.2 Field studies in Colombia, reviewed in 2025, attribute 56.4–95.3% of fruit set to self-pollination and 9.4–26.7% to insect-mediated cross-pollination.7\n\nFlower buds reach a stage of true dormancy when physiologically mature; rainfall of 5–10 mm can trigger the resumption of growth.7 A dry spell of 2–4 months, corresponding to the quiescent growth phase, stimulates flowering.6 Fruit development from flowering to maturity takes on average 220–243 days.7 Farther from the equator, one or two flowering events per year are typical.7\n\n## Native range and altitude\n\nSources agree on the core of the native range, the forests of south-western Ethiopia and the Boma Plateau in South Sudan, but not on its altitude.9,3 Kew gives 950–1,950 m.5 A 2006 review gives 1,600–2,800 m for the Ethiopian forests where arabica is native, and a 2025 review the same range for the highlands where the hybridisation occurred.6,7 Two 2017 textbook chapters give ranges within these limits, one of them citing a 2006 conspectus of the genus.8,9 For comparison, coffee in Ethiopia is mostly confined to 1,200–2,200 m.17\n\n## Climate envelope\n\n| Parameter | *C. arabica* | Source |\n|---|---|---|\n| Optimum mean annual temperature | 18–21 °C | DaMatta & Ramalho6 |\n| Accelerated ripening, quality loss | above 23 °C | DaMatta & Ramalho6 |\n| Optimum annual rainfall | 1,200–1,800 mm | DaMatta & Ramalho6 |\n| Rainfall pattern, native Ethiopian forests | One rainy season a year | Lambot et al.9 |\n| Dry spell that stimulates flowering | 2–4 months | DaMatta & Ramalho6 |\n| Native soils (Ethiopia) | Deep, red or brownish, well drained, acidic | Lambot et al.9 |\n| Frost | Damages and can kill the plant | DaMatta & Ramalho6 |\n\nThe descriptions of native forests come from one textbook chapter and are given for comparison only.9 According to the same chapter, arabica is better adapted to cold than robusta, but behaves much like robusta under warm conditions.9\n\n## Arabica and robusta in brief\n\nThe full comparison of the two crop species is in the entry on *C. canephora*. The short version:\n\n| Trait | *C. arabica* | *C. canephora* (robusta) |\n|---|---|---|\n| Chromosomes | 2n = 4x = 44, allotetraploid2 | One of the two parent species of arabica1 |\n| Breeding system | Mainly self-fertilising2 | Strictly self-incompatible8 |\n| Native habitat | Highland forest, Ethiopia and South Sudan3 | Lowland forest, Congo basin; up to 1,200 m in Uganda6 |\n| Optimum mean annual temperature | 18–21 °C6 | 22–26 °C6 |\n| Caffeine, green coffee | 0.9–1.5% of dry weight (average)10 | 1.2–2.4% (basis not stated)10 |\n| Lipids, green coffee (basis not stated) | about 15% (average)11 | about 10%11 |\n| Sucrose and trigonelline | Higher12 | Lower12 |\n| Chlorogenic acids | Lower12 | Higher12 |\n| IUCN Red List | Endangered14 | Least Concern14 |\n\nA 2001 study of wild accessions found more trigonelline and sucrose in *C. arabica* and more chlorogenic acids and caffeine in *C. canephora*.12 According to a 2017 textbook chapter, arabica also holds more carbohydrates, lipids and organic acids, and robusta more protein, ash and transition metals.13 Caffeine by species and by brew is covered in [Caffeine](/entries/caffeine/).\n\n## Production figures\n\n| Source | Period | Arabica production | All coffee | Arabica share |\n|---|---|---|---|---|\n| USDA, July 2026 | 2024/25 | 102.3 million bags | 176.8 million bags | 57.8% |\n| USDA, July 2026 | 2025/26 | 94.4 million bags | 178.8 million bags | 52.8% |\n| USDA, July 2026 | 2026/27 (forecast) | 105.9 million bags | 189.7 million bags | 55.8% |\n| ICO, February 2026 | Coffee year 2024/25 | 102,065 | 177,513 | 57.5% |\n\nUSDA figures are thousand 60-kg bags, given here in millions15; the ICO table gives the counts without a unit and heads the column “2024” (Table 4 of the same report states thousand 60-kg bags).16 Shares are our calculation. Figures as of October 2026; ICO’s February 2026 report was the latest with a supply balance opened for this entry.\n\n## Conservation status in detail\n\nThe IUCN Red List (version 2026-1) lists *C. arabica* as Endangered.14 Plants of the World Online gives the criterion as A3b, a projected population reduction.3 The 2019 study behind it modelled the species under several climate models, emission scenarios and migration scenarios. It projected population reductions of 50% or more by 2088 and declines of about 30% in extent of occurrence and area of occupancy in many cases.4 It used a generation length of 16–30 years, with 21 years as a conservative value.4 Without climate change the species would be assessed as Least Concern, which makes the listing an example of how strongly climate projections shape Red List outcomes.4 Kew’s plant profile gives the same Endangered status.5\n\nThe wild forests matter for the crop. At least 80% of Ethiopia’s coffee comes from forests, forest-like habitats or shaded farms, and the wild coffee forests are the main storehouse of *C. arabica*.17 The threats to all wild coffee species are covered in [The coffee genus](/entries/coffea-genus/).\n\n## Key studies\n\n
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Salojärvi et al., 2024 – The arabica genome. Assembles chromosome-level genomes of arabica and both parent species and resequences wild and cultivated accessions. Dates the founding hybridisation, traces the bottlenecks that left the species narrow and separates wild populations from the ancestors of cultivars.

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Nature Genetics 56(4), 721–731 · doi:10.1038/s41588-024-01695-w

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Scalabrin et al., 2020 – One polyploidisation, little variation. Sequences arabica genomes and compares them with the parent species. Concludes that a single polyploidisation event and predominant self-fertilisation explain why arabica has less genetic diversity than any other crop studied.

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Scientific Reports 10, 4642 · doi:10.1038/s41598-020-61216-7

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Moat, Gole & Davis, 2019 – Least Concern to Endangered. Models the future of wild arabica under many climate scenarios and applies the Red List criteria. Including climate change moves the species from Least Concern to Endangered.

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Global Change Biology 25(2), 390–403 · doi:10.1111/gcb.14341

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Moat et al., 2017 – Ethiopian coffee under climate change. Maps where coffee can be grown in Ethiopia now and under future climates. Finds that 39–59% of the current growing area could become unsuitable this century, while relocation and forest conservation could expand suitable land at least fourfold.

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Nature Plants 3, 17081 · doi:10.1038/nplants.2017.81

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DaMatta & Ramalho, 2006 – Drought and temperature in coffee. Reviews how arabica and robusta respond to heat, cold and water stress. Gives the optimum temperature and rainfall ranges of both species and explains arabica’s origin as an understorey shrub.

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Brazilian Journal of Plant Physiology 18(1), 55–81 · doi:10.1590/S1677-04202006000100006

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