Coffee arabica plant

Arabica is used in the roast and ground coffee market and is added to blends of Robusta to improve quality of instant coffee. Brazil and Columbia are the major producing countries.

Coffea arabica is the only species occurring in Ethiopia and is geographically isolated from the rest of the Coffea species. It is naturally restricted to two isolated mountain forests on the western and eastern sides of the Great Rift Valley in Southern Ethiopia.

Wild plants grow between 9 and 12 m tall. They have an open branching system; the leaves are opposite, simple elliptic-ovate to oblong, 6–12 cm long and 4–8 cm broad, glossy dark green. Coffea arabica is an evergreen, shrub or small tree, up to 5 m tall when unpruned, glabrous, with small glossy leaves.

The seeds are contained in a kernel, also called “cherry”, 10–15 mm in diameter, maturing red to purple and typically contains two seeds, which are the seeds used to produce coffee.

C. arabica grows best with 1.0–1.5 meters of rain, evenly distributed throughout the year, followed by a dry season lasting 2-3 months, this dry season suits best depending on the species. Arabica coffee prefers a cool temperature with an optimum daily temperature of 68° to 75°F (20° to 24°C).
Coffee arabica plant