Our Partnership with World Coffee Research
As some of you might recall, we became 1% for the Planet members back in April 2021. Since then, we’ve donated 1% of all roasted coffee sales to World Coffee Research. WCR’s key role in the coffee industry is to drive resilience and growth, aiming to generate a transformative impact on the producing side of the coffee industry. They embrace the business practice of Kaizen: continuous improvement through small, consistent changes toward long-term results. This feels right when we consider the evolution of coffee, both in agriculture and in its integration into our day-to-day lives.
WCR has been hard at work with its Innovea Global Breeding Network. The basic idea is to breed coffee trees faster so farmers can keep growing coffee as the climate changes. The network coordinates with 9 countries: the United States, Mexico, Costa Rica, Peru, Uganda, Rwanda, Kenya, India, and Indonesia. Most logistical work is accomplished by collaborating with local government agencies. This helps break through much of the red tape that comes with importing and exporting agricultural crops. That’s really impressive to me—the idea of coordinating a program like this across the world.
Before we get more technical, now would be a great time to grab yourself a coffee as we dive into a bit of coffee history and agricultural genetics.
To start, about 350,000 to 610,000 years ago (the timeline is debatable), an evolutionary event known as natural hybridization occurred between Coffea canephora (Robusta) and Coffea eugenioides in Ethiopia. This type of event has been observed in plants and animals, with examples still occurring today. Our modern-day bread wheat is the result of natural hybridization between Einkorn (great for gluten sensitivity, btw) and wild grasses. We see this happen in plants due to habitat disturbance, human impact, or happenstance through cross-pollination.
Let’s unpack this as it pertains to C. arabica. Both parent species, canephora and eugenioides, are diploids, meaning they have 22 chromosomes. Arabica is a specific type of allopolyploid, known as an allotetraploid, meaning it has twice the number of chromosomes at 44. This allowed arabica to pull genes from robusta that would help with disease and pest resistance, while eugenioides offered genes associated with higher quality flavor and lower caffeine content. This event marks a special moment in the history of coffee as we know it today. Arabica is the only known species of 128 others to be self-pollinating. This naturally occurring event has yet to be replicated in practice.
A quick recap: we have been learning about three species of the Coffea genus: robusta, eugenioides, and arabica. There are a total of 129 species and, following that, 121 varieties. When we discuss species, we are referring to what nature has provided us, while varieties are the human approach to plant diversity. Different varieties aim to increase plant yield, physical appearance, and overall performance. The key indicators of a successful variety are uniformity and crop stability.
Varietal research and development are typically direct indicators of the financial investment made in a particular crop. For comparison, there are 5,342 apple varieties compared to 121 coffee varieties. I love apples, but it's plain to most of us that far more money is spent on coffee. Point being, coffee’s future has been severely underserved. The last time an investment in plant diversity was made was the Portugal Collaborative Breeding Program in 1957. The initiative successfully cross-pollinated Timor and two different Arabica varieties, creating 50 new varieties with genetics set to combat coffee leaf rust (fungus).
Fast forward to 2015, and WCR picks up where they left off in Portugal with the following timeline. Cross-pollination is made between 43 F1 hybrids with the goal of beginning field trials in two years’ time. Between 2018 and 2022, field and cup results aim to identify four finalist varieties. In 2024 and continuing until 2029, pre-commercial trials overseen by WCR members commenced at global Innovea sites. If all things go according to plan, 100 new hybrids will be released for commercial use in 2030. This will double the 1957 outcome and in 15 years, no less. It typically takes between 20 and 30 years to develop new varieties.
There’s a lot to understand within that timeline; let’s begin with F1 hybrids. WCR breeders selected 17 parent plants based on high performance and different genetic makeup. Crossing these parent plants created 29 new families and, following, a new population of 5,000 genetically unique trees. Since different growing conditions affect genetic expression, the trees were planted in different growing regions across the world. The F1 hybrids are ideal for this study since they possess a shorter breeding timeline. They are, however, unsuitable for commercial use given that they must be grown through vegetative propagation. Coffee producers require seed-grown plants, as propagation is too expensive and time-consuming. Also, having seed-grown plants allows producers to take greater ownership of what they are growing and what they keep in their inventory.
As of November 2025, WCR began including robusta in the Innovea Global Breeding Network. Vietnam and Ghana have joined the Innovea network, bringing the total to 11 countries. This group accounts for 40% of the coffee produced worldwide. Six countries (Vietnam, Ghana, India, Indonesia, Rwanda, and Uganda) account for 64% of the world’s robusta production. This is an incredibly exciting development as it will provide a detailed look into the growing habits of robusta and will provide Innovea partners access to new arabica and robusta genetic materials. Much like the foundational tools we use as baristas and roasters, the shared knowledge and tools gained from this program will help create collaborative understandings of the genetic future of coffee. Beginning in 2027, participants will be allotted 1,000 new trees to test in their specific growing regions. The field tests will aim to isolate high yield, disease resistance, and enhanced quality within the new trees.
Earlier this year, we had the privilege of trying three of the finalist hybrids. All hybrids were crosses between Gesha and Sarchimor. Gesha is a variety with an Ethiopian landrace lineage known for its exceptional cup quality. Ethiopian landrace refers to specific populations of naturally adapted plants unique to Ethiopia. Gesha tends to be somewhat tolerant of coffee leaf rust, but requires very meticulous care to grow and harvest effectively. Sarchimor is a hybrid created by crossing Villa Sarchi (a natural mutation of the Bourbon variety) with Timor Hybrid (an arabica and robusta hybrid). It was bred in the late 1960s to help combat coffee leaf rust in Latin America.
I will preface this by saying that I enjoy bitter things. I love a bitter radicchio salad or a healthy serving of aromatic bitters, but robusta is in a league of its own. It is very rough due to having twice the caffeine of arabica, and roasting it doesn’t do it any favors. That being said, the hybrids we sampled were nothing short of impressive. I tasted them blind, without knowing the genetic cross, and I was able to perceive cup quality associated with Gesha varieties. I walked away from the tasting with cola, dark-bitter chocolate, herbaceous, juicy, dried fruit, and sweet, to name a few. My only regret is that the samples received were too small; I would have enjoyed having more.
I hope this was as approachable as I intended. If you have any questions or thoughts, please reach out. We would love to hear from you and learn more along the way. Thank you so much for reading.