What is Coffea eugenioides?

Coffea eugenioides is one of the two parent species of Coffea arabica — alongside Coffea canephora (Robusta) — produced by their natural hybridisation in Ethiopia and Uganda approximately one million years ago. Extremely rare in commercial cultivation, it has near-zero caffeine (< 0.2 %) and produces a cup of unusual sweetness and complexity, prized by competition baristas.

Coffea eugenioides is a diploid species (2n = 22 chromosomes) that grows naturally in the mountain forests of East Africa, notably in Uganda, Kenya, Rwanda, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Ethiopia, at altitudes that can exceed 2,000 metres. Its scientific importance is immense: together with Coffea canephora, it is one of the two genomic parents of Coffea arabica, a tetraploid species (4n = 44 chromosomes) born from a natural hybridisation between these two species, estimated at between 10,000 and one million years ago. In other words, every Arabica bean contains half the genome of Eugenioides.

In terms of caffeine, Coffea eugenioides is exceptional: its content is practically zero, typically below 0.1–0.2 % of dry bean weight, versus 1.2–1.7 % for standard Arabica. This results from the absence or very low activity of the enzymes responsible for caffeine biosynthesis in this species. In the cup, this translates to near-total absence of bitterness and extreme sweetness, with notes of honey, caramel, white fruit and sometimes fresh grass.

The contemporary fascination with Coffea eugenioides was largely sparked by the 2019 World Barista Championship, where winner Joost Nils Diepeveen presented an espresso made from a blend containing Eugenioides, revealing this species to a wider audience. Since then, several specialty farms in Colombia, Panama and Uganda have begun cultivating Eugenioides plants to meet demand from competition baristas and informed enthusiasts. Micro-lots are produced in extremely limited quantities — often only a few dozen kilos — and trade at prices that can exceed several hundred euros per kilogram.

Coffea eugenioides: key characteristics