| Liberian Coffee | |
| Coffea liberica |
Coffee relative from West Africa. Liberian Coffee accounts for around 1% of commercially grown coffee. Taste and appearance of the beans and berries is similar to the more common coffee, although beans are often larger but contain a tough, difficult to shell skin, hindering their commerical uses.
Description: Small tree, usually reaching just 10-20ft in height. Liberian Coffee has much larger
leaves than common coffee.
Hardiness: Liberian coffee
is a hardy plant, similar in climatic requirements to common coffee,
but cannot be successfully grown where temperatures dip below 32F for
any length of time. It may succeed marginally in subtropical areas.
An optimum temperature range falls roughly between 65-80F.
Growing Environment: Grow in part shade or full. Water regularly and plant in well-drained soil. Prefers a humid environment and does make a nice container specimen for indoors.
Propagation: Superior varieties can be propagated by cuttings
and grafting, but coffee varieties usually come fairly true to seed,
so seed is often used for propagation as well.
Uses: Coffee fruits contain little flesh and are usually discarded, the seed however undergoes a processing procedure that yields the coffee bean of commerce.
Native Range: Native to Liberia, West Africa.