Washington [US], April 14 (ANI): The findings of a new study by an international team of researchers that looked at the peculiar effect climate change has on Africa's largest coffee-producing nation, found that Ethiopia will be producing less speciality coffee and more rather bland tasting varieties in the future.

Their results published in the journal Scientific Reports are relevant both for the country's millions of smallholder farmers, who earn more on speciality coffee than on ordinary coffee, as well as for baristas and coffee aficionados around the world.

"Climate change has conflicting impacts on coffee production in Ethiopia. The area that is suitable for average quality coffee might actually increase gradually until the 2090s, according to our computer simulations," said lead author Abel Chemura from the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK). "Yet more is not necessarily better. Because on the flip side, the suitable area for high-quality speciality coffee types which are valued for their floral, fruity and spicy notes, will likely shrink if climate change continues unchecked. This is an issue not just for coffee lovers, but for local agricultural value creation."

The suitable areas for speciality coffee are shrinking

Under various scenarios, the researchers looked at how a total of 19 climatic factors will affect the cultivation of five distinct speciality coffee types in the future, including mean temperature, annual rainfall levels, and seasonality. For example, if it gets warmer, the coffee cherry matures faster than the development of the bean, which in turn leads to coffee that is lower in quality. Increased rainfall, on the other hand, favours coffee production in general but maybe not necessarily beneficial for individual speciality coffee types.


A blow to Ethiopia's economy




