The revitalization of stenophylla coffee (Coffea stenophylla) in Sierra Leone

The rediscovery of stenophylla (Coffea stenophylla) coffee in Sierra Leone, in combination with research that shows that this species offers heat tolerance and a superior Arabica-like taste, has generated substantial interest. There is now an ambition to reinstate production of this coffee in Sierra Leone, on a scale comparable to that at the end of the nineteenth century, as a means of improving income and profitability for Sierra Leonean coffee farming communities.

To achieve this objective, essential pre-farm research is required to ensure scalability and longer-term sustainability. In particular, we need to find and evaluate the existing diversity of the species in Sierra Leone, and then propagate plants at sufficient scale to distribute to suitable farming communities to start the re-domestication process.

• Construction and management of a stenophylla seedling nursery
• Establishment of eight stenophylla coffee trial plots across Sierra Leone.
• Support for communities conducting stenophylla trial plots, including the provision of physical amenities and training
• Production of new, vital research on stenophylla coffee, including identification of best-performing variants of the species
• Provide proof-of-concept for stenophylla production in Sierra Leone.

Project Lead

Prof. Jeremy Haggar
Dr Aaron Davis [Co-lead]
 

Team

Dr Eliot Jan-Smith
Dr Melanie-Jane Howes
Dr Juan Viruel
Amelia Shepherd-Clowes

National Resources Institute (NRI) University of Greenwich 
Prof. Jeremy Haggar

Coffee Culture, Sierra Leone
Daniel Sarmu

Welthungerhilfe (WHH) ─ Sierra Leone

Jan-Smith, E., Downes, H., Davis, A.P., et al. (2025)

Metabolomic insights into the Arabica-like flavour of stenophylla coffee and the chemistry of quality coffee

npj Sci Food 9: 33

Davis, A. P., Mieulet, D., Moat, J., Sarmu, D., Haggar, J. (2021)

Arabica-like flavour in a heat-tolerant wild coffee species.

Nature Plants 7: 413–418. doi: 10.1038/s41477-021-00891-4

Davis, A. P., Gargiulo, R., Fay, M. F., Sarmu, D., Haggar, J. (2020)

Lost and Found: Coffea stenophylla and C. affinis, the Forgotten Coffee Crop Species of West Africa

Frontiers in Plant Science 11: 616

Bertrand, B., Davis, A. P., Maraval, I., Forestier, N., Mieulet D.

Potential beverage quality of three wild coffee species (Coffea brevipes, C. congensis and C. stenophylla) and consideration of their agronomic use

Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture 103: 3602–3612

Sucafina