Why is the Philippines the largest producer of Liberica coffee?

Today's commercial coffee market is dominated by the well-known Arabica and Robusta varieties. They are the small-seeded and medium-seeded varieties among the three major coffee species, respectively. However, in this vast market, there is notably no place for the large-seeded variety "Liberica," one of the three major coffee species.

Liberica grows in low-altitude forests, and its name originates from its discovery place, a small country in West Africa - Liberia. Since Liberica trees can grow to heights of 6-20 meters and produce fruits that are larger than Arabica and Robusta, people have given it the name "large-seeded variety"!

Caffeine Content Contrary to Expectations

Although it has large beans, it does not contain as much caffeine as Robusta does, contrary to what one might expect. We often hear comparisons between Robusta and Arabica, where Robusta's advantages are always described as: large beans and high caffeine content, which can help people feel more energized. This naturally leads people to associate bean size with caffeine content! However, this is not the case - Liberica has large beans, but its caffeine content is even lower than Arabica's!

Scientific Analysis and Flavor Profile

Scientific research shows that Robusta contains about 2-4% caffeine of its bean weight; Arabica contains about 1.2% caffeine of its bean weight, while Liberica surprisingly only reaches about 1%! Although Liberica's caffeine content is far lower than the other two varieties, its flavor performance is not particularly outstanding. Instead, it's characterized by a heavy smoky aroma! It even has "wild" earthy and woody negative flavors, completely inferior to the other two coffee varieties. Some have even described its taste as liquid tobacco, with a dull, melancholy flavor similar to the aroma emitted when burning hay. Therefore, in the most extensive growing region for Liberica - the Philippines - coffee made from Liberica beans is called "Tough Guy Coffee."

Cultivation Challenges

Due to the tall stature of Liberica trees, harvesting is relatively difficult, so even though it was discovered as early as the nineteenth century, not many people widely cultivate it, except for the Philippines mentioned above.

The Philippines' Coffee Industry History

We rarely see beans from the Philippine market on store shelves, mainly because the Philippines' current coffee production can barely meet the strong local demand. Surprisingly, their cultivation time and production are extremely mismatched, considering they actually started Arabica cultivation as early as 1740. In the 1880s, the Philippines even rose to become the world's fourth-largest coffee-producing country, a completely different existence from today. However, early coffee-growing regions inevitably faced the nightmare of leaf rust disease, including the Philippines. In 1889, the leaf rust epidemic that had swept through multiple countries finally reached the Philippines. The combination of leaf rust and severe pest infestations caused the Philippines' coffee production to decrease by 80% within two years. Many coffee farmers switched to planting other cash crops, and the Philippine coffee industry stagnated for 50 years! It wasn't until the 1950s that the Philippine government, to revive the glory of the coffee industry, introduced disease-resistant varieties Robusta and Liberica from abroad and planned a five-year program to revitalize the Philippine coffee industry. In fact, this program "sort of" succeeded!

Modern Philippines Coffee Production

In 1962, the Philippines finally no longer needed to rely on coffee imports, as domestic coffee production recovered to self-sufficiency. Among this, much of the demand came from instant coffee factories throughout the Philippines. Liberica beans with their "tough guy flavor" were part of their demand, although they needed more Robusta. This has been enough to make the current Philippines the largest cultivator of Liberica, after all, besides them, few other countries cultivate it on a large scale!

Future Possibilities

As mentioned at the beginning, there is currently no place for Liberica in the commercial coffee market. If it were cultivated using Arabica growing methods like Robusta, could it also produce "specialty grade" Liberica like Robusta?

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