Inside a new experiment to find the climate-proof coffee of the future

As coffee’s precarity is rising, so is demand: According to some estimates, global consumption, currently 2.3 billion cups per day, could double by mid-century. The projected supply gap has left the industry scrambling for possible fixes, including non-arabica coffee species and caffeine-infused alternatives made from substances like chickpeas and date seeds.

According to Vern Long, CEO of World Coffee Research, or WCR, which is based in the United States and funded by the coffee industry, new varieties are one of the best ways to “improve a crop’s productivity and reduce risk.” Innovea’s goal, she said, is to develop trees that are optimized for a range of production environments — and ultimately give farmers more climate-resilient options.

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