Can Colombia afford to stay Arabica-only?

For more than a century, Colombia has built one of the most successful agricultural identities in the world on a single biological fact: it grows only Coffea arabica.

This decision shaped everything: from the steep Andean landscapes associated with Colombian coffee, to the washed profiles with bright acidity and clean cups, to the legal framework that protects the name “Café de Colombia” as a Denomination of Origin. If it says Colombian coffee, it must be arabica. No exceptions.

And yet, quietly and methodically, Colombian scientists have been asking an uncomfortable question:

What if Colombia also grows canephora?

Not as a replacement, not as a betrayal, but as an adaptation.

A few years ago, AGROSAVIA (Corporación Colombiana de Investigación Agropecuaria)  launched a research program to evaluate whether Coffea canephora, commonly misnamed as Robusta, could be viably grown in Colombia’s lowland regions. The project did not aim to rewrite Colombia’s coffee identity overnight. Instead, it asked something more fundamental and more scientific:

Is Colombia, from a biological, climatic, and economic perspective, capable of producing canephora competitively—without compromising its arabica legacy?

The answer, as with most things in science, is neither a clean yes nor a firm no.

Two Species, two strategies

Coffea arabica is genetically unusual. It is the only tetraploid species in the Coffea genus, carrying four sets of chromosomes (2n = 44). This genetic structure emerged from a natural hybridization event thousands of years ago and is closely tied to Arabica’s defining traits: refined flavors, aromatic complexity, and self-pollination.

More than 90% of arabica flowers self-fertilize, which makes seed propagation easy and predictable, but it also means very low genetic diversity. From a farming perspective, this genetic uniformity is a double-edged sword: it delivers consistency, but it also makes arabica acutely vulnerable to climate stress and disease.

Arabica thrives in a narrow ecological window:

• 18–24 °C

• Moderate humidity

• High elevations (1,300–2,000 masl)

Step outside that window, and yields drop fast.

Coffea canephora evolved in an entirely different context: the hot, humid lowland forests of Central and West Africa. Genetically, it is diploid (2n = 22) and obligatorily cross-pollinating. Self-fertilization is biologically blocked. This means every canephora plant is genetically unique.

From a management standpoint, that’s inconvenient. Plantations must be established using multiple compatible clones to ensure pollination. Uniform varieties are harder to fix. From a resilience standpoint, it’s a superpower.

High genetic recombination gives canephora:

• Greater adaptability to heat and humidity

• Stronger resistance to pests and diseases

• A much wider physiological comfort zone

In short, arabica is refined but fragile; canephora is robust by design.

Why Colombia, and why now?

Climate change is slowly but relentlessly reshaping coffee geography. As average temperatures rise, the suitable zone for arabica moves uphill. Areas that once produced reliable yields now experience heat stress, flowering disruption, and higher disease pressure. For many producers in lower elevations, arabica is becoming an increasingly risky crop. At the same time, Colombia possesses vast lowland territories: The altillanura, the Pacific coast, and parts of the Caribbean, where arabica has never made agronomic sense.

These regions are:

• Hotter

• More humid

• Flatter

• Better suited to mechanization

In other words, they look a lot like the environments where canephora already thrives globally.

AGROSAVIA’s project wasn’t speculative. It was a direct response to a structural problem: Colombia imports large volumes of low-grade canephora every year for its soluble coffee and industry, while simultaneously struggling to maintain arabica productivity under climate pressure. Scientifically, that contradiction is hard to ignore.

While arabica begins to suffer above ~24 °C, canephora’s optimal range sits between 24 and 30 °C, with relative humidity levels above 85%. In Colombian lowlands, these conditions are the norm.

One of AGROSAVIA’s most interesting findings comes from drought-tolerance trials. Certain canephora genotypes respond to water deficit by accumulating proline, an amino acid that protects cellular structures during stress.

Some elite genotypes maintained:

• Leaf retention

• Growth rate

• Node formation

even under conditions approaching permanent wilting point. This matters enormously for regions like the Altillanura, where rainfall is abundant but seasonally uneven.

Canephora also shows remarkable root system plasticity. Some genotypes push roots deeper to access stable moisture, while others build dense lateral networks to exploit surface water. For Colombia’s acidic, aluminum-rich soils (Oxisols and Ultisols), this adaptability is essential.

Let’s address the issue head-on. Canephora has a reputation problem, and it’s not entirely undeserved.

Chemically, canephora contains:

• 2–3× more caffeine

• Higher levels of chlorogenic acids (CGAs)

• Less sucrose

• Less trigonelline

From a sensory perspective, this translates into:

• More bitterness

• Less acidity

• Lower aromatic complexity

These traits are not flaws; they are biological defenses. Caffeine and CGAs deter insects. Sugar and aroma were never Canephora’s evolutionary priority. But quality is not binary.

Recent advances in:

• Controlled fermentation

• Selective harvesting

• Post-harvest processing

have demonstrated that “Fine Robusta” is chemically and sensorially possible. The result isn’t a delicate washed Colombian arabica, but it can be clean, structured, chocolate-forward, and extremely effective in espresso and ready-to-drink formats.

And from an industrial standpoint, canephora is unmatched:

•  ~30% higher conversion from cherry to green coffee

• Higher soluble solid content

• Ideal for instant coffee and extracts

The AGROSAVIA Trials

AGROSAVIA’s multilocational trials focused on three key regions:

• Altillanura (Meta) – mechanization potential, acidic soils

• Pacific Coast (Nariño) – extreme humidity, high rainfall

• Caribbean (Córdoba) – fertile soils, stable climate

Crucially, Colombia’s bimodal rainfall pattern gives it a rare advantage, rain-fed Canephora production, unlike Brazil or Vietnam, which rely heavily on irrigation. Projected yields of 2.6–3.5 t/ha place Colombia squarely in competitive territory, without abandoning its arabica strongholds.

The Legal and cultural paradox

By law, “Café de Colombia” must be 100% arabica. That definition is not negotiable, and it shouldn’t be. The denomination protects decades of quality positioning. The solution proposed by researchers is not blending, but segmentation:

• Arabica remains the flagship export and DO product

• Canephora becomes a clearly differentiated lowland, industrial, and domestic product

Still, fears of brand dilution and illegal blending are legitimate. Any integration would require strict traceability, certification, and enforcement. So, should Colombia grow robusta? The data suggests something uncomfortable but clear: Coffea canephora is not a threat to Colombian coffee. Climate rigidity is.

Canephora will not replace arabica in Colombia, but it may protect the country’s coffee economy as environmental conditions shift and global markets evolve toward a 60/40 Robusta–Arabica balance.

The real question is no longer if Colombia can grow canephora.

It’s whether Colombia can afford not to explore it, scientifically, cautiously, and on its own terms.

Tradition built Colombian coffee and science may be what allows it to endure.

Sources

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• Campuzano-Duque, L. F., & Blair, M. W. (2022). Strategies for Robusta Coffee (Coffea canephora) Improvement as a New Crop in Colombia. Agriculture, 12(10), 1576. https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture12101576

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