Coffee Flowers are Lovely!

Taking time to stop and smell the coffee (blossoms)

I was thinking about my departure later this week for KenyaKenya is the East African powerhouse of the coffee world. Both in the cup, and the way they run their trade, everything is topnotch.: Kenya is the East... ...more, then on to EthiopiaEthiopia, formerly known as Abyssinia, or a coffee cultivar: Ethiopia, or more specifically the Empire under Haile Selassie,  was known as Abyssinia. The name is Latin, derived from... ...more. I was making my to-do lists, emailing our contacts so the samples and coffee cuppings are coordinated, getting my Visas set up, looking at hotels, and thinking about the open-ended projects I need to wrap up before departure. Honestly, after all these years, trips still make me incredibly nervous, I am embarrassed to say. It’s just me: I’m a homebody at heart.

When I feel this way, I try to recall the simple pleasure of traveling, of seeing new things, and the old things I see that bring enjoyment. Coffee flowers come to mind.

CoffeaThe botanical genus colloquially referred to as the “coffea genus,” which is comprised of over 120 individual species. These are generally opposite-leaved, evergreen shrubs or small understory trees... ...more arabicaArabica refers to Coffea Arabica, the taxonomic species name of the genus responsible for around 75% of the worlds commercial coffee crop.: Arabica refers to Coffea Arabica, the... ...more blooms for a very short period. A flower might be fresh and fully open for just a few days. They wither quickly. So the timing to see coffee in bloom is tricky.

And interestingly, coffea arabica is self pollinating, so flowering is not the same as other fruiting trees that need to attract pollinator insects to assist in creating fruit. Apparently, coffea arabica blooms for other reasons. I like to think it’s just to be beautiful … a nice little thought, but untrue of course.

The intensityWe have a simple scale to rate intensity in our coffee reviews, from Mild to Bold. Low intensity does not mean low quality!: We have a simple scale... ...more of floralFloral notes in coffee exemplify the connection between taste and smell. Describing the taste of a specific flower is near impossible...we always default to “it tastes like it... ...more smells from arabica ranges greatly, but some are mild like honeysuckle, or more potent like jasmineA very positive and intensely floral quality in coffee, usually with a strong aromatic component, reminiscent of jasmine flower or tea. There are many forms of jasmine; the... ...more. A few varieties have the scent of tropical blossoms. The big secret is that coffea canephora, robustaAteng is a common name for Catimor coffees widely planted in Sumatra and other Indonesia isles.: Ateng, with several subtypes, is a common name for Catimor coffees widely... ...more coffee, has amazing blooms to match the huge clusters of coffee fruit it produces. RobustaRobusta usually refers to Coffea Robusta, responsible for roughly 25% of the world's commercial coffee. Taxonomy of Robusta is debated: some sources use “Robusta” to refer to any... ...more in bloom is stunning!

So for easing nerves and sharing some coffee beauty, here is as collection of coffee flower photos I have taken over the years…. not wanting to do things halfway, I chose a mere 101 photos to share! ha…-Tom

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