Coffea allagiensis (Pacifica)

Coffea allagiensis
Conservation status
Near Threatened (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Species:	[[Template:Taxonomy/Template:Speciesbox/getGenus]]Template:Speciesbox/trim Template:Speciesbox/getSpecies
Binomial name
[[Template:Taxonomy/Template:Speciesbox/getGenus]]Template:Speciesbox/trim Template:Speciesbox/getSpecies S.

Coffea allagiensis (/əlləʒɪˈensis/), also known as the Allo-Rhaynan coffee, is a species of flowering plant in the coffee and madder family Rubiaceae. It is believed to be the first species of coffee to have been cultivated in Moellia, and is currently the dominant cultivar in Rhayna and Alla-gy, representing about 68% of the national production of United Provinces of Rhayna. The natural population of Coffea allagiensis are restricted to the high altitudes of the Defteros and Prostasia ranges. Coffea allagiensis is called ‏Κρυζίκη‎ (Kryziki) in Aegean.

Taxonomy

Coffea allagiensis was first described scientifically by Emmanouil Sotiriades. Later on, an anonymous author placed it in the genus Coffea in 1743. The arrival of Coffea allagiensis to Alla-gy is estimated between 1.03 million and 786,000 years ago, but it is not known if the specie appeared in the region, or if it arrived from somewhere else.

Description

Wild plants grow between 2–3 metres (6 ft 7 in–9 ft 10 in) tall, and have an open branching system; the leaves are opposite, simple elliptic-ovate to oblong, 10–15 centimetres (3.9–5.9 in) long and 4–8 cm (1.5–3 in) broad, glossy dark green. The flowers go from white to light pink, 10–15 mm in diameter, and grow in axillary clusters. The seeds are contained in a drupe (commonly called a "cherry") 10–15 mm in diameter, maturing bright red to purple and typically containing two seeds, often called coffee beans.

Distribution and habitat

Endemic to the northern highlands of Alla-gy, Coffea allagiensis is today grown in the majority of territory of the UPRAN. It is commonly used as an understory shrub.

The coffee tree was first brought from Alla-gy to the Rhayna in 780 BCE through military campaigns and philosophers expeditions, and it began to be extensively grown in the shores of the Rhaynan rivers due to its great success. In the eastern part of Nea-gy, it is a highly invasive weed.

History

The first written record of coffee made from roasted coffee beans in Moellia comes from Alla-gyan philosophers, who wrote that it was a useful stimulant and a beverage that "revitalized the soul, body, and mind". The Alla-gyan innovation of making a brew from roasted beans, spread first among the Rhaynans, and later on found its way into Nea-gy. Even though Coffea allagiensis was brought to the Nea-gyan savannah, it never reached popularity, as the locals preferred the use of Coffea neagiensis over the western specie.

Cultivation and use

Coffea allagiensis accounts for around a 68% of the national coffee production of the UPRAN.

C. allagiensis takes approximately ten years to mature fully, and it does best with 0.5–1 metre (1 ft 8 in–3 ft 3 in) of rain, distributed throughout the year, although it is a plant highly resistant to long periods of droughts. It is usually cultivated at an altitude between 1,200 and 1,400 metres (3,900 and 4,600 ft), but there are plantations that grow it as low as sea level and as high as 2,400 metres (7,900 ft).

The plant can tolerate low temperatures, but not frost, and it does best with an average temperature between 18 and 30 °C (64 and 86 °F). Commercial cultivars mostly only grow to about 2 m, so trimming isn't required. Added to this, C. allagiensis can be grown in sunlight, but for better yield and growing rate, the light shade is preferable.

Two to four years after planting, C. allagiensis produces small, white or light pink, highly fragrant flowers. The sweet fragrance resembles the sweet smell of jasmine flowers. Flowers opening on sunny days result in the greatest number of berries. This can be problematic and deleterious, however, as coffee plants tend to produce too many berries; this can lead to an inferior harvest and even damage yield in the following years, as the plant will favour the ripening of berries to the detriment of its own health.

On well-kept plantations, over flowering is prevented by pruning the tree. The flowers only last a few days, leaving behind only the thick, dark-green leaves. The berries then begin to appear. These are as dark green as the foliage until they begin to ripen, at first to yellow and then light red and finally darkening to a glossy, deep red. At this point, they are called "cherries", which fruit they then resemble, and are ready for picking.

The berries are oblong and about 1 cm long. Inferior coffee results from picking them too early or too late, so many are picked by hand to be able to better select them, as they do not all ripen at the same time. They are sometimes shaken off the tree onto mats, which means ripe and unripe berries are collected together.

The trees are difficult to cultivate, and each tree can produce from 1 to 7 kilograms (2.2 to 15.4 lb) of dried beans, depending on the tree's individual character and the climate that season. The most valuable part of this cash crop is the beans inside. Each berry holds two locules containing the beans. The coffee beans are actually two seeds within the fruit; sometimes, a third seed or one seed, a peaberry, grows in the fruit at the tips of the branches. These seeds are covered in two membranes; the outer one is called the "parchment coat" and the inner one is called the "silver skin".

When fresh, dried or roasted, the beans of Coffea allagiensis have a characteristic mahogany red shade, which then presents itself in the final brew. The shade of the beans is recognized as a signal of both the health of the coffee plant from which it was taken, and the quality of the bean.

For this reason, some sellers might add spices like paprika to their low grade coffee to give it the characteristic red tinge of the Coffea allagiensis beans. This was specially done during the Rhaynan Civil War, where the shortage of various products pushed for this practice. This was so common, that nowadays paprika is sometimes added to certain coffee brands in Rhayna without a true necessity except maintaining the flavour of mid and post Rhaynan Civil War coffee.

In general, the coffee made from Coffea allagiensis is characterized by being high bodied, chocolatey, with fruity or earthy notes, depending on the region and soil it was cultivated in. Still, these properties are subject to variation depending on region, handling, roasting, brewing method, preparation, and overall quality of the crop.

Some methods also involve the addition of sugar mixed with different spices like cinnamon or paprika during the roasting process to achieve a caramelization of the bean while incorporating the spice into the coffee and later into the brew. It also helps to conserve the coffee, and provides it of an even higher body.

However, this practice has been critiqued for being used to try to hide the bad quality of some beans, being highly unhealthy, and being "unnecessary" by both health organization, coffee enthusiasts and quality-control advocates. Even after these accusations, this roasting process is recognized like a Rhaynan cultural heritage and an official product designation, marketed under the name of Εμπλουτισμένη Κριζίκη (Emploutismeni Kriziki).