World Coffee Research CEO Jennifer "Vern" Long / Courtesy of WCR

The world needs more new varieties of coffee beans so that bean farmers and producers concentrated in developing countries can make more profits and the global coffee market doesn't get monopolized by a few coffee-producing countries or roasters that offer limited choices, according to the head of World Coffee Research (WCR), a U.S.-based global organization dedicated to agricultural innovation for coffee supply.

WCR CEO Jennifer "Vern" Long sees this calling as a worldwide campaign concerning national governments, coffee companies and consumers, stressing the mission needs all their efforts to raise awareness and execute the goal that entails scientific research for new coffee varieties. At this year's Seoul Cafe Show at COEX on Wednesday, Long said the G7 nations had reached an agreement to provide financial support to coffee bean-exporting countries. This funding will help these nations conduct research on new coffee varieties, with the goal of introducing them by 2030.

Long believes that coffee bean farmers in countries in Central and South America, Africa and Southeast Asia are not benefiting enough from the global coffee retail market. With the current coffee bean varieties numbering less than 120 (over 90 Arabica varieties and the others Robusta varieties) — significantly lower than apple varieties which number over 5,000, according to Long — introducing more coffee varieties will bolster more coffee farmers around the world and allow retailers to more differentiate their products, she said.

"If you compare the varieties of apple to those of coffee bean, you can see how little we've invested in diversifying coffee beans," Long said in an interview with The Korea Times.

She said that next-generation coffee varieties with improved resilience against climate change are important for ensuring profitability and productivity of farmers in top exporting countries such as Brazil, Honduras, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Uganda and Vietnam and stabilizing their global supply.

"Diversity of coffee origins brings unique flavors, sensory experiences and compelling narratives about the communities that produce coffee products. It also allows a wider array of coffee products in varying formats including ready-to-drink, hot or iced, espresso or pour-over, instant or brewed," she said.

People enter a Starbucks in Seoul, Nov. 1. Coffee consumers will have more choices if more coffee bean varieties are researched and delivered to coffee retailers worldwide, according to the CEO of WCR. Yonnhap

While most coffee consumers rarely imagine what new varieties of coffee there might be and instead keep purchasing their familiar choices, Long views it as a sign of a reduced, restricted market that deprives consumers of more choices for coffee and prevents coffee bean farmers from making more sales. She wishes to see new varieties of coffee beans harvested from a broader region of the world so that the global coffee market's supply chain doesn't revolve around only a few top exporting countries.

"If coffee production consolidates to a few countries, it'll reduce coffee retailers' abilities to differentiate their products using diverse coffees," Long said.

Global efforts

Earlier this month, Long received a communique from G7 countries which contained the group's intent to financially support the global coffee industry, including financing exporting countries' further research into new coffee varieties. She said the "high-level commitment will bring a dramatic change in the next 18 months."

The G7's latest commitment is only the latest of WCR's global initiatives pooling support and funds from national governments and private coffee companies to increase coffee varieties. The organization's 190 medium-sized and large company members in 30 countries have contributed to the collaborative goal, with Folgers, JDE Peet's, Keurig Dr Pepper and Starbucks among the top seven donors. Coffee Libre and Terarosa are Korean firms in the global donor list.

Coffee roasters and other companies in the global coffee industry since 2012 have contributed more than $30 million to WCR for the project. In 2022, the organization started accepting fees from member companies based on their size instead of voluntary amounts to ensure equity in all contributions. The Inter-American Development Bank, the U.S. Agency for International Development and the Korea International Cooperation Agency have also invested in WCR to expand breeding tools and other research processes.

This H1 hybrid plant at Flor Amarilla Research farm in El Salvador is one of four new first-generation Arabica coffee bean varieties developed by WCR. Screenshot from WCR's website

"Our industry in 2022 launched a global Arabica breeding program with nine coffee-producing governments. We're also launching a global Robusta breeding network with national governments in 2025. These are global collaborative scientific efforts to develop coffee varieties with unprecedented speed, with varieties planned for delivery by 2030," Long said.

"These companies recognize that many low-income coffee-producing countries cannot sufficiently invest in research and development for coffee. This is an incredibly positive opportunity for industry to take concrete action to support long-term supply of Arabica and Robusta coffee."

New coffee varieties have already begun to blossom. They are WCR's first generation of four Arabica varieties. The Final Four have not been named yet but released for pre-commercial trials. Starbucks and Blue Bottle Coffee, both WCR member companies, have implemented these new varieties in their operations to test their performance.

WCR will release the second generation of Arabica varieties in 2030 and first generation of Robusta varieties in 2033.

"We're all in this together," Long said, referring to global coffee consumers including those in the U.S. who account for 16 percent of the world's coffee per capita, those in Germany and Japan who account for 5 percent and 4 percent, respectively, and Europeans who drink about a third of the world's coffee.

"As climate change creates more challenges for tropical agriculture, it's coffee drinkers who find themselves connected to these growing challenges. They should help raise awareness about the needs to support lower-income countries as they strive to adapt to the changing climate."