As climate change disrupts global coffee production, Equatoria Teak Company (ETC) is at the forefront of an emerging solution: excelsa, a climate-resilient coffee species native to several countries in Africa including South Sudan.
Through our ‘Excelling in Excelsa’ project, supported by Netherlands Enterprise Agency erprise Agency – Rijksdienst Voor Ondernemend Nederland (RVO), ETC has been conducting extensive trials in South Sudan, to demonstrate the ability of excelsa to thrive where traditional coffee species struggle. By training farmers, investing in local production, and scaling up sustainable agroforestry, we are now seeing tangible progress, with the first commercial exports expected this year.
“There’s so little known about farming this coffee that we feel that we are at the forefront of trying to unravel its potential. And we’re learning every day,” says Ian Paterson, Managing Director of ETC. Our work has been strengthened by the expertise of Dr. Aaron Davis from the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew whose research on excelsa has provided invaluable insights into this crop species, and John Thompson of Coffee Nexus Ltd, whose sensory expertise (assessing the flavour of coffee) and guidance have been instrumental in refining our approach to producing high quality coffee.
With global coffee producers facing increasing climate challenges, excelsa is now being increasingly recognised as an alternative to Arabica and robusta. With the right investment and infrastructure, South Sudan has the potential to become a player in the specialty coffee market, driving economic resilience, job creation, ecosystem benefits, and long-term sustainability for local communities.
Watch Sam Mednick’s video for the Associated Press or read the article in The Independent.