In Coorg’s Mooleh Manay estate there’s a tree species that has been around for as long as anyone can remember. They call it Excelsa. For decades, it served as a boundary tree, shielding coffee plants from fertiliser drift from neighbouring estates. It produced a small volume of beans, which the family processed for their own use. It remained a border plant, and not much else. The same was true of several estates across the region.
Coffee, for the most part, has meant just two species: Arabica and Robusta. And yet, there are over 133 species in the world. Coffea arabica accounts for about 55-60% of global production, followed by Coffea canephora (Robusta) at roughly 40-45%. Less than 1% comes from Liberica, Excelsa and other minor species combined.
As weather patterns grow increasingly unpredictable, coffee cultivation has become more uncertain. A February report by Climate Central states that temperatures beyond 30 degrees Celsius are harmful for growing Arabica and suboptimal for Robusta, while annual rainfall of 59-79 inches is optimal. The report focused on the top 5 coffee producers—Brazil, Vietnam, Colombia, Ethiopia and Indonesia—that experienced on average 57 extra days of coffee-harming heat while the 25 coffee-producing countries together showed an annual average of 47 extra hot days.
Arabica requires cooler climates and Robusta depends on reliable rainfall. With both under stress, the question now is what happens if these plants are pushed beyond their limits. “We always look at climate from a negative perspective,” says Marc Tormo, co-founder, Coffee Ideas, promoting Indian speciality coffee. “But there are plants that actually do better in hotter conditions.”
It is against this backdrop that Excelsa and Liberica are drawing attention. Until recently, Excelsa was grouped with Coffea liberica. In 2025, it was reclassified as a separate species and the former Coffea liberica var. dewevre is now Coffea dewevrei. The Coorg-Sakleshpur belt in Karnataka has long been home to these species. “Excelsa was never traded like Arabica or Robusta because there was no exchange to price it,” says Komal Sable, who manages Mooleh Manay and runs the South India Coffee Company (SICC) with her husband, Akshay Dashrath.
“Many Indian farms had Excelsa at the borders. While Excelsa has been harvested on our estate since the 1940s, it remained largely overlooked for decades.”
In 2017, Sable and Dashrath began taking a closer interest in the species. “No matter what the weather was like, these trees were doing okay,” she recalls. “No one paid much attention to them, they weren’t pruned and no fertiliser was applied. Despite this neglect, they continued to grow and produce a consistent, medium yield.”
They began studying the coffee more closely and experimenting with different processing methods to better understand and showcase its unique qualities.
Around the same time, Akshay Vaidyanathan started the Chennai-based roastery Kāpikottai. He arrived at Mooleh Manay to understand the coffee landscape. The Excelsa stood out. “This was the coffee no one had heard of,” he says. “I saw the trees. The climate story resonated. And the cup was compelling—fruity, punchy, with lower perceived bitterness.”
In 2020, he began selling speciality grade Excelsa, a first in India. From the start, it found takers. Partly, he says, because the quantities were small; partly because some consumers were actively looking for something new. “Time has done its thing,” he adds. Demand now outpaces supply.
At Salawara estate in Chikkamagaluru, third-generation planter Sharan Gowda began working with Liberica and Excelsa five-six years ago. “No one really knew the difference between them,” he says. Like Excelsa, Liberica grew as a tree, often on lower slopes, and was either consumed at home or blended into commercial Robusta lots. Harvesting, however, was a deterrent. “The trees are tall, often covered with red ants. No one wants to deal with that,” he says. On many estates, they were cut down during fencing or electrification. There simply wasn’t enough volume to make them viable.
Prices, he adds, could improve if the two were harvested and sold separately, pointing to Liberica-focused estates in countries like Vietnam. Both Mooleh Manay and Salawara are now distributing these plants to other estates, encouraging wider adoption.
Another early responder to these coffees was Mumbai-based speciality coffee brand, Subko, offering it both as a brewed beverage in their cafe and as beans. Says founder Rahul Reddy, “The initial response was confusion—in the best way—from staff and customers. Folks at the time were barely understanding the difference between Arabica and Robusta and to introduce this third species, with many sub-species, it highlighted the complexity of the genetics of coffee.”
That’s just the sort of thing India’s speciality coffee consumers love. With the market for fine coffee maturing, both Excelsa and Liberica are emerging not as alternatives to Arabica or Robusta but as newer coffees to try. Their appeal lies not just in flavour—fruity and sweet—but also in the benefits to the farmer. Where Arabica and Robusta are harvested at approximately six and nine months, respectively, these species take 11-13 months to mature. This staggered cycle is a huge benefit for farmers offering an extended harvest calendar.
Tormo is experimenting with Canephora, Liberica and Excelsa in hot, humid conditions. Alongside these are lesser-known species like Wightiana, which grows well in the Coromandel coast and Stenophylla, a species originally from Sierra Leone that grows at low altitudes and higher temperatures. “It is a delicious coffee that lost out to Arabica and Canephora. They are growing so well in the south. It could be a game changer,” he says. “Climate change is shifting attention toward underutilised Coffea species, not as replacements for Arabica but as complementary genetic resources that may help build a more resilient future for coffee.”
Reddy echoes the thought when he says, “Excelsa and Liberica are typically described as somewhere in between funky Arabica and a Robusta in terms of flavour profile but honestly it doesn’t fit into either category—it’s entirely its own profile.”
At the annual India International Coffee Festival earlier this year, a species-focused cupping featuring these coffees drew a favourable response. Awards have started to trickle in; a Mooleh Manay Excelsa recently placed third at the National Barista Championship.
India is also home to several other heirloom species—Bengalensis, Travancorensis and Malabarensis. Excelsa and Liberica’s early success have encouraged attention toward these. “For a species to survive, it has to be viable for the planters; it can’t be a commodity,” says Gowda. It needs good prices.
Climate change has not been easy for Indian coffee, but it has pushed planters toward experimentation. A growing consumer base, asking for traceability and variety, is certainly helping that shift. For now, these coffees remain limited in quantity, often naturally processed and positioned as speciality offerings. They are unlikely to replace or supplant Arabica or Robusta. But as conditions continue to change, the future of coffee may well include what once stood at the margins.
Aravinda Anantharaman (@AravindaAnanth1) is a Lounge columnist.