A diploid, self-incompatible tree of lowland tropical Africa, grown worldwide as robusta and known as conilon in Brazil.
*Coffea canephora* is a diploid (2n=2x=22), self-incompatible species native to a belt of tropical Africa from Guinea and Liberia east to Uganda and Tanzania and south to Angola. Population genetics identifies a Guinean group in the Upper Guinea forests of West Africa and several Congolese groups in Central Africa. The groups remain fully interfertile. Robusta and Conilon are commercial names for cultivated material of this one species: Conilon in Brazil, robusta elsewhere, and the two are treated as different genetic groups within the species.
Canephora is one of the two parent species of *Coffea arabica* (with *C. eugenioides*) and contributes arabica's CC subgenome. Robusta is reported to need fewer pesticides and herbicides than arabica because of greater disease resistance and higher yield. Its beans contain more caffeine (about 2.7 percent versus about 1.5 percent for arabica) and less sugar, and the cup is described as lower in acidity, more bitter and more woody. Estimates put robusta at roughly 45 percent of world coffee production, with Vietnam the largest producer.
History
Recognised as a distinct Coffea species in 1897. Robusta is now grown widely outside Africa, with Vietnam the largest producer followed by Brazil, Indonesia, India and Uganda, and Brazilian material is marketed as Conilon.
Field notes
- i
Canephora is one of the two diploid parent species of allotetraploid Coffea arabica, alongside C. eugenioides.
- ii
'Robusta' and 'Conilon' are trade names for Coffea canephora, not separate species.
- iii
Canephora is self-incompatible, unlike arabica's largely self-pollinating breeding system, which favors outcrossing and contributes to its higher genetic diversity.
In the cup, according to guides
- BitternessMoretends to taste more bitter than arabica
- EarthyOften notedoften described as more woody and less fruity than arabica
Related species
- Coffea arabicaparent-of
- Coffea congensisClose relative
Sources · 4 Every sentence here was checked against a source we read. Taste notes are what guides describe, not promises about your bag. Last revised 2026-11-10.
- GBIF species distributions from the World Checklist of Vascular Plants (Coffea arabica, canephora, liberica, eugenioides, stenophylla, racemosa, congensis, charrieriana) · GBIF / Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (WCVP)
- Coffea canephora · Wikipedia
- Current genetic differentiation of Coffea canephora Pierre ex A. Froehn in the Guineo-Congolian African zone · PLoS ONE / PubMed Central
- The genome and population genomics of allopolyploid Coffea arabica reveal the diversification history of modern coffee cultivars · Nature Genetics / PubMed Central