S288 is one of India's first improved Arabica selections, a pure-line pick from a probable Arabica x Liberica mother plant and a parent of S795.
S288 (Selection 288) and S333 were the first improved Arabica selections released for planting in India, by 1940 according to the Coffee Board, from the Mysore Coffee Experimental Station. A summary of CCRI's selections gives the release as 1936-37 and says S288 is a pure-line selection from the S.26 mother plant, a putative natural hybrid of Arabica and Liberica. It resists rust races I and II but gives 20-30 percent defective beans, and S795 was bred from S288 and Kent mainly to reduce those bean abnormalities.
History
Selected by pure-line selection from the S.26 mother plant. The Coffee Board dates the first improved Arabica selections S.288 and S.333 to planting by 1940, while a CCRI summary gives 1936-37. The Board took over the Mysore station in 1946 and renamed it the Central Coffee Research Institute.
Field notes
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S288 is popularly known as 'golden drops' for its round, orange-yellow to red fruits.
Family tree
Grown in
- Indiaorigin
Sources · 6 Every sentence here was checked against a source we read. Taste notes are what guides describe, not promises about your bag. Last revised 2026-11-11. Some details here are less settled than others.
- Research — Coffee Board of India · Coffee Board of India
- Arabica Varieties — A global catalog of Arabica coffee varieties from around the world (PDF, rev. Sept 4, 2025) · World Coffee Research
- World Coffee Research variety catalog: S795 · World Coffee Research
- Coffee Variety: S795 · Oil Slick Coffee
- Horticulture, Plantation Crops, Coffee (Varieties) · Tamil Nadu Agricultural University
- Coffee Varieties in India · Indian Coffee Culture