With Climate Change Challenging Global Coffee Production, Can Florida Become A New Coffee Producer For The US? – CoffeeTalk

Climate change is threatening coffee production worldwide, and Florida is one of the countries that could potentially take root in this struggle. Pierson, Florida, known as the “Fern Capital of the World,” is home to 97% of the leatherleaf ferns in the U.S., making it an ideal location for coffee cultivation. Felipe Ferrão, a plant researcher at the University of Florida, plans to test this hypothesis by brewing his first batch of coffee from field-grown Florida beans, which he plans to harvest from a half-acre plot on a fern farm in Pierson.

Florida is better known for its citrus industry, which has declined by over 90% in the last two decades due to more extreme weather and the spread of citrus greening disease. Ferrão, who comes from a long line of coffee farmers in Brazil, the world’s largest coffee producer, began thinking about growing the crop in Florida. To find funding and institutional support for the project, Ferrão approached the University of Florida’s Tropical Research And Education Center, where specialists have studied how to grow all kinds of tropical fruits, vegetables, and ornamental plants since 1929.

Temperatures also played a role in the success of coffee cultivation in Florida. Coffee originates from the Ethiopian highlands and has been introduced to countries like Brazil, Vietnam, Costa Rica, Kenya, and Colombia, all located close to the equator between the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn, an area known as the “coffee belt.” The climate here is mild and typically doesn’t swing into extremes, which is how coffee plants like it. Coffea arabica, the most popular variety, thrives in a temperature range between 64° and 70°F.

Florida’s changing climate could mean it’s time to give coffee in the state another try. Average annual temperatures in the state have increased by 3.5° F since 1950, and although Florida still experiences winter cold snaps, the number of freezing events per year has sharply decreased, allowing agricultural production to move northward. This opens up the possibility of growing some crops, like coffee, that struggled to survive when temperatures were colder.

Ferrão is experimenting with growing a different variety of coffee, Coffea canephora, also known as robusta, that is more heat- and pest-resistant than the popular arabica. Her research focuses on understanding the genetics of coffee plants to breed more resilient, flavorful, and high-yielding varieties not just in Florida but around the world.

The work in Pierson began two years ago when Ferrão was contacted by Gineva Peterson, a Pierson resident whose family has been running a fernery there since the 1970s. She offered her land in exchange for Ferrão’s plants and expertise, and since May of last year, they have planted around 600 arabica and robusta seedlings, which they anticipate will produce enough beans to host a coffee tasting by the end of the year.

Peterson’s eventual goal is to run a coffee shop supplied entirely by her home-grown beans. Coffee production has also taken root in southern California, where a cooperative of 65 small farmers called Frinj is growing on a commercial scale. Crane sees potential for family farms and small growers to make a living selling specialty, “Florida coffee”-branded beans.

There is a huge interest and potential for a niche, high-end, valuable coffee industry in central Florida. Kona coffee, introduced to Hawaii in 1829, is one of the most expensive coffees in the world, averaged around $20 per pound and can get up to $60 or more. Educated consumers who have developed specific tastes in coffee are willing to pay a premium for specialty brands, while other income can come from agrotourism.

Peterson hopes to transition away from shade structures and plant coffee underneath groves of oak trees in an arrangement known as a “hammock,” which naturally keeps them warm in the winter. She anticipates having enough beans to open her coffee shop within one to two years.

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