What is Coffea excelsa?

Coffea excelsa - also known as Coffea dewevrei - is a distinct species within the Coffea genus originating in Central Africa. It's entirely unrelated to Excelso, the Colombian grade designation that shares a similar name.

Excelsa grows as a large tree up to 7 metres in natural form and produces a cup with mild, Robusta-adjacent character. It's cultivated to a limited extent in parts of Central and West Africa and Southeast Asia, sometimes used as a blend component.

It's one of the four commercially cultivated Coffea species alongside Arabica, Robusta, and Liberica, though it holds a very small share of global production. In specialty coffee, Excelsa is a genuine curiosity - occasionally encountered in blends targeting unusual character, but far from mainstream. Worth knowing primarily to avoid confusing it with Colombia's most common export grade.