Shade improves coffee quality in a sub-optimal coffee-zone of Costa Rica

Quality is an important attribute of coffee. Therefore it is important to understand the effect of overstory trees not only on the environment and long-term coffee production, but also on the quality of coffee grown underneath the trees. This study compared coffee quality of Coffea arabica L. vars. Caturra and Catimor 5175 under different levels of shade in a low-elevation, sub-optimal environment for coffee in Costa Rica. Fruit weight and bean size increased significantly when shade intensity was increased from 0% to more than 80% under unpruned Erythrina poeppigiana. While large beans (diameter > 6.7 mm) accounted for 49 and 43% of the coffee from unshaded Caturra and Catimor, respectively, these proportions increased to 69 and 72% under dense permanent shade. This suggested a stronger shade benefit for Catimor than for Caturra. The conversion percentages from fresh-weight coffee fruits to dry-weight green coffee for export were not affected by the treatments. A blind tasting experiment showed consistent shade-induced improvements in appearance of green and roasted coffee as well as in acidity and body of the brew for both varieties. The effect of shade on aroma of the brew was neutral for Caturra and slightly negative for Catimor. It is hypothesized that, in the sub-optimal (low-altitude) coffee-zone studied, shade promotes slower and more balanced filling and uniform ripening of berries, thus yielding a better-quality product than unshaded coffee plants. Shade experiments along environmental gradients should help to validate this conjecture and its relative importance in different coffee-zones.