{"id":5345,"date":"2018-12-21T10:00:52","date_gmt":"2018-12-21T10:00:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.reading.ac.uk\/crg\/?p=5345"},"modified":"2018-12-21T10:00:52","modified_gmt":"2018-12-21T10:00:52","slug":"adventbotany-2018-day-21-a-botanical-pick-me-up-for-the-bleak-midwinter","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/research.reading.ac.uk\/herbarium\/2018\/12\/21\/adventbotany-2018-day-21-a-botanical-pick-me-up-for-the-bleak-midwinter\/","title":{"rendered":"#AdventBotany 2018, Day 21: A botanical pick-me up for the bleak midwinter"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Rachel Webster<\/a><\/h1>\n
\"\"<\/a>
Rachel’s Coffee<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

With four previous years of Advent Botany I was surprised that none of us have so far covered coffee. OK, it\u2019s not a Christmassy spice, or a festive decoration, but by this time in the year I\u2019m sure I\u2019m not the only one feeling more than my usual need for this botanical pick-me-up. As we reach the shortest day of the year a good cup (or several) of coffee is pretty much all that\u2019s keeping me from attempting to hibernate.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
An illustration of ‘arabica’ coffee<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Coffee is in the Rubiaceae, a diverse family including herbaceous plants such as the dye plant madder (Rubia tinctoria<\/em>) and the quinine-producing Cinchona trees used for flavouring tonic water. The genus Coffea<\/em> contains over 120 species of shrubs and small trees with opposite pairs of glossy dark green leaves and jasmine-scented flowers. Despite this, there are few species which are used commercially. Coffea arabica<\/em> accounts for about 60% of world production and\u00a0C. canephora<\/em> for the remaining 40% (FAO Statistical Pocketbook Coffee, 2015<\/a>)<\/p>\n

For more on the botany of coffee read Rachel’s full blog here<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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