Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew

There are now 125 species of coffee, but we only use two of them to produce the drink we know and love; Robusta and Arabica.

Coffee is one of the world's favourite drinks, one of the most important commercial crop-plants, and the second most valuable international commodity; Arabica coffee is considered to produce the finest coffee beans.

Production of coffee helps support the livelihood of 25 million farming families around the world and it is estimated that around 32 pairs of hands are involved in bringing coffee from the plantation to the cup.

Did you know that Arabica coffee originally came from Ethiopia? A study conducted by scientists at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, in collaboration with scientists in Ethiopia, reports that climate change alone could lead to the extinction of wild Arabica coffee (Coffea arabica) well before the end of this century.

This film was produced as part of Kew Gardens' IncrEdibles festival; a celebration of fascinating edible plants which runs until September 1st, 2013. Find out more at: http://www.kew.org/incredibles

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