Aaron Davis: Wild coffee: value, challenges and opportunities for speciality coffee
Aaron Davis focuses on how coffee is a diverse plant group that is only now becoming more fully understood, as well as letting us know, that the future will bring challenges but also opportunities.
RESUMÉ
Dr Aaron Davis is Head of Coffee Research at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, in the United Kingdom. His main specialization is the naming and classification (taxonomy) of wild coffee species, which he started in 1997, and is responsible for the discovery of more than 20 new coffee species, previously unknown to science.
In his pursuit to better understand wild coffee species he has travelled widely in Africa and Madagascar, making numerous expeditions to some of the least known places on the planet.
Aaron Davis has become well known for his work on the impact of climate change on Arabica coffee (Coffea arabica), but his research interests also cover the conservation of wild coffee species, DNA studies, coffee pests, industry sustainability, and sourcing for positive livelihood and conservation outcomes.