Charrier coffee, (Coffea charrieriana), species of coffee plant (genus Coffea, family Rubiaceae) found in Central Africa that was the first discovered to ...CharriercoffeeSectionsArticleIntroduction&QuickFactsAdditionalInfoContributorsArticleHistoryHomeSciencePlantsFloweringPlantsCharriercoffeeplantPrintCiteverifiedCiteWhileeveryefforthasbeenmadetofollowcitationstylerules,theremaybesomediscrepancies.Pleaserefertotheappropriatestylemanualorothersourcesifyouhaveanyquestions.SelectCitationStyleMLAAPAChicagoManualofStyleCopyCitationShareShareSharetosocialmediaFacebookTwitterURLhttps://www.britannica.com/plant/Charrier-coffeeMoreGiveFeedbackFeedbackCorrections?Updates?Omissions?Letusknowifyouhavesuggestionstoimprovethisarticle(requireslogin).FeedbackTypeSelectatype(Required)FactualCorrectionSpelling/GrammarCorrectionLinkCorrectionAdditionalInformationOtherYourFeedbackSubmitFeedbackThankyouforyourfeedbackOureditorswillreviewwhatyou’vesubmittedanddeterminewhethertorevisethearticle.JoinBritannica'sPublishingPartnerProgramandourcommunityofexpertstogainaglobalaudienceforyourwork!ExternalWebsitesByJohnP.RaffertyViewEditHistoryRelatedTopics:Coffeeproduction...(Showmore)FullArticleCharriercoffee,(Coffeacharrieriana),speciesofcoffeeplant(genusCoffea,familyRubiaceae)foundinCentralAfricathatwasthefirstdiscoveredtoproducecaffeine-freebeans(seeds).EndemictotheBakossiForestReserveinwesternCameroon,theplantinhabitssteeprockyslopesofwetrainforests.Charriercoffeewasfirstcollectedin1983;however,itwasfirstdescribedscientificallyin2008afteramorphologicalstudydiscoveredthatitdidnotconformtodescriptionsofknownCoffeaspecies.TheplantisnamedafterAndréCharrier,aFrenchbotanistandgeneticistknownforhisextensiveworkincoffeebreedingandresearch.Charriercoffeeisashrubroughly1–1.5metres(about3–5feet)tall,withthinellipticalleafblades2.2–3.5cm(0.9–1.4inches)long.Theplantproducessmoothellipticalseedsthatare5mm(about0.2inch)inlength.Cultivatedinlargequantities,Charriercoffeecouldserveasasourceofcaffeine-free