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A Million Stories from the Archipelago

The charms of the Arabica coffee in Java diminished after 1876. The Dutch colonial government decided to replace it with Liberian coffee, which was originally believed to have been persistent against the disease.

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· 4 minutes read
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Farmers harvest coffee beans in Gajah village, Simpang Empat district, Karo regency, North Sumatra on Friday (15/12/2017). Climate change has reduced agricultural output in almost all areas in North Sumatra.

The 19th-century coffee leaf rust (CLR) epidemic, caused by the Hemileia vastatrix fungus, may have been the greatest disaster in the history of the archipelago’s coffee industry. But who would ever have thought that CLR would lead to the emergence of a coffee-producing country that would attract the entire world? The moniker “coffee heaven” has become part of the national identity.

The CLR epidemic caused turmoil that was felt around the world. The attractiveness of Arabica coffee (Coffea arabica) in Java faded after 1876. The Dutch colonial government decided to replace it with Coffea liberica, or Liberica coffee, which was originally believed to be resistant to the disease. However, pest infestations destroyed the Liberica crops and the Dutch were force to replace it with Robusta coffee (Coffea canephora) from the Congo (The Road to Java Coffee, Prawoto Indarto).

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