Estimated reading time:8 minutes
Key takeaways
- Gesha has returned to dominance at recent coffee competitions.
- Price volatility has slowed the wider release of new coffee varieties.
- Competitors now blend liberica with high-scoring lots.
- Climate resilience is increasing investment in overlooked species like liberica and excelsa.
Specialty coffee is always chasing “new” and exciting varieties, and competitions are the clearest signal of where its search is heading. For years, the highly prized Gesha dominated the World Barista and Brewers Cup Championships, selected for its high cup scores and flavour complexity.
The early 2020s, however, marked a turning point. “Rediscovered” coffees began appearing on the world stage. At the 2021 World Barista Championship (WBC), more finalists presented with eugenioides, a lesser-known Coffea species prized for its sweetness and unconventional tasting notes, than with Gesha.
The trend continued. At the 2023 event, Gesha shared the stage with several “new” varieties, including Pink Bourbon, Ombligon, and Typica Mejorado. The winner, Boram Um, even blended Gesha with Pink Bourbon, a sign that these coffees were challenging the variety’s long-held dominance.
Yet the last two years show the trend is reversing. Almost every 2025 WBC finalist used Gesha, and all but one of the 2026 World Brewers Cup finalists did the same, suggesting a return to familiar flavour profiles.
More telling still, competitors are now blending liberica, a historically overlooked species, with Gesha rather than building their presentations around exclusive varieties.
With prices still volatile and the climate crisis worsening, the appetite for novelty is being redirected toward coffees the industry already knows. For coffees like liberica and excelsa, it’s a chance for reinvestment.
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Price volatility has changed priorities
Competition-winning varieties like Sidra and Papayo still have their place at competitions and on coffee shop shelves. However, the rate of new releases from roasters has slowed considerably. Where a new variety once appeared on the market every few months, the pipeline has recently thinned.
The economics explain why. Producers and roasters have both weathered intense price volatility over the last two years, pushing them towards cost-effective lots that can be grown and sold at scale. Exciting varieties are still a unique talking point, but they don’t offer the consistency and volume that coffee businesses now need.
“The initial excitement around rediscovered coffees was driven by curiosity,” says Michael Harris Conlin, a three-time Philippine Barista Champion and founder of Henry & Sons, which recently won Gold in the Flat White Dairy category at the 2026 Global Coffee Awards Asia.
The industry hasn’t stopped searching for new coffees, Michael says, but it has become more realistic about what it takes for a variety, or species, to become commercially meaningful.
“Once the excitement settles, producers have to ask much harder questions,” he tells me. “Is it productive? Is it resilient? Can it be grown consistently? How difficult is it to process? Will buyers support it beyond competitions? Can the market afford it?”
Michael agrees that curiosity is one of the factors driving specialty coffee forward, but says we should be careful not to confuse rarity with value.
“Sometimes we become so focused on finding the next exciting variety that we overlook the incredible potential already growing around us,” he tells me. “Coffee shouldn’t be celebrated simply because only a few people have tasted it, but because it creates value for producers, consumers, and the long-term sustainability of the whole industry.”
The spotlight is turning towards liberica and excelsa
At the 2025 World Barista Championship, several competitors stood out by using liberica – a rare coffee species that accounts for less than 2% of global production.
Malaysia’s Jason Loo secured fourth place by blending Malaysian liberica with a Panama Gesha, and Michael blended a Philippine liberica and a Colombian eugenioides in his routine.
Michael tells me his journey with liberica began in 2020 when he visited a neglected farm in Santa Maria, Laguna, the Philippines. Seeing its potential, he worked with the local community to improve the quality of their coffee through farm rejuvenation, better soil management, and improved processing methods.
“I learned that you can’t approach liberica the same way you would a Gesha,” Michael explains. “Its bean density, chemistry, and sensory profile require a different philosophy, from cultivation and processing to roasting and brewing.
“Rather than trying to make liberica taste like an arabica, we need to develop techniques that bring out the best expression of what liberica naturally has to offer.”
Besides liberica, there has been increasing interest in excelsa. Once classified under liberica in the 20th century, there is now a clear distinction between the two species.
“The visibility and understanding of excelsa have never been more profound,” says Michael Mazzotta, co-founder of Excelsa Coffee Company. Currently, excelsa mostly comes from South and Southeast Asian countries like India, Vietnam, Indonesia, and the Philippines, but other nations, such as Kenya, Sudan, and Nicaragua, show potential.
“Drought-prone climates are making traditional coffee harder to grow, and producers are looking at excelsa for its climate resilience,” says Olin Patterson, co-founder of Excelsa Coffee Company. “In places like the Philippines, producers see excelsa as a premium crop with real market potential.”
More diversity benefits the coffee industry
Competitors will keep innovating, searching for “new” varieties and blending “overlooked” coffees with high-scoring lots. In turn, specialty coffee gains access to new flavour profiles while reinvesting in coffees that have historically received little attention for their quality potential.
“Our curiosity and desire for new experiences are part of what makes us human, so it’s only fitting that we are on the hunt for these types of experiences in coffee as well,” says Jill Hoff, Director of Coffee at Monogram Coffee and the 2026 Canadian Barista Champion. For her winning routine, Jill blended an Indonesian liberica with Chakira, a variety the Koyner family recently discovered in Panama.
“The Chakira is super balanced and has some nice soft fruit notes that translate really well to espresso,” she explains. “The liberica had some bigger, funkier fruits that offered something unique to my espresso blend, and tasted delicious in the milk course.
“Both thematically and flavour-wise, these coffees fit perfectly into my presentation.”
Safeguarding coffee’s future
By combining exclusive varieties with species like liberica and excelsa, competitors create flavour experiences neither coffee could deliver alone. But bigger factors are also at play, particularly climate change.
“Liberica has the ability to thrive in warmer climates, which could make it become more prominent in the future,” Jill says.
Michael and Olin at Excelsa Coffee Company both attribute the renewed interest in excelsa to climate pressures. Excelsa plants grow large, so they provide shade cover for smaller crops, which diversifies revenue for producers and protects biodiversity.
“This creates a more diverse, shade-grown system that can protect soil, reduce chemical inputs, and slow the development of the coffee cherry in a way that can improve cup quality,” Olin explains.
Specialty coffee’s search for novelty is shifting direction. Rather than chasing rare varieties, competitors now pair proven high scorers like Gesha with overlooked species such as liberica. The result benefits producers, who gain reinvestment in crops the industry long ignored.
“I believe we’re entering a new chapter where innovation is becoming less about discovering another rare variety and more about understanding how genetics, terroir, fermentation, processing, roasting, and brewing work together,” Michael concludes. “The future of coffee quality will likely come from this combination rather than from genetics alone.”
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Coffee varieties FAQs
Why has the release of new coffee varieties slowed?
Producers and roasters have faced two years of price volatility, pushing them towards cost-effective lots they can grow and sell at scale. New varieties remain a talking point, but they rarely offer the consistency and volume businesses now need.
What are liberica and excelsa?
Liberica is a rare coffee species that accounts for less than 2% of global production. Excelsa, once classified under liberica, is now recognised as distinct. Both grow mainly in South and Southeast Asia and tolerate warmer, drought-prone climates.
How does climate change affect variety choice?
Drought-prone regions are making arabica harder to grow, so producers are turning to resilient species. Excelsa plants also provide shade cover for smaller crops, which protects soil and biodiversity while diversifying revenue for farming communities.
Photo credits: Michael Harris Conlin, Jill Hoff, Michael Mazzotta
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