About
CafeClima: Grow Smarter Coffee
Unlock climate-resilient coffee planting decisions with powerful data.
Welcome to CafeClima
Navigating the challenges of a changing climate is critical for the future of coffee farming. CafeClima is a user-friendly web tool designed for coffee field technicians, extensionists, and others making decisions about which coffee varieties to plant. Our platform integrates the latest climate projections with real-world, global coffee variety trial results, empowering decision-makers to provide data-driven recommendations to farmers.
Choosing which coffee varieties to grow is a crucial long-term decision, with consequences for yields, quality, and resilience to pests and diseases and climate shocks. Historically, access to information about variety performance under different conditions has been limited. CafeClima changes that by bringing urgently needed insights to your fingertips.
Explore key features
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My climate view - Individual location:
Interactive climate data and maps: Visualize current and future-projected climate conditions in your location. Understand potential shifts in key climatic variables, including temperature and rainfall.
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Climate analogs:
Climate-smart variety selection: Display specific variety performance data from locations that have a potentially similar climate to yours, based on the results of the International Multi-Location Variety Trial (IMLVT).
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Variety explorer:
Variety trial insights: Access the overall performance data from the global IMLVT, comparing 26 top Arabica varieties across 23 countries. See how these different Arabica coffee varieties have performed in regards to productivity and coffee leaf rust susceptibility across diverse environments and under different coffee growing climates.
How to use CafeClima
- Select a location: Easily choose your location of interest.
- Access localized climate data: Explore detailed climate information, including current climate, future projections, and suitability analysis for coffee cultivation at your location.
- Identify climate analogs: Discover variety trial sites with comparable climates to your selected location and learn from the performance of varieties in those analogs' climatic conditions.
- Analyze variety performance: Review how 26 of the 31 different Arabica coffee varieties, evaluated in the IMLVT have performed under similar climatic conditions. This integration of climate modeling with variety performance data supports informed variety selection.
- Take a climate-smart farming decision: Make your field renovation plan. See also the Next Steps section for more guidance on the topic.
Science-based decision-making
CafeClima is founded upon scientifically robust climate projections originating from internationally recognized climate data sets (NEX- GDDP, CHIRPS, CHIRTS and WorldClim). The climate data is adjusted specifically to the coffee farming context using the climate data engine ACLIMATAR.
Regarding yield performance and climate analog matching, CafeClima integrates variety performance data from the World Coffee Research (WCR) International Multi-Location Variety Trial (IMLVT) combined with leading science from the Alliance of Bioversity International and the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) for data analysis. Find out more reading through our Methodology.
Ready to make a difference?
Start exploring CafeClima nowPlatform Lifecycle and intended use:
The dataset presented in this platform represents a global one-time initiative: trial data were collected, analyzed between 2024 and 2025, and subsequently incorporated into the tool. From 2026 onwards, the platform will remain accessible online for 3-5 years and is intended primarily to illustrate the diversity of coffee varieties and their relative performance, serving as inspiration for variety exploration. The platform does not provide live or updated trial results; it reflects a snapshot of the trial period.
Variety availability may vary by region and supplier, so we encourage users to verify local availability before planning plantings. This limitation is highlighted deliberately to encourage regional dialogue and illustrate the potential benefits of expanding variety use and supporting local seed systems providing access to a broader set of varieties and certified seeds in the growing regions. For further guidance, see the Next steps, section and specifically our Seed lot list.
Variety selection should also consider local conditions beyond climate, soil, and management. The platform is intended to guide exploration and discussion, rather than serve as the sole basis for final variety selection. Also here: for further guidance, see the Next Steps section.
Go deeper:
- ACLIMATAR - for climate-smart practice suggestions
- Variety catalogue - to explore the diversity of available coffee varieties around the world
Questions or contact:
Please reach out to info@worldcoffeeresearch.org for any question of inquiry.
Partners and funders
CafeClima is the result of a collaboration between World Coffee Research and the Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT. The development of the CafeClima platform was supported by TechnoServe, through funding from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, as well as through targeted funding from Taylors of Harrogate and Coffee Circle together with WCR's 200+ member companies in 29 countries.
World Coffee Research (WCR) unites the global coffee industry to drive science-based agricultural solutions to urgently secure a diverse and sustainable supply of quality coffee today and for generations to come. WCR constitutes a global, collaborative agricultural research organization and is funded by collaborative investment from over 200 coffee companies in 29 countries. Learn more at worldcoffeeresearch.org.
The Alliance of Bioversity and the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) delivers research-based solutions that address the global crises of malnutrition, climate change, biodiversity loss, and environmental degradation. Its work focuses on the nexus of agriculture, nutrition and the environment. The Alliance works with local, national and multinational partners across Africa, Asia and Latin America and the Caribbean, and with the public and private sectors and civil society. Through novel partnerships, the Alliance generates evidence and mainstreams innovations to transform food systems and landscapes so that they sustain the planet, drive prosperity, and nourish people in a climate crisis. Alliance of Bioversity-CIAT is part of the CGIAR a global research partnership for a food-secure future dedicated to transforming food, land, and water systems in a climate crisis. Learn more at alliancebioversityciat.org.
ACLIMATAR is a dedicated climate data engine with climate data coverage for >95% of global coffee production volume and specialized in climate projection data. Additional data is available on cocoa and tea farming, as well as further perennial crops. It is hosted by CIAT and developed and managed by leading coffee and climate science researcher Christian Bunn.
Citation
Schmidt, P.G.; Gautron, R.C.G.; Rahn, E.T.; Castro Llanos, F.A.; Barrera, S.; Umaña, E.; Neuschwander, H.; Delgado Muñoz, L.F.; Bunn, C. (2025) CafeClima: Grow Smarter Coffee. [Website] worldcoffeeresearch. URL: https://cafeclima.worldcoffeeresearch.org/
Permanent link: https://hdl.handle.net/10568/175499