Sicily has a deep connection with coffee and its diffusion dates back to the times of foreign dominations, particularly the Arab one. Today in Palermo there is the northernmost coffee plantation in the world but the first experiments in its cultivation date back over 100 years. On the island, not only traditional crops such as citrus groves, olive groves and vineyards are grown but, due to the increase in temperature, also tropical fruits such as mango, papaya, lots of avocado and even coffee thanks to the commitment and experimentation of the Botanical Garden of Palermo and the Morettino family.
Coffee in Palermo: Here’s How It Got There
In the geography of the origins of coffee, Palermo is the northernmost plantation given that coffee grows in a strip (the coffee belt) corresponding to the tropical area: the first experiment saw the light in the Nineties in the gardens of the historic roasting company of the Morettino family with a sixty Coffea Arabica plantsborn from seeds donated by the Botanical Garden of Palermo and planted at about 350 meters above sea level (remember that coffee is a mountain plant). From these seeds grew the outdoor coffee plants that have managed to adapt to the Sicilian climate at latitudes far higher than those of the area between the two Tropics where coffee is grown between Latin America, East Africa and Southeast Asia. Over the years, these plants have produced drupes that have been harvested, pulped, processed and roasted in order to carry out cupping sessions, or reseeded to give life to new plants born and grown in Sicily.
Experiments at the Botanical Garden of Palermo: the history of coffee plantations in Sicily
It was the end of the 19th century when some coffee plants arrived from Ethiopia and Somalia at the Botanical Garden of Palermo and were then planted in the open ground in 1905 with the aim of trying to give life to a new, all-Italian coffee route but Unfortunately, the experiment failed in the first winter. They tried again in 1911, but even then a wave of frost destroyed the coffee plants. In the 1940s another attempt within the beautiful Serra Carolina, here are some examples of Coffea arabica of the Amami variety and other wild varieties, managed to adapt perfectly. Today, almost 120 years after the first experiment in open ground, the Botanical Garden and the Morettino family are trying again, thanks to the significant climate changes we are witnessing and the desire to pursue an ambitious experimental path.
The coffee plantation in Palermo
The cultivation at the Botanical Garden is in continuity with the Sicilian native coffee cultivation project carried out by Morettino, in collaboration with the Botanical Garden-SiMuA and the SAAF Department of the University of Palermo. An experiment born from the vision of Arturo Morettino over thirty years ago, who planted some seeds donated by the Botanical Garden in Palermo. Those seeds gave life to a few thousand plants in the various experimental plantations in Sicily, from which the first 100% Sicilian coffee is produced. The project must be seen in perspective, currently It does not have commercial but scientific and experimental purposes and, also due to a significant change in climate, it was noticed that production increased from 30 kg in 2021 to 70 kg in 2023.
The history of Morettino, a century-old roasting company
We mentioned Morettino, now we just need to understand something more about this century-old company. From an ancient family spice and colonial shop located in the historic village of San Lorenzo ai colli in Palermo, Arturo Morettino’s passion for coffee was born way back in 1920, which today represents a coffee processing and sales company in the same neighborhood where it all began. Today the Morettino family not only carries on the experimental project that has seen the birth and growth of coffee plants on the island, but has also recently invested in the Morettino coffee lab, inside the new Palermo Marina Yachting (we talked about it here). The desire to tell the passion for coffee in the city and in Sicily is transversal. We will see if from roasting they will even move on to production.
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