It all began with coffee seeds that crossed the Red Sea. It continued with seeds smuggled out of Yemen in various directions. One of the cultivars producing the most expensive coffees in the world went from Ethiopia to Tanzania, Kenya, Costa Rica and finally Panama, where it would become famous. Who would have thought that the main genetic solution to the devastating Coffee Leaf Rust disease would come from an unlikely natural cross between two species introduced from Africa to a little-known island in South-East Asia? It is these numerous and uncontrolled movements of plant material that have shaped the genetic improvement of the Arabica coffee plant. It is highly likely that the present and future challenges facing the coffee sector will require new exchanges of plant material. We can already see that species that could be of interest in tackling climate change are still in their African native habitat... They will have to be studied and tested in different environments... Will they be able to do this ethically and in compliance with international regulations?