Coffees of the Americas

Brazil
By far, the largest coffee producer in the world. Twelve million bags of coffee, or 1/4 of the worlds coffee are exported annually.  A highly-efficient agricultural machine, Brazil boasts the world's top coffee yields and most mechanized production methods.

Yet some growers are promoting more "sustainable" approaches to coffee in Brazil.  These include estate farms which have: 1) Embraced certified organic agriculture, 2) Created protective habitat 'corridors' to preserve local biodiversity, and 3) Eliminated stream pollution from the coffee washing process by milling sun-dried 'naturals' without water.

Brazils produce a medium bodied coffee with a light acidity, but the best Brazils are full flavored with a creamy taste and slight nuttiness.

Colombia
Second largest producer of coffee beans, known for their consistent good coffees. Colombian coffees have a full body with characteristics of a sweet caramel taste and low acidity.  Colombian Supremo Bucaramanga coffees are cultivated in Santander, one of the oldest growing regions in the Northeast Cordillera of Colombia.  Standander is dominated by old style Minifundios (small family farms), and a high percentage of Typica and Bourbon trees.

These farms use careful micro processing and family care of the entire process to produce the best quality coffee possible.  The beans are hand-picked, depulped and sun-dried at the minifundios.  The farmers then deliver their beans to pergomino to the mill to be sorted, graded to specifications and prepared for shipment.

The yield of these small farms is much less than the larger operations because they plant less than half the trees per hectare, but the quality is much better.  The result is one of the richest coffees in the world, a coffee that is nurtured from the seed to the cup.

Supremo (large bean), or excelso (smaller bean) are decent, full bodied coffees.  If body is what you are looking for, a fine Bucaramanga will offer you the equivalent of Sumatra's fullness with unusually distinctive flavors which may include an agreeable black walnut bitterness.  Coffees from the Huila region feature an intense fruity acidity that complements their full body.

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Costa Rican
Costa Rica is known for its varying geographic and climate conditions.  Grown at 1,500 meters in the Santa Maria de Dota Tarrazu region along the Talamancan continental divide.

The high attitude in two mountainous regions in Costa Rica offers some of the finest coffee bean classics. The first region is Tres Rios and the second is Tarrazu. From this high altitude the growing conditions are ideal for a high grown Arabica coffee.  Grown in fertile volcanic soil, this crop is know for the area and for its balance in flavor.  High in acidity and full bodied make these some of the finest coffees to come from Costa Rica.

The "El Tucan" is part of the Federation of Coffee Cooperatives, uniting independent growers.  This supports the goals of the farmers who then benefit from fair trade.

Guatemala
Although all Guatemala's specialty grade coffee is grown high in the mountains, the "Highland" distinction was saved for Huehuetenango.  The region's magnificent Cuchumatanes mountain range has the highest non-volcanic peaks in all Central America.

Driest and highest of the three non-volcanic regions producing specialty coffee, Huehuetenango is by far the most rugged and remote area in Guatemala.  Thanks to the dry, hot winds that blow into the mountains from the Tehuantepec plain in Mexico, the region is protected from frost, allowing coffee to be cultivated up to 6,500 feet.

The Highland Huehue has a good body and a marked acidity.  It is aromatic with a pleasant wine note or orange-peel fruitiness.  

Antigua's coffee is "Classic" because it comes from Guatemala's oldest and best-known coffee-growing region.  Rich volcanic soil, low humidity, lots of sun and cool nights characterize the Antigua region.  The valley is dominated by the magnificent volcanoes of Agua, Acatenango, and Fuego.

Antigua Classic has a full and velvety body, a rich and lively aroma, and a fine, pronounced acidity.

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Mexico
Ranks fourth in coffee production. Mexico is producing a noteworthy coffee that is mainly used for dark roasting and blending.  Small amounts of world class coffee with much greater acidity and flavor intensity are produced in the high mountains of Chiapas, Oxaca, and Veracruz.  They produce a respectable coffee with a smooth and sweet flavor, fine acidity and a good body. A growing number of coffee farms in this country are certified as "organically grown".  Organic coffee provides a more healthy life for the growers and a sweeter tasting and chemical-free beverage for consumers.

African Coffees

Ethiopia
Is the birthplace of the Arabian coffee plant. Much of the coffee produced in this region is still harvested from wild berry trees and produced in a primitive way. The eastern highland area produces a classic such as Harrar which is high in acidity and good in body. The coffee has the characteristics of an excellent winey, berry–like aroma and flavor home roasting enthusiasts look for.

In Southern Ethiopia you will find the "washed coffees". Yirgacheffee is an example of a washed coffee.  This coffee denotes a fragrant, soft, rich flavor with balanced qualities.  

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Kenya
All Kenya coffee is of the Arabica variety, grown on rich volcanic soils in the highlands of Kenya between 1500 and 2100 meters.

Approximately 250,000 Kenyans are involved in coffee production.  Most coffee is produced by small holders with small plots of land.  They are members of cooperative societies which process their own coffee.

There are two flowerings in each season and the blossom normally appears shortly after the beginning of the long rains in March and April.  In most districts, the main crop ripens from October until the end of the year.  The second and smaller flowering comes with the short rains in October or November and is picked in the early part of the season, often starting the following June.

During the harvest, only red ripe cherries are picked, and always by hand.  This entails frequent picking rounds with each tree picked every ten days or so.

After milling, the coffee beans are graded mechanically into various grades which differ in size, weight and shape.  AA usually demands a higher price than the others because of its quality.  The smoothness of its acidity and the subtle notes of its fruitiness make it an exceptional cup.  The AA has deliciously smooth body and a wonderful mouth feel to round out the bottom of the flavor profile.

Zimbabwe AA+
A fine medium bodied coffee with a complexly wine & berry taste similar to the Kenya coffees.  Zimbabwe is a wet processed coffee grown mainly in the mountains Chipinge region in eastern Zimbabwe.  This coffee carries with it a higher acidity that the other African coffees.

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Middle & Far East Coffees

Sulawesi Kalossi
At their best, Sulawesi are considered one of the best coffees from Indonesia.  Unlike the Sumatra's, the Sulawesi are a wet processed coffee that has a smooth, vibrant full body.  The buttery, earthy undertones this coffee possesses makes it one of the most exotic of the Indonesian coffees.

Yemen Mocha
Yemen is the birthplace of coffee as a crop.  It was in Yemen that coffee was first cultivated over 400 years ago.  The mysterious fruit that was discovered by a shepherd in Ethiopia (as legend has it) soon found its way to Yemen just across the Red Sea from Ethiopia at the southwestern tip of the Arabian peninsula. In the 15th century coffee was cultivated extensively in the highlands of Yemen, and for the following 200 years the world's coffee supply was exported exclusively from Yemen through the ancient Red Sea port of Al-Makh "Mocha".  The coffee took its name of the port city and since then it has become known around the world as Mocha Coffee.

Yemen Mocha is an exotic coffee bean that holds a complex, fruity, spicy taste, and a wonderful aroma.  You will find anything from a bright acidity to a musky wine barrel fruitiness or even the aroma of chocolate.  The best contemporary Mochas come from a small area in Bany Matar province called Mattari which are steep arid hillsides around the capital of San'a.

Indonesia is the third largest producer of coffee in the world, and Java is the most well-known, primarily because the Dutch cultivated trees there first.  The vast majority of the coffee Indonesia grows is robusta, the stuff mass producers of canned coffee use because of its lower cost and quality.  However, if you consider their best (Specialty) coffees, you will experience the nuttiness of Java, or the low acidity and heavy bodied flavor of Sumatra and Sulawesi.

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New Guinea
Coffee seedlings were brought to Papua New Guinea by missionaries in the 1930’s from Jamaica using Blue Mountain seedlings. Over 95% of the coffee grown in Arabica, produced on traditional tall tree varieties, such as Typica, Bourbon, and Arusha, cultivated at altitudes between 4,500 to 8,000 feet.  Papua New Guinea coffee is noted for its bean size, full body, outstanding aromatic flavor with rich earthy, faint, nutty undertones. This large scale, perfectly balanced coffee with superb acidity, pungent nutty aroma, clean flavor, and extremely full body, perfectly synthesized the fruit of Latin America with the depth and warmth of Indonesia.  It is probably the most versatile blending coffee in the world.

Sumatra
Natural milling slowly dries and hardens the ripe cherries, giving this coffee an earthy flavor with low acidity and an earthy herbal aroma. Due to Sumatra Mandheling’s syrupy body and low acidity it continues to be one of the more popular coffees.

Technically, some of these coffees from these islands are "semi-washed", which means that water is used during the initial processing, but the final product exhibits more classic, dry processed coffee flavors.

Sumatras are smooth, but high quality Sumatras are enormously full-bodied with a pronounced herbal aroma and a dry, almost alkaline quality to them.  Some select Sumatras are so clean that they taste almost like washed coffees.

A Word About Our Decaffeinated Coffees...

Coffee Storehouse sometimes finds it a challenge to find a good decaf coffee, no matter what the process.  With all the decaf coffees we have cupped, it continues to be our preference to stick with the methylene chloride (M/C) process.  Coffee processed this way tends to retain more of their flavors...and yes it is FDA approved, and any residue is burned off when roasted.  However, as companies and technology advance in this area we, as consumers will see better tasting coffees in the market.  One of our newest decaf's is the Colombian CO2 decaf.  If you are looking for a natural processed decaf, this one is a good alternative.  CO2 decaffeination uses a natural process using carbon dioxide and charcoal filters to remove caffeine.  Unlike coffee beans being soaked in the "water-only" process, CO2 decaffeination retains more of its flavor components making it a more appealing coffee.

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"Maps courtesy of www.theodora.com/maps used with permission"