Coffee

In this the fourth article in our series on world coffees we discuss the coffees from Africa and the Middle East.

ETHIOPIA

Ethiopia is the true birthplace of coffee. The original coffee plant originated here as well the first brew. Ethiopia today is the fifth largest producer of coffee in the world growing mainly the best arabicas. Ethiopian dry-processed coffee (Harrar), tends to be medium-bodied and strongly acidic with fruity, winy tones. The best wet-processed coffee (Yirgacheffe) is light-bodied and has distinctive floral and citrus notes. Dry processed ‘Djimah’ is a popular bean that a exhibits medicinal taste. ‘Ghimbi’ is a wet-processed bean from western Ethiopia. Limu is the market name for a well-respected fragrant, floral and fruit-toned wet-processed coffee from south-central Ethiopia.

UGANDA

As the 11th largest producer of coffee in the world, Uganda has some fine arabica coffees which display the much favoured winy acidity and other desirable flavour characteristics of the best East African coffees. About 90% of the coffees produced are of the robusta variety, which are mainly used for blending and in the manufacture of instant soluble coffee. ‘Bugishu’ coffee from the slopes of Mount Elgon is the best known coffee from Uganda.

IVORY COAST

As the third largest producer of coffee on the African continent, the Ivory Coast grows mainly rich and strong robustas used in soluble coffee production.

TANZANIA

Tanzania produces mostly robusta coffees much of it grown on the slopes of Mount Kilimanjaro from which these Kilimanjaro coffees get their name. Some arabicas are grown further south in the country the best known of which is ‘Mbeya’ coffee. The best coffees from Tanzania have a full body and rich flavour, with classic acidy that make them resemble the best coffees of neighbouring Kenya.

CAMEROON

Due to its high altitude, rich volcanic soils and ample rainfall coffees from Cameroon are of good quality. They are full-bodied flavour with a well-rounded finish with chocolate characteristics.

KENYA

Kenya produces excellent quality Arabica coffees that are renowned for their consistent high quality. Although mainly produced by smallholders the harvested beans are pooled and processed under strict conditions by the Coffee Board of Kenya. The beans are carefully graded by the board into categories. PB or peaberry is considered the best, followed by AA, A and B. The peaberry plant only produces a single bean, rather than the usual ‘split’ bean found in all other varieties. Kenyan coffees have deep winy acidity with subtle fruit and berry tones.

MADAGASCAR

The island of Madagascar produces over 700,000 bags of coffee per year of both robusta and Arabica varieties. It’s most celebrated coffee ‘Kouillou’ has a highly distinctive flavour and is rated very highly by the French.

YEMEN

The name ‘Mocha’ often synonymous with coffee comes from the Yemen port of the same name, which was used as a main trading point for coffee beans. Yemeni beans are known for their rich, winy, aroma and strong chocolate tones.

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Author: Fenton Wayne
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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Coffee Around the World

Coffee plants are grown throughout the world in areas that have moderate rainfall and nearly year round sunlight. Areas such as Africa, Arabia, South America and Southern Asia are well suited for growing coffee and are notable for their large plantations. Other tropical regions such as Hawaii and Jamaica are known for smaller yields of high quality beans. There are only two different species of coffee beans that are used to make beverages, Arabica and Robusta. Arabica is considered the better tasting coffee and accounts for about 75 percent of the world’s coffee production, but it is more difficult and expensive to grow. Robusta, is less expensive to grow and can thrive in areas that Arabica cannot be grown, but it is considered to have an inferior “bitter” flavor.

Mexico & Central America

Mexico began exporting coffee in the late 1800s. The majority of coffee produced in Mexico is exported to the United States. Unlike many regions of the world, most of the beans grown in Mexico are grown not on large plantations, but small family operated farms. Although smaller than Mexico, Guatemala is also famous for its coffee production. First cultivated in the nineteenth century by German immigrants, Guatemala is considered to produce some of the finest quality coffee beans due to the optimal climate and excellent soil that is found on the southern slopes of the country’s volcanoes. Most other Central American countries also produce at least some coffee including Ecuador, Honduras, Costa Rica and Nicaragua. Jamaica must also be mentioned as the famous Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee is produced there, and is considered by many to be one of the finest coffees in the world.

South America

The climate and geography of South America, especially the mountainous areas, lends itself well to coffee production. There are a number of regions in South America known for their coffee plantations. Brazil is one of the leading producers of coffee in the world producing over twenty million bags of raw coffee beans a year. The country has a long history of coffee production and has grown and exported Arabica coffee beans since the 1700s. Both Venezuela and Columbia are also major South American producers of coffee. Although not as well know as the traditional South American coffee producers, Peru is home to numerous coffee plantations, and is becoming known as a producer of both “generic” and high quality coffee beans.

Asia

Vietnam has become a major producer of coffee in the last few decades, producing nearly six million bags of coffee a year. The climate of Vietnam is not optimal for the more delicate Arabica coffee plants, so the majority of the coffee grown in the country is the hardier Robusta variety. The large islands of Java and Sumatra also both produce significant quantities of Robusta at their lower elevations and Arabica can be successfully grown at the higher elevations of the volcanoes and mountains. Other coffee growing areas in Asia include Timor, East Timor, Papua New Guinea and India.

Africa

Africa was the original home of Arabica coffee plants, and a number of African countries still produce coffee for export. Ethiopia, considered by many to be the first site that coffee was cultivated produces around four million bags of Arabica coffee beans each year. Coffee exports are particularly important to Ethiopia and other poor African countries and brings in much needed hard currency. Africa is a large continent and due to the variety of climates and geographical features, it includes many different types of coffee plantations. Burundi, Rwanda and Kenya all grow mainly Arabica coffee, while Madagascar and Tanzania grow a mixture of both Arabica and Robusta depending on the local climate and soil. Cameroon produces mainly Robusta, although some Arabica is grown there.

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Author: Felix J. Sheffield
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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