Gourmet Coffee Producing Countries
Today coffee bean coffee comes from a multitude of coffee producing countries and regions. There are many coffee producing countries located all over the world. You may be surprised by the partial size of the list below. As you are reading this, there are more coffee producing countries developing. Not all coffee producing countries are industrialized enough to ship out of their local area.
Not all coffee bean coffee grown in the coffee producing countries is classified as a gourmet coffee bean. Most coffee producing countries have their own rules as to what defines what type of coffee. Many coffee producing countries grow their beans for commercial style coffee and harvested in mass. Most of these beans are used for blending or making lower grade coffees. Some coffee producing countries grow a coffee that is of good quality but not gourmet and our term for this good everyday coffee is, coffee bean coffee. Those are the ones I am always on the look out for! Other coffee producing countries per bag produced.
Gourmet coffee beans need to have perfect growing conditions, to be harvested and processed with care. Not all coffee producing countries have those perfect conditions or processing pratices in place.
The Better Known Coffee Producing Countries and Regions
Brazil and espresso blends: Brazil coffee bean coffee is traditionally used as a “base” for coffee and espresso blends made in the Italian style. The coffee bean coffee can also be excellent unblended, or as a straight espresso if you can find them. Brazilian roasters use a lower roasting temperature. The coffee bean coffee can turn ashy tasting if roasted at too high of a temp and the beans get too dark.
There are three methods of processing Brazil coffees. Natural Dry- Process, Pulped Natural, and Semi-Washed. Each process produces a different type of coffee. Brazil is one of the major coffee producing countries.
The Natural Dry processed is just dried the way they are, skins and all. This gourmet coffee has great body, chocolate, almost fruity notes with an earthier, more rustic taste in the cup.
The Pulped Natural is when the coffee skin is removed. The beans are sun dried with the removed skin together on a patio or raised drying bed. The Pulped Natural coffee is similar to the fully Natural Dry. It tastes and looks a bit cleaner, with a lighter body in the cup.
The Semi-Washed has the skin removed by a machine. The coffee bean coffee can range some in character but normally it is clean, uniform, with less body, less chocolate, a bit brighter (nice acidity) in the cup. Used in more mass produced coffee bean coffees.
Most times the different processed coffees are blended to produce a consistent everyday coffee without much characteristics. It is the consistency of coffee producing countries that allow them to sell world wide.
If you want a treat look for a really good Natural Dry processed espresso blend. This espresso will have more crema (foam), more chocolate, more body, and some fruit.
Brazil as one of the largest coffee producing countries has it’s own grading system for defects. They use a flavor, size and physical defect when grading. The grading rates coffee as Strictly Soft (the best), Soft, ‘Soft-ish’, Hard (+1, +2), Riado, Rioy, Rio Zona (the worst).
Colombian as one of the coffee producing countries is highly marketed in the US. It is also one of the widely available coffee producing countries in the United States. Colombian coffee bean coffee can be very balanced. Known to good body, brightness (acidity) and flavor. But most of it is a bit boring, and you will find it on supermarket shelves. As far as coffee producing countries go the coffee is simply a clean cup with not much of an aftertaste.
Well then the question has to be asked, is there a good, interesting Colombian coffee? And yes, there is but it will take work to find one. Colombian coffee is rarely sold simply as Supremo, Excelso or Medellin which is a shame because they are the best Colombians. A coffee that has more character usually is blended with coffee from particular regions and identified with a regional name.
When conditions are right, a generic Colombian turns out to be really good but that again is very rare. One of my treat gourmet coffees is known as Aged Vintage Colombian. Comes across as a little bit sweet with a thick, rich body on the tongue and nice brightness. (low acidity)
If you see a Colombian coffee being offered at your gourmet store then do your homework. Check on the quality of the current year for coffee producing countries before buying. If it was a good year then it is worth a try. Talk to the coffee roaster and see if they are one of the good coffee producing countries that year.
Costa Rica Coffee. The criticism was leveled at the coffees from Costa Rica. Many said they were too balanced, too clean, and too mild. It was categorized as a traditional, balanced coffee bean coffee that has no defects or taints. Many of the Costa Rica’s coffee bean coffee were from large farms and were middle-of-the-road Arabica blends.
But happily things are changing in Costa Rica, the big farms and big powerful cooperative coffee mills, are taking notice. Micro-Mills are popping up, tiny low-volume farms that keep their gourmet coffee beans. They mill the coffee themselves, and have total control of the process, which allows them to yield the best possible flavors from the gourmet beans. The country is turning into one of the good coffee producing countries.
They are prized for their high quality, bright citrus or berry-like flavors in the acidity, with distinct nut-to-chocolate roasted flavors in the cup. As an independent Micro-Mill, a farmer can become a coffee craftsman. (much like the beer micro brewers have) They can maximize the quality of their coffee blend with Micro-Lots, and are receiving the highest prices for their Micro-Lot coffees. It is worth finding a unique and diverse Micro-Lot blend which should be full bodied and with a sharp brightness in the cup. These are true gourmet coffees.
You will get a great cup of gourmet coffee and help support the coffee producing countries small farmer.
Dominican Republic. The tradition of coffee production dates several centuries in the Dominican Republic. But as coffee producing countries go most Dominican coffee bean coffee is soft, a mild profile of Island type coffees. Exports are dominated by only one company, who is not interested in improving quality. The coffee grades in the commercial coffee range. We are hoping for better results in the future. The best beans come from Santo Domingo and Barahona if you come across them.
El Salvador. El Salvador coffee has had a poor reputation for years on the list of coffee producing countries. They have the inability to offer coffee of high quality because of the unstable political climate. The coffee trade was controlled by ruling elite. Sometimes you can buy incredible El Salvador coffee with a high quality, great acidity, refinement and depth. They come from the high areas and mountains. You need to do a little homework or deal with a coffee house that you trust their recommendation because El Salvadoris one of those unpredictable coffee producing countries.
Guatemalan coffee: Revered as one of the most flavorful cups in the world. Due to the United States proximity to Guatemala, some of the finest gourmet coffee from this origin are shipped to the United States.
As far as coffee producing countries go Guatemalan regions vary in their quality. Some regions have more altitude, and different soil and climate conditions. The Antiguas region is well-known and highly rated with higher brightness, (acidity) and a spicy, smoked characteristic. Huehuetenango from the northern highlands can be exceptional and has a distinct fruit flavor. Coban, Quiche, and Fraijanes can be nice, but sometimes have less complexity and depth in the cup. Atitlan has improved and produced some very fine coffee in the past few years which has helped the country move up the the ladder of coffee producing countries.
What makes it tough is you can’t count on any region in the coffee producing countries to necessarily produce a great coffee bean coffee every year. Like wine the weather has a lot to do with the quality and some years it is hard to find a good coffee among even the most celebrated and recognized coffee producing countries or regions. Coffee is primarily wet-processed since the climate is too humid for dry processing, which makes a cleaner and brighter (good complex acidity) cup than the dry -processed counterparts.
Hawaiian Coffee: Along with tourism they grow nuts, fruit, and coffee. Simply put Hawaiian coffee is expensive. The problem with the coffee bean coffee is sometimes it can be too mild, terrible and flat and other times it can be a wonderful experience. The best gourmet coffees cost a lot and it is hard to justify for everyday use.
I believe the worst thing is that the coffee bean coffee cost way too much for what is in the cup. So, what I am saying is that all Hawaiian coffee is not good, and there are only a handful of coffees that deserve the high price in terms of quality. You pay quite a lot for the truly great small-farm Kona with its clarity, full body and spice with natural sweetness. An interesting coffee comes from Ka’u which is the district on the big island of Hawaii and just south of Kona. It does not have the high, high price of Kona and it is an interesting treat. Good place to start your Hawaiian coffee adventure. So as far as coffee producing countries go, do your homework because of cost.
Honduran coffee: This coffee is not in the top ranks of the Specialty market or the Gourmet coffee producing countries. It has all the environmental factors on its side such as soil, altitude, and climate. Its neighbors, Guatemala, El Salvador and Nicaragua are excellent coffee producing countries and have very good gourmet coffee production. But Honduras is lacking a solid infrastructure, good processing, transportation, and capital. This is keeping it from become one of the best coffee producing countries .
Because of this the good quality Honduran coffee bean coffee does not get a good price. Without a good price for quality, the farmer, the mill and the exporter have no incentive to incur added expenses to improve the coffee beans. The coffee ends up selling as a mild blending coffee, and not as a specific, high quality gourmet farm coffee.
Indian coffees are not represented well in the coffee producing countries but they grow good balanced, mild coffee bean coffee. The pronounced body, low acidity and subtle spicy notes are pleasing on the palate. Mysore coffees work well under a wide range of roasts so they are fun to explore. Sometimes you will find hints of earthiness, similar to Indonesian origins like Sulawesi and Sumatra but they are also work well in espresso. Indian coffee producers use a wet-process and dry-process for their coffees. Wet-processed Arabica coffee is called Plantation Arabica and wet-processed Robusta is called Parchment Robusta. Dry processed coffees are called Cherry. Now the Monsooned coffee is a different cup altogether. It is potent, pungent and wild; these coffees are great for those of us who like strong, deep musty flavors.
Jamaica coffee. What an expensive cup of coffee! Some say the world’s best, but (?) The world’s most overrated, well (?) For me I don’t consider it the world’s best gourmet coffee. It can be a excellent mild, lush coffee but it is can also be very bad. Paying a high price for a bad cup is like a double crime. Plus a lot of the coffee sold as Jamaican is not true Jamaican Blue Mountain, or is over blended. If you are paying around $12 per lb for Jamaican coffee, it is not the true Blue Mountain but probably the lower grown High Mountain or an blend of sorts that contains a small percentage of Blue Mountain. True Blue Mountain is full bodied, slight acidity and a smooth mellow flavor and is rate high within the coffee producing countries.
The industry has seen many rises and falls throughout its history. Much effort was used to increase the production of coffee and to establish a Central Coffee Work for processing and grading. This effort to improve quality did not have much success until 1943 when the coffee became unacceptable to the Canadian market. This was the Jamaica coffee’s largest market at the time. In 1944 the Government established a Central Coffee Clearing House. All coffee ready for export had to be delivered to the Clearing House where it was cleaned and graded. In 1950 the Coffee Industry Board was established to officially raise and maintain the quality of the coffee exported.
Nicaraguan coffees from the Segovia, Jinotega and Matagalpa regions are underrated. They possess an interesting character along with body and balance. These regions outperform many other balanced Central American and South American high-grown coffees. Nicaragua coffees have a wide range of flavor attributes. Some of my favorites!
The coffees of Dipilto in Segovia are citrusy and bright. Jinotega and Matagalpa coffees can demonstrate their versatility with a wide range of roasts, from a light City roast through a Full City and even into the Vienna range.
Nicaragua is my choice as my favorite of all coffee producing countries.
Good Nicaraguan gourmet coffees are a classic cup of coffee with great body, clean flavor, and balance. What makes them unique among Central America coffee in the fact that the highest grown (SHG grade which stands for Strictly High Grown) do not have the pronounced and sharp acidity of other Central coffees.This is my everyday gourmet coffee.
Panama on the list of coffee producing countries in the past has been under-rated and sometimes overlooked. In recent years the Best of Panama competition has attracted global competition. Panama has done well in the competition. The Gesha, produced in small coffee estates has gotten heaps of attention for its unique floral character. The Panama coffees are brightly toned with strong floral aromatics and clean fruited notes. They out rate many higher priced coffees and have an obvious character and consistent quality. The cheaper Panamas sold and are a staple of better commercial roasters and lower-end specialty roasters. The Boquete coffees from the Chirqui district, are from small family-owned farms. They produce the truly distinct, unique gourmet coffees and worth your attention. Watch for them.
Organic Peru It is the cheapest certified Organic coffee on the market. It is used as a blender coffee for Organics. Peru wanted to be one of the coffee countries known as the House of Organic Coffee. A lot of clear cutting of forests for organic farms has taken place. The rules make it easier to establish a new farm as organic than convert an existing farm. Is the rule right, hard to say because you can buy organic for around $4-$6 per lb. roasted. It is fine but could be better. I guess you get what you pay for. Good everyday organic coffee bean coffee. They never developed into that super good gourmet organic coffee producing countries.
The problem is the Peruvian organic coffee glut forces quality-oriented farmers within Peru and everywhere else to accept lower prices for their organic crop in order to compete. And a farm that is trying to produce a truly excellent gourmet coffee in a conscientious way cannot compete with a larger quantity-oriented farm, whether it is a co-op or not. Try a Trader Joe’s organic Peru versus a high quality Organic Peru and the differences are profound: not only do the cheap ones have little to rave about but just no positive qualities; they also have defective taints in the cup, grassy, almost fermented notes.
I am not the biggest fan of Peruvian coffee. There are good ones out there but it takes some homework to find them. Peru is a large varied land and they produce a lot of different coffees. It’s the land of the famous Incas and a latecomer in the world coffee trade. Peru can produce some very fine coffees that have Central American brightness.
The good organic gourmet coffees have a more “rustic” coffee character but can dominate the cup, but this can add interest to the flavor rather than detract. The cup of coffee has it all, body, brightness and good depth in the flavors. The Chanchamayo is normally the top region, but good Norte and Cuzco coffees from the south are available.
Puerto Rican coffee bean coffee are average or above but the one that stands out in recent years is Yauco Selecto but don’t expect a big cup. It is more of an island style (low land production). These coffees, which include Jamaica and Konea, are soft, low in acid, balanced, and mild. They are drinkable coffees, but are quite expensive compaed to other coffee producing countries
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