Caribbean coffee production is world famous because of the Jamaica Blue Mountain. This Typica variety coffee has a long history in Caribbean that can dated back to a single seedling. Today, there are more origins in Caribbean that produced high quality specialty grade coffee worth pay attention.
Coffee History in Caribbean – King, Explorer and Pirates
In 1723, coffee had still not made its way to the America. A young French naval officer Chevalier Gabriel Mathieu de Clieu stole some coffee seedlings from King Louis XIV and carried it across the sea. He endured heavy storms, an enraged Dutchman, and even a pirate attack during his long journey. After weeks of travel, all but a single seedling had died. De Clieu nurtured the last sprout by sharing half his water ration the rest of the way. Finally, he arrived at Martinique and planted the coffee tree on the island.
Over the following 50 years, it is believed that more than 18 million coffee trees were planted on the island. The National Coffee Association describes this seedling as “the parent of all coffee trees throughout the Caribbean, South, and Central America”.
It is thought that this plant was of the Typica variety, which supposedly later spread across the Caribbean and into South and Central America. Today, the Typica variety has “gradually been replaced across much of the Americas”, according to World Coffee Research. This, however, has not been the case in the Caribbean. Typica variety is still a big thing in Caribbean coffee production, in particular Blue Mountain Typica.
Jamaica Blue Mountain – a growing region or a variety?
In 1728, Govorner Sir Nicolas Lawes brought a Typica coffee to Jamaica (one of The Greater Antillesm – the big 4 islands in Caribbean), where he cultivated it on his estate. The seeds planted in 686 farms produced thousands of coffee shrubs within 20 years. Today, Jamaican Blue Mountain Coffee is among the most expensive coffees in the world and still mainly growing the original Typica variety.
Jamaica Blue Mountain coffee is geographically recognised and possesses a global certification. This means that only coffee that is certified by a Jamaican governmental exports body can be labelled and sold as Blue Mountain coffee. Typically a washed coffee, Blue Mountain beans boast a mild flavour and almost no bitterness. This is because the Blue Mountain region offers high altitudes (the Blue Mountains rise as high as 2,200 m.a.s.l.). It has a healthy amount of rainfall, cool temperatures, and rich soil, providing the perfect climate for coffee cultivation.
But this Blue Mountain Typica variety also spread to the island of Hispaniola, which is shared by Haiti and Dominican Republic today. There are several countries in the world growing Blue Mountain variety coffee, including Haiti, Hawaii, Papua New Guinea, and Kenya.
Main Production – The Greater Antillesm
The island states of The Greater Antillesm are the biggest coffee production origin in Caribbean. Dominican Republic is the biggest production country in the region. Haiti, which together share Hispaniola, is the most forward looking region for speciality grade coffee. Cuba is the largest island in Caribbean and drink a lot of coffee in their local culture, which recently re-enter the global world by exporting some high quality Arabica coffee.
The Dominican Republic
The Dominican Republic (not Dominica, it’s another island state in Caribbean) is the most visited tourist destination. The country has 11 million people and it is the largest coffee producer in the Caribbean by volume. Coffee was introduced to the Dominican Republic in the early 18th century as a cash crop for smallholder farmers, and remains as a stable export crop. Today, there are roughly 50,000 coffee farms across the country. Coffee is predominantly cultivated in five mountainous regions across the country. Farmers grow a small volume of robusta for local consumption. Popular growing regions including Cibao, Azua, Ocoa, Juncalito, Barahona, and Baní.
Haiti
Haitians have experienced several ups and downs with its coffee production throughout history. Haiti has been growing coffee since the 1700s, when it was originally called Saint-Domingue and ruled by the French. The collapse of the International Coffee Agreement in 1989 further prevented Haiti from making any money off of coffee. The earthquake in 2010, also plays an impact on today’s coffee farmers and economy. However, as the most mountainous nation in the Caribbean, Haiti offers excellent conditions for coffee cultivation. The Haitian Blue produced by Cafe Kreyol is a very good example on how high cup quality of Haitian coffee can be.
Cuba
Cuba is a major coffee producer in the 19th and early 20th century. The Soviet Union was a major trading partner of Cuba’s due to it’s political tide, but collapse of the Soviet Union in 1989 has push a major decline during the late 20th century. Only small amount of coffee are exported to Japan, Netherlands, Germany and U.K. The United States, not until 2016, began easing trade embargoes with Cuba. Today, almost all of the country’s coffee is grown in the Sierra Maestra mountains. Coffee from this region generally boasts sweet, sugary flavours with little acidity and a bold body.
Other than Jamaica, Cuba, Dominican Republic and Haiti, there are small amount of coffee production in Guadeloupe, Puerto Rico, San Lucia, Martinique, Trinidad, etc.
While there should be no generalisation across these origins (or others in the Caribbean), the region broadly offers excellent conditions for growing coffee. This is because Caribbean islands commonly have mountainous terrain (and high altitudes as a result), rich soil, and good rainfall. Lots of potential for this old growing region to produce high quality speciality coffee. Let’s keep paying more attention to Caribbean coffee.