Coffee from the Americas

Your daily cup of coffee would not be possible without a few curious goats and the keen observations of a goat herder, plus the brave experiments performed by a couple monks. We know, it sounds a little bit crazy, but if you do not know what we are talking about, let us explain. Basically, according to an Ethiopian legend, the story of the coffee we know today started there, when a goat herder named Kaldi noticed his goats had a lot of energy after they ate a red fruit.You guessed it, that was the coffee cherry. Kaldi tried it himself and experienced the same rise and energy, then took the mysterious fruit to a local monastery. The monks there brewed the first coffee concoction and were also the first ones to ”pull an all-nighter”, due to caffeine. The rest is history.

Reaching the Americas

Once coffee was discovered, it was a long way until it spread all around the world. At first, Arabia had the monopoly as that was the place where roasting had its roots, and this situation went on for quite some time. An Indian pilgrim named Baba Budan decided that other countries should also have the privilege of this miraculous drink, so he smuggled a few fertile beans from Mecca. From that moment on, a competitive coffee market started.

In colonial America, coffee was seen, first of all, as a medicinal drink, and one that was too expensive for general consumption. Once the Boston Tea Party and other similar protests took place, the first coffee roaster opened in New York in 1793, on Pearl Street. Together with it, a coffee market slowly raised along the East River ports. Sadly, the beans had an inferior quality, as they were old and damp most of the time, because of how many months they spent on musty ships as they were transported. 

The arrival of steamships also brought a higher quality and access for the general public to the much wanted coffee. In the late 1950s, coffee production started in Central America and so did the general consumption, that being the moment when coffee turned into a cultural factor. 

The Geographic Areas 

Now, in America, coffee is mostly found to be grown all along the mountainous backbone of the Latin part. It is characterized by a bright and lively acidity with a clean and straightforward taste. The main areas are southern Mexico, Central America, Colombia, Bolivia, Peru, the Caribbean and Brazil. 

As the variation in locations is wide, so is the ones in cups. The coffee beans grown in the high plateaus of Central America and Colombia is bold, very acidic and full-bodied. The people attracted by it usually prefer the old school type of coffee. 

Other famous types include the Caribbean ones, like the Jamaica Blue Mountain, which have big bodies, rich, low-key acidity, and are roundly balanced. When we talk about the Nicaragua coffees, the first thing that comes to mind is a full and meaty body. The beans grown at lower altitudes in Central America are usually softer and rounder, similar to the sweet ones from Peru. 

Methods of Processing Used

In Latin America, the famous, simple, clear taste is achieved through wet processing. In Brazil, for example, where the processing methods are much more wider, it is expected that so are the experiences. There, you can find dry processed coffee known as the classic Brazil Santos, the semi-dried or naturally pulped ones, that end up delivering a soft, but complex fruity cup. There you can also find a version of the wet processing we mentioned in the beginning.It result in a clean coffee, low in acidity, similar to the one found in the lower regions of Central America. 

As a conclusion, we think we can agree that the coffee from the Americas is so varied in body, acidity, taste and aromas that it is impossible to not find something suitable for your taste. Many people have been so inspired by this variety that they decided to travel all across America and have a taste from each region, and they were not disappointed. If you are on the hunt for the perfect coffee, we highly recommend you search in these areas, as you will find a unique experience in each region.