Coffee producing countries: Central American and Caribbean

These specialty coffees are known to have various abbreviated rating system that define the type of beans they are, or the altitude at which the beans were grown. Some typical abbreviations are S.H.B (Strictly Hard Bean), G.H.B (Good Hard Bean), S.H.G (Strictly High Grown), H.G (High Grown), H.G.A (High Grown Atlantic). Central American coffees are respected as a good stand alone, and many make wonderful blenders for the more acidic beans. Mexico, Guatemala, Panama, Jamaica Blue Mountain and Costa Rica chip in with their own unique styling's.

Costa Rica:

The tiny republic of Costa Rica received it's first seedlings from Cuba in 1779. Only Arabica is grown there on account of a law banning the cultivation of Robusta. The cultivators are mainly small farmers organized into cooperatives which form a federation which is responsible for exports. Due to use of very up-to-date technology the yield obtained is extremely high.

The best quality coffees come from the higher altitudes 1200-1700m on the Pacific side of the country which has a dry season from December to March. These coffees are known as SHB (Strictly Hard Bean). The regions of Tres Rios, Tarrazu and Naranjo around the capital city of San Jose are the home of Costa Rica's greatest coffees.

The high altitude and the rich, volcanic soil from the area's many volcanoes create conditions which are ideal for the production of top-quality coffee. The temperate climate, with sunny days and cool nights, allows the coffee to mature slowly, which seems to concentrate the flavors. These coffees are noted for their consistency in the cup, acidity, body and very fragrant aroma. When you see "Cafe de Costa Rica", you can be assured it is 100% Arabica.

Annual production
Year	60kg bags
2001	2.504.833
2002	2.347.833
2003	2.204333
2004	2.100.000
2005	2.199.166
2006	2.116.700
2007	1.840.500

Cuba:

For more that two centuries Cuba has produced some of the best Arabic Coffee in the world. The coffee plant was introduced in Cuba in 1748, by Jose Antonio Gelabert, though it wasn't until 50 years later that French Colonists came to Cuba from Haiti to flee the revolution that coffee production took off in Cuba. Coffee is cultivated in five main areas in Cuba, which are: Zona de Guantánamo, Zona de La Maya, Zona de Palma, Zona de Lomas, Zona de Candelaria. The Province of Oriente produces approximately 92%, Las Villas 6% and Pinar del Río the remaining 2%. Cuba's principle agricultural products, which have served a valuable and indispensable economic resource, are the sugar cane, tobacco and coffee.

Annual production
Year	60kg bags
2001	262.000
2002	245.000
2003	250.000
2004	257.000
2005	200.000
2006	225.250
2007	233.500

Dominican Republic:

Coffees from the Dominican Republic are grown at moderate altitudes and are full-bodied with moderate acidity and uncomplicated flavors. These wet-processed coffees are best suited for dark-roasted espresso blends. Cibao, Bani, Ocoa, and Barahona are the four main market names for coffees from the Dominican Republic.

Annual production
Year	60kg bags
2001	591.333
2002	622.166
2003	615.500
2004	590.333
2005	725.500
2006	733.250
2007	720.500

El Salvador:

Volcanic peaks account for much of this Central American country's landscape creating a good environment for growing coffee. Almost 60% of Salvador's exports come from coffee and 25% of the workforce is employed in the coffee industry - this figure can rise, however, to up to 80% during harvesting.

Coffee was introduced here in the mid-1800s from British Honduras and Cuba. The flavor of Salvadorian coffee is mild, with good balance, medium body, sharp acidity and a hint of sweetness. The best grade of Salvadorian coffee is called strictly high grown. All coffees are produced using the wet-process.

Annual production
Year	60kg bags
2001	1.870.000
2002	1.525.166
2003	1.352.666
2004	1.384.833
2005	1.466.000
2006	1.308.500
2007	1.575.750

Guatemala:

Coffee was introduced into Guatemala in 1750 by Jesuit missionaries. The industry was further developed after 1860 when Germans immigrated there. A quarter of the population of Guatemala make a living from coffee. Not so long ago, coffee represented 70% of the country's exports, but this has fallen to only 32% today. Guatemala is still in high position in the ranking of coffee producers in the world. The most famous regional marketing names are: Antigua, Coban and Huehuetenango.

High quality Guatemalan coffees are produced using the wet-process and are of high acidity and medium body, with smoky, spicy and chocolate flavors. Guatemalan coffee is often marketed by grade, with the highest grade being strictly hard bean, which indicates coffees grown at 4,500 feet or above. A secondary grade is hard bean, designating coffees grown between 4,000 and 4,500 feet.

Annual production
Year	60kg bags
2001	4.595.000
2002	3.697.000
2003	4.070.000
2004	3.610.000
2005	4.276.833
2006	3.610.500
2007	3.620.250

Haiti:

Haiti, which shares the island of Hispaniola with the Dominican Republic, is one of many countries in which coffee has been called upon to help heal the scars of war and alleviate poverty. During the mid 1990s conditions in Haiti were so dire owing to a United States-led embargo against the prevailing dictatorship that many farmers burned their coffee trees to produce charcoal for sale in local markets. Haiti coffee, another Caribbean origin with a long and distinguished tradition, virtually disappeared from the specialty coffee menu.

Decades of disorder had so depressed the quality of this once celebrated origin that few in the coffee world probably even noticed or regretted its absence. Today, however, with the help of an international development agency, a cooperative of over 7,000 farmers called Cafeieres Natives produces and markets a revived specialty coffee from Haiti trademarked Haitian Bleu. At its best, Haitian Bleu is rich, opulent and sweetly low-toned, another fine example of the Caribbean cup.

Annual production
Year	60kg bags
2001	466.666
2002	402.000
2003	374.000
2004	373.000
2005	355.000
2006	352.500
2007	366.000

Hawaii:

Coffee was introduced into Hawaii over 170 years ago when, in 1825, Chief Boki, Governor of Oahu brought coffee to Hawaii aboard the British warship HMS Blonde. The ship was returning to Hawaii with the bodies of King Kamahameha II and Queen Kamamalu who had died in London during their trip there. Chief Boki had acquired the coffee plants in Rio de Janeiro during the return voyage. Nowadays, Hawaii has a thriving coffee industry, that is mostly geared towards the gourmet market.

Although it grows wild on Oahu, where it was first planted, it does not have much commercial significance there. However, it is grown commercially on four of the six major islands: Maui, Hawaii, Molokai and Kauai. Hawaii and Kauai have the largest farms and coffee from the Kona region of Hawaii is well regarded. It is famed for large flat beans which have a medium-bodied, buttery flavor with spicy characteristics. Kona coffee has become a widely known brand in the gourmet coffee market; however, some coffee sold under this name only contains 10% Kona, the rest being made up of cheaper coffees. The best grade of coffee is Extra Fancy, followed by Fancy and Number One grades.

Annual production
Year	60kg bags
2001	60.500*
2002	56.666*
2003	62.666*
2004	42.333*
2005	48.333*
2006	55.183
2007	56.666
* inklusive Puerto Rico

Honduras:

Honduran coffee is wet-processed and mainly used as a cheap blending coffee. It is ranked eighth in world production and aims to increase that ranking and become the most important coffee producer in Central America. Honduras received it's Arabica coffee trees from neighboring El Salvador as well as other countries such as Brazil, Costa Rica and Ethiopia. Some excellent coffees are grown here, but they are often blended with inferior beans before they are exported and are difficult to find.

Annual production
Year	60kg bags
2001	3.425.833
2002	2.878.833
2003	2.921.333
2004	3.084.833
2005	3.177.333
2006	3.222.500
2007	3.333.333

Jamaica:

The coffee industry on this Caribbean island began in 1725 when its governor brought seedlings from Martinique and planted them on his Estate. About 60,000 Jamaican farmers now grow coffee, some producing as little as five pounds of green beans each year. Mountains cover four-fifths of the country, with the Blue Mountains, in the east, reaching a height of 7,400 feet. The coffee is planted on terraces between 1,500 to 5,000 feet above sea level and is often shaded by avocado and banana trees.

It is the home of Jamaican Blue Mountain, one of the world's most controversial coffees. Once a superb coffee characterized by a nutty aroma, bright acidity and a unique flavor. Recent overproduction, lack of attention to quality and profiteering have led to a mediocre, over-priced product. Some confusion exists about where the boundaries for growing this product actually lie, and often coffees of lesser quality are packaged under its name. Jamaican High Mountain is a term that applies to coffees of lesser quality that are grown at a lower altitude than Jamaican Blue Mountain.

Both coffees are produced using the wet-process. Not all coffee produced on the island is exported. Jamaicans drink a fair amount of coffee and also use part of their production to make their local specialty, a liqueur called Tia Maria.

Annual production
Year	60kg bags
2001	45.000
2002	45.000
2003	45.000
2004	47.500
2005	48.833
2006	45.000
2007	45.000

Martinique:

Although Martinique no longer produces coffee, it is the first location in the Caribbean where coffee was grown. Due to efforts of Chevalier Gabriel Mathiew de Clieu, the first sprouts from the noble tree reached Martinique in the Caribbean in about 1720. When his spindly shoot of the noble tree reached Martinique, it flourished. Fifty years later there were 18,680 coffee trees in Martinique, and coffee cultivation was established in Haiti, Mexico, and most of the islands of the Caribbean.

Annual production
Year	60kg bags
2001	6.800
2002	5.750
2003	3.870
2004	2.800
2005	2.562
2006	1.666
2007	1.333

Mexico:

Coffee trees from the Caribbean were introduced into Mexico at the end of the 18th century. Today, coffee represents one third of the country's agricultural exports, and it is ranked fourth in the world for coffee production. Mexico produces large quantities of unremarkable coffee that is often used for dark roasts and blending. The state of Vera Cruz produces many of these average coffees in its low lying regions, but in its mountains near the city of Coatepec an excellent coffee called Altura Coatepec is produced. These high grown, or Altura, coffees are light bodied, nutty, with a chocolate tang and acidic snap.

Altura Orizaba and Altura Huatusco are other fine coffees produced in Vera Cruz. The state of Oaxaca in the central mountains also produces some good coffees, referred to as either Oaxaca or Oaxaca Pluma. Chiapas, near the Guatemalan border, produces coffee under the market name Tapachula and is also gaining a reputation for its above average organic coffees. Coffees are produced using the wet-process.

Annual production
Year	60kg bags
2001	5.050.000
2002	5.217.166
2003	5.181.100
2004	4.937.933
2005	4.792.666
2006	5.166.666
2007	5.333.333

Nicaragua:

The Jinotega, Matagalpa, and Segovia regions produce the best-known Nicaragua coffees. As various estates and cooperatives begin to establish their identities in the North American specialty market they will probably reveal coffees in the standard Central America mode: fragrant, complex, with a nut and vanilla bouquet, moderately acidy and medium in body. Jinotega and Segovia coffees occasionally display a bigger, bolder acidity. Most Nicaragua coffee is shade grown. The highest grade is Strictly High Grown.

Annual production
Year	60kg bags
2001	1.113.333
2002	1.004.000
2003	1.378.833
2004	958.833
2005	1.591.000
2006	921.666
2007	1.363.000

Panama:

Panama is a relatively small coffee-producing country, but it has two very different growing regions which produce distinct coffees. Coffee produced in Panama is sweet, bright and balanced. This wet-processed coffee is often used for blending, but is excellent served at breakfast.

Annual production
Year	60kg bags
2001	251.166
2002	189.833
2003	374.000
2004	213.000
2005	219.166
2006	225.000
2007	238.333

Puerto Rico:

In the 19th century Puerto Rico was one of the world's leading coffee origins. In 1896, for example, the island was the sixth largest coffee producer in the world. But in the 20th century coffee apparently became lost in the complex political and economic shuffle that marked Puerto Rico's passage from agricultural economy and Spanish colony to developing American commonwealth.

In the late 1980s, however, a consortium of farmers led by Harvard-educated marketing expert Jaime Fortuno revived Puerto Rico as a specialty coffee origin. Puerto Rico Yauco Selecto is produced at elevations above 3,000 feet in the southwestern mountains from trees of the admired bourbon variety and other traditional local Puerto Rican cultivars. At best it is a superb example of the Caribbean taste, soft yet powerful, with a fragrant, fruity sweetness. At this writing Yauco is not what it has been in the recent past, however, with a hard, flavor-dampening edge often insinuating itself into the Caribbean sweetness.

Annual production
Year	60kg bags
2001	60.500*
2002	56.666*
2003	62.666*
2004	42.333*
2005	48.333*
2006	45.000
2007	45.000
* inklusive Hawaii