All About Coffee by William H. Ukers (best new books to read .TXT) ๐
CHAPTER II
HISTORY OF COFFEE PROPAGATION
A brief account of the cultivation of the coffee plant in the Old World, and of its introduction into the New--A romantic coffee adventure Page 5
CHAPTER III
EARLY HISTORY OF COFFEE DRINKING
Coffee in the Near East in the early centuries--Stories of its origin--Discovery by physicians and adoption by the Church--Its spread through Arabia, Persia, and Turkey--Persecutions and Intolerances--Early coffee manners and customs Page 11
CHAPTER IV
INTRODUCTION OF COFFEE INTO WESTERN EUROPE
When the three great temperance beverages, cocoa, tea, and coffee, came to Europe--Coffee first mentioned by Rauwolf in 1582--Early days of coffee in Italy--How Pope Clement VIII baptized it and made it a truly Christian beverage--The first Europe
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Costa Rica. Good grades of Costa Rican coffee, such as are grown in the Cartago, San Josรฉ, Alajuela, and Grecia districts at high altitudes, are highly esteemed by blenders. They are characterized by their fine flavor, rich body, and sharp acidity. It is frequently declared that some of these coffees are often acidy enough to sour cream if used straight. Due to careless methods of handling, sour or "hidey" beans are sometimes found in chops of Costa Ricans from the lowlands.
Panama. Panama grows coffee only for domestic use, and consequently it is little known in foreign markets. The bean is of average size and tends toward green in color. In the cup it has a heavy body and a strong flavor. The coffee grown in Boquette Valley is considered to be of fine quality, due no doubt to the care given in cultivation by the American and English planters there.
South America
Colombians. Colombia produces some of the world's finest coffees, of which the best known are Medellins, Manizales, Bogotas, Bucaramangas, Tolimas, and Cucutas. Old-crop Colombians of the higher grades, when mellowed with age, have many of the characteristics of the best East Indian coffees, and in style and cup are difficult to distinguish from the Mandhelings and the Ankolas of Sumatra. Such coffees are scarce on the American market, practically all the shipments coming to the United States being new crop and lacking some of the qualities of the mellowed beans. Compared with Santos coffee, good grade Colombians give one-fourth more liquor to a given strength with better flavor and aroma. They are classed and graded as noted in the Complete Reference Table.
Medellins are a fancy mountain-grown coffee, and are esteemed for their good qualities. The beans vary in size, and the color ranges from light to dark green, making a rather rough roast. In the cup they have a fine, rich, distinctive flavor, and in the American grading are regarded as the best of the Colombian commercial growths.
Manizales rank next to Medellins, and have nearly the same characteristics.
Bogotas of good grade are noted for their acidity, body, and flavor. When the acidity is tempered with age, the coffee can be drunk "straight" which can not be done with many other growths. The Bogota green bean ranges from a blue-green bean to a fancy yellow. It is long, and generally has a sharp turn in one end of the center stripe. It is a smooth roaster, and has a rich mellow flavor.
Bucaramangas, grown in the district of that name, are regarded favorably in the American markets as good commercial coffees for blending purposes; the naturals have heavy body, but lack acidity and decided flavor, and are much used to give "back-bone" to blends. The fancies sometimes push the superior East Indian growths hard for first place.
Tolimas are considered a good grade average coffee, and are characterized by a fair-sized bean, attractive style, and good cup quality.
Cucuta coffees, though grown in Colombia, are generally classified among the Maracaibos of Venezuela, because they are mostly shipped from that port. They are described, accordingly, with the Venezuelan coffees.
Venezuela. The coffees of Venezuela are generally grouped under the heads of Caracas, Puerto Cabello, and Maracaibo, the names of the ports through which they are exported. Each group is further subdivided by the names of the districts in which the principal plantations lie. La Guaira coffee includes that produced in the vicinity of Caracas and Cumana.
Caracas coffee is one of the best known in the American market. The washed Caracas is in steady demand in France and Spain. The bean is bluish in color, somewhat short, and of a uniform size. The liquor has a rather light body. Some light-blue washed Caracas coffees are very desirable, and have a peculiar flavor that is quite pleasant to the educated palate. Caracas chops rarely hold their style for any length of time, as the owners usually are not willing to dry properly and thoroughly before milling. When, however, the price is right, American buyers will use some Caracas chops instead of Bogotas. At equal prices the latter have the preference, as they have more body in the cup. Puerto Cabello and Cumana coffees are valued just below Caracas. They are grown at a lower altitude, and are somewhat inferior in flavor.
Not less than one-third of Puerto Cabello coffees come across the thirty-mile gulf to the westward from the port of Tucacas, in a little steamer called the Barquisimento, which is famous all along the coast as the "cocktail shaker." C.H. Stewart[324] solemnly asserts that "Barky" can do the "shimmy" when lying at anchor in quiet waters.
Merida and Tachira coffees are considered the best of the Maracaibo grades, Tovars and Trujillos being classed as lower in trade value. Though Cucuta coffee is grown in the Colombian district of that name, it is largely shipped through Maracaibo; and hence is classed among the Maracaibo types. It ranks with Meridas and fine grade Boconos, and somewhat resembles the Java bean in form and roast, but is decidedly different in the cup. Washed Cucutas are noted for their large size, roughness, and waxy color. They make a good-appearing roast, splitting open, and showing irregular white centers. New-crop beans are sometimes sharply acid, though they mellow with age and gain in body.
Until recent years, Tachira coffee was always sold as Cucuta; but now there is a tendency to ship it under the name Tachira-Venezuela, while true Cucuta is marked Cucuta-Colombia. Tachiras closely resemble the true Cucutas, grade for grade. Up to about 1905 the coffees grown near Salazar, in Colombia, came to market under the name of Salazar; but since then, they have been included among the Cucuta grades and are sold under that name.
The state of Tachira lies next to the Colombian boundary, and its mountains produce much fine washed coffee. This has size and fair style, as a rule, but does not possess cup qualities to make it much sought. It ages well and, being of good body, the old crops, other things being equal, frequently bring a tidy premium.
The Rubio section of Tachira produces the best of its washed coffees. Here are several of the largest and best-equipped estates in all Venezuela. Washed when fresh, the coffees from these estates are usually sold somewhat under the fancy Caracas; but the trillados of the Tachira rank with the best of the country, owing to their large bean, solid color, and good quality. They roast well, and cup with good body, though not much character. Good Tachira trillados are sold on the same basis as the Cucutas, which they resemble.
The Meridas are raised at higher altitudes than Cucutas, and good grades are sought for their peculiarly delicate flavorโwhich is neither acidy nor bitterโand heavy body. They rank as the best by far of the Maracaibo type. The bean is high-grown, of medium size, and roundish. It is well knit, and brings the highest price while it still holds its bluish style, as it then retains its delicate aroma and character. The trillados of Merida run unevenly.
Tovars rank between Trujillos and Tachiras. They are fair to good body without acidity; make a duller roast than Cucutas, but contain fewer quakers. They are used for blending with Bourbon Santos. Boconos are light in color and body. They are of two classes; one a round, small to medium, bean; and the other larger and softer. Their flavor is rather neutral, and they are frequently used as fillers in blends. Trujillos lack acidity and make a dull, rough roast, unless aged. They are blended with Bourbon Santos to make a low-priced palatable coffee. Some coffees of merit are produced at Santa Ana, Monte Carmelo, and Bocono in Trujillo.
Other South American Countries
The coffees from other South American countries, even where there is an appreciable production, are not important factors in international trade. The coffee of Ecuador, shipped through the port of Guayaquil, goes mostly to Chile, a comparatively small quantity being exported to the United States. The bean is small to medium in size, pea-green in color, and not desirable in the cup. The coffee is about equal to low-grade Brazil, and is used principally as a filler. Peru produces an ever-lessening quantity of coffee, the bulk of the exports in pre-war years going to Germany, Chile, and the United Kingdom. It is a low-altitude growth, and is considered poor grade. The bean ranges from medium to bold in size, and from bluish to yellow in color. Bolivia is an unimportant factor in the international coffee trade, most of its exports going to Chile. The chief variety produced is called the Yunga, which is considered to be of superior quality; but only a small quantity is grown. Guiana's coffee trade is insignificant. The three best-known types are the Surinam, Demerara, and Cayenne, named after the ports through which they are shipped.
The West Indies
Coffee either is, or can be, grown practically everywhere in the West Indies; but the chief producing districts are found on the islands of Porto Rico, Haiti (and Santo Domingo), Jamaica, Guadeloupe, and Curaรงao. Coffees coming from these islands are generally known by the name of the country of production, and may be further identified by the names of the districts in which they are grown.
Porto Rico. Since the United States took possession of Porto Rico, soil experts have endeavored to raise the quality of the coffee grown there, especially the lower grades, which had peculiarly wild characteristics. Today, the superior grades of Porto Rican coffees rank among the best growths known to the trade. The bean is large, uniform, and stylish; ranging in color from a light gray-blue to a dark green-blue. Some of these are artificially colored for foreign markets. The coffee roasts well, and has a heavy body, similar to the fanciest Mexicans and Colombians. Its cup is not as rich, but it makes a good blend. Porto Rican coffees command a higher price in France than in the United States, which accounts for the larger proportion of exports to Europe, excepting when the French market was cut off during the World War.
Jamaica. Jamaica produces two distinct types of coffee, the highland and the lowland growths. Among the first-named is the celebrated Blue Mountain coffee, which has a well developed pale blue-green bean that makes a good-appearing roast and a pleasantly aromatic cup. It is frequently compared with the fancy Cobรกns of Guatemala. The lowland coffee is a poorer grade, and consists largely of a mixture of different growths produced on the plains. It is a fair-sized bean, green to yellow in the "natural", and blue-green when washed. In the cup it has a grassy flavor, but is flat when drunk with cream. It is used chiefly as a filler in blends, and for French roasts.
Haiti and Santo Domingo. The coffees of these two republics have like characteristics, being grown on the same island and in about the same climatic and soil conditions. Careless cultivation and preparation methods are responsible for the generally poor quality of these coffees. When properly grown and cured, they rank well with high-grade washed varieties, and have a rich, fairly acid flavor in the cup. The bean is blue-green, and makes a handsome roast.
Guadeloupe. Guadeloupe coffee is distinguishable by its green, long, and slightly thick bean, covered by a pellicle of whitish silvery color, which separates from the bean in the roast. It has excellent cup qualities.
Martinique. This island formerly produced a coffee closely resembling the Guadeloupe; but no coffee is now grown there, though some Guadeloupe growths are shipped from Martinique, and
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