Central American Coffee, Caribbean Coffee: Between the Oceans and the Peaks

From Central American coffee to Caribbean coffee, you'll find great coffee drinking from some of the most expensive and/or delicious coffee beans in the world.

Central America also produces some fine Central American beans, and some not so fine. Some names may already be familiar to you, especially Costa Rica, Guatemala, and Mexico. But how about El Salvador, Nicaragua, and Ecuador?

Costa Rica in particular is famous among Central American coffees for its full bodied, robustly rich coffee mostly grown around the capital, San Jose. The four most famous coffees are named after the districts they're grown in — Alajuela, Heredia, San Marcos de Tarrazu, and lastly, Tres Rios. Altitude determines flavor in this country with the best beans growing above 3900 feet.

Guatemala also has some very distinctively flavored coffees. Its central highlands are 4500 feet above sea level, ideal for growing beans with a rich, spicy/smoky flavor. They have a mild and pleasing acidity and medium to full body.

While Mexico produces pleasant, rather ordinary beans that are grown in the mountains of the south. They make a pleasant, flavorful cup of coffee ideal for everyday drinking. When ground for espresso, most Mexican beans make a mildly acidic and very flavorful cup.

III. Caribbean Coffee: The Tastes of the Islands

Cuba, Haiti, and Jamaica all cultivate coffee, too.

The premium beans that constitute Jamaica Blue Mountain Coffee which is grown at between 3~5,000 feet are graded into one of five lots. These beans are quite mild in flavor, nor are they bitter.

Because of their scarcity and top quality, prices can be quite expensive. Meaning that the bag of 'blue mountain coffee' on your shelf is, at best, a blend of other South American coffee beans.

Cuba is famous for its specialty 'Cuban coffee', a blend of espresso and sugar that makes a variety of great tasting drinks, but cultivates coffee beans that aren't available in the US markets at the moment.

In fact, Cuba has a long history of growing but in recent years, there has been in decline in production, exports and quality since the revolution.

In Haiti, it's a similar story. But coffee has been cultivated here since at least 1730's. Though the early days of the cultivation exploited slaves and fomented revolution in Haiti, coffee is still grown in Haiti to this day.

In recent years, Haitian Bleu has tried to recreate the quality and fame of Haiti's early coffee days. With a rich and slightly sweet flavor, it's not particularly strong or acidic, yet carries a stronger flavor than say Columbian.

In this expansive and detailed look at coffee beans from Central America and Caribbean coffee, we'll definitely come back and add other recommended estates, regions and countries to this list. So come on back! Your seat at the counter will be kept just for you!

And finally...

Wherever you are, remember "Only Coffee Beans Make Great Coffee"! And enjoy that cup of coffee!

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Return from Central American coffee to coffee beans.