Upheaval

There is a lot of coffee in Columbus but none of it grew here. This is another installment in our continuing series of producer-country profiles intended to get a sense of what a massive undertaking it is to get coffee from there to here. While this is not a profile as such it will, I hope, expand our perspectives as consumers of coffee.

There have been two major revolts in Latin America recently:

Honduras

The president of Honduras, Manuel Zelaya, has been exiled to Costa Rica by members of the military. He attempted to add a third term to his presidency. This was ruled unconsitutional and the Honduran Supreme Court gave an order allowing the military to detain Zelaya.

WSJ, NYT, (via).

Peru

Indigenous Peruvians blocked roads and cut pipelines to resist corporate and governmental incursions into areas they claim rights to. At least thirty-five people died in the clash over proposals to open large areas of rain forest for oil drilling, logging, and hydroelectric dams.

NYT, (via).

More reviews of local coffee shops will be up after the weekend. Have a happy Fourth!

Yemen

There is a lot of coffee in Columbus but none of it grew here. This is another installment in our continuing series of producer-country profiles intended to get a sense of what a massive undertaking it is to get coffee from there to here.

Yemen's history is closely tied to coffee. Yemenis were the first to popularize coffee, trade coffee, and establish a "coffee culture." Coffee may have evolved in Africa, but coffee as we know it started at the tip of the Arabian peninsula. Located just across the Red Sea from coffee's native Ethiopia, it was a natural launch pad for the small fruit that would become the world's rocket fuel.

Republic of Yemen

Distance from Columbus, Ohio: 7335 miles (11803 km)

Capital: Sanaa (or Sana'a)

Relative Size: Slightly larger than twice the size of Wyoming

Major Coffee Growing Regions:
Mattari (from Bani Matar), Hirazi/Harasi (from Haras), Haimi, Saihi, Ismaili, Sharasi, Dhamari from Dhamar), Rimy (from Raimi or Rayma).

Introduced from Ethiopia around the 6th century, full-scale coffee cultivation began in Yemen around the 15th century. The old port of Mocha (or Moka, or Mokka, or Mokha, or...) was formerly a major site of international trade and a point on the route of goods from the Mediterranean to the Indian Ocean (before the contstruction of the Suez Canal). Mocha became synonymous with coffee, becoming a generic term for the drink early in the beverage's history. Abandoned, it has been replaced by the ports of Adan, Hudaydah, and Mukalla.

Today, the coffee trade in Yemen runs a lot like it has for centuries. People grow it casually at home or on small-holder farms and sell the dry-processed beans through a byzantine system of traders and exporters. Of the small amount of arable land in Yemen (2.91% of Yemeni territory) there are 330,000 coffee farms and an estimated 1,530,000 people working in the coffee industry.

Yemeni coffee is dried on the ground before the bean is removed from the fruit and mucilage that encases the roastable seed (called Dry or Natural processing). This method, along with the terroir of the various growing regions, imparts flavors ranging from winey, wild, and earthy to fruity or acidy. Yemenis who grow coffee are coffee drinkers themselves and may also enjoy a tea-like beverage called qishr made from the dried husks and a mix of spices. A typical day in Yemen may start with coffee, switching later to qishr as the day heats up in the afternoon.

Sources: CIA Factbook, Sweet Maria's, ICO, CoffeeReview.com, Tea & Coffee Trade Journal.

Previously: Brazil

Full Brazilian

Ohio is not known for growing coffee. Coffee trees at our altitude and latitude can not produce fruit, so it has to be shipped in from mountainous places situated in the Tropics. We will, from time to time, profile these places to get a sense of the massive undertaking involved to get coffee from there to here.

Brazil

Distance from Columbus, Ohio: 4469 miles.

Introduced by: Francisco de Mello Palheta in 1727 from Cayenne, French Guiana.

Cultivars: Bourbon, Typica, Caturra, and Mundo Novo

2007 production: 36,070 bags (18,739,292,286 tons)

Trade Organizations: CeCafé, ABIC

Brazil is the world's fifth largest country in both geographical area and population. It is the largest country in South America and the largest producer of coffee in the world. The southeastern coffee-growing section is rugged, with mountain ranges reaching elevations of up to 3,900 ft (high quality arabica is usually cultivated between 4,265 and 4,921 ft). These ranges include the Mantiqueira Mountains, the Espinhaço Mountains, and the Serra do Mar. The highest point in Brazil is the Pico da Neblina at 9,890 ft.

Brazil is the world's tenth largest economy (at market exchange rates). Its currency, the Real, has dropped recently which has allowed the resource-rich country to poise itself as a major exporter. Stiff new competition from Vietnam's fledgling coffee industry has impacted Brazil's historic market dominance, however, Brazil exports both arabica and robusta varieties while Vietnam only exports commodity-grade robustas. In addition to exporting beans, Brazilians have recently started drinking more of their own coffee on a daily basis, consuming 11 lbs of coffee (per capita) a year, up by 3.5% from previous years. Scandinavia, the world leader in coffee drinking, consumes around 25 lbs of coffee (per capita) a year.

Brazil has long been a coffee producing powerhouse. The Instituto do Cafe (IBC) was formed by coffee growers in 1906 in an effort to manipulate international coffee supply and prices. In 1926 the IBC was taken over by the government and used as artillery in a price war against Colombia. Brazilian coffee stored in warehouses around the world would be released or withheld to match fluctuations in market prices, thereby guaranteeing high and reliable prices. Under certain conditions, the IBC would destroy whole crops of coffee in an effort to maintain its position in the market. Changes in international politics and a decline in global coffee production put an end to the IBC in 1989.

Sources: The Coffee Book, Wikipedia, The Financial Express, Sweet Maria's, ABIC.