Page 99 - #62 eng e-mag

now have distinct signatures in the
Virtually all cocoa plants were gone and
coffee plants took their place. little coffee was exported for decades,
but Honduras caught up quickly
specialty realm. and in 2011 was the largest pro-
Nicaragua was first among the ducer of coffee in Central America.
three to begin commercial production Coffee came late to Panama,
of coffee. Though commercial coffee but Panama came early to specialty
growing began in Nicaragua at rough- coffee. Coffee farmers understood
ly the same time as Guatemala, the that such a small country could not
industry grew much faster in Nicara- compete on quantity and decided
gua, becoming the country’s number to focus on quality. As a result,
one export in just twenty years. production of coffee has dropped
Both Panama and Honduras did dramatically but the value of coffee
not begin commercial production has increased steadily. Emblematic
until the late 1800’s. The late arrival of this transition is the emergence
of Honduras was due in part to the of the Geisha variety. Originally
dominance of the banana industry, brought to Panama fifty years ago
which requires little infrastructure as potentially resistant to leaf rust,
compared to coffee. Growth of the the plants did not thrive at low
coffee industry continued to be slow altitudes (where resistance was
throughout the early twentieth cen- critical) and resulted in poor tast-
tury due to poor infrastructure and ing coffee. In 2004, Geishas were
an absence of modern mills. Very discovered/rediscovered growing
at high altitudes and exhibited such
extraordinary flavor the coffees
broke records at auction.
With an abundance of micro-
climates and wide variety of ter-
rain, coffee farmers throughout
Central America learned that not
all coffees are created equal, not
even coffees on the same farm.
Despite the compact proximity of
the coffee growing countries, the
region produces a seemingly limit-
less variety of flavor profiles.
Olam Coffee is an importer, exporter, producer and
marketplace for the finest specialty green coffees.
www.olamspecialtycoffee.com
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