Although the European climate isn’t conducive to growing coffee commercially, the plants thrive throughout varied locations in the rest of the world. North America doesn’t produce its own coffee, with the exception of the Hawaiian islands which are famous for the Kona variety that’s considered to be of very high quality and much in demand. Although Kona isn’t the only variety grown in Hawaii, it’s certainly the best known and most sought after.
To produce the distinctive taste, the bushes are planted in volcanic soil on the active Mauna Loa volcano. The afternoon sun isn’t too intense thanks to a thick cloud canopy, and the new trees generally flourish to produce the berries that go on to become Kona.
Meanwhile, Mexico produces coffee on a far bigger scale. Although the individual farms tend to be small and family run, there are over 100,000 farmers and Mexico is at the forefront of the world’s coffee producing counties, with farms being primarily located in the south. Mexican beans are ideal for dark roasts and are often used as part of blends.
Puerto Rican coffee production today is fairly modest compared to the glory days of the 19th century, when the country was the sixth highest exporter of coffee in the world. A combination of natural disasters such as hurricanes combined with competition from other countries led to a drop in production, but now the Puerto Rican coffee industry is on its way back up again, with the emphasis this time on quality rather than quantity. The island has two major growing regions, but producing different but highly regarded coffee.
Here at the Wholesale Coffee Company we have a range of coffee beans available from different regions around the world, all at great wholesale prices. For more information, please visit our coffee beans page.