northwest of Java, being separated only from it by the narrow Sunda
strait, and is much richer in products than the latter island. The
coffee-plant was first introduced into Sumatra from Java, by the Dutch,
in the latter part of the eighteenth century, but its cultivation made
little or no progress on that island until about the year 1800, when
measures were taken by the government to promote and stimulate its
production there, since which period there has been a rapid increase
in its output. The system of coffee cultivation is nearly identical
with that in Java, each native family being furnished with seed by
the government on condition that they keep in good bearing order not
less than 650 trees, the crop, “if up to standard,” being purchased
by the government, that is, _taken_, at an arbitrarily _fixed_ price.
The coffee, after being inspected and accepted, is stored in go-downs
or warehouses adjacent to the districts of growth, until a sufficient
quantity has been collected, when it is transported to the ports of
Padang or Benkoolen, where, after being duly advertised, it is sold
at auction, under the immediate supervision of the officers of the
Dutch government, the sales being held quarterly during the months
of March, June, September and December, as in Batavia and Amsterdam.
Latterly, however, the cultivation of coffee in Sumatra has been
further encouraged by the government leasing or selling coffee-lands
to independent planters, the product of such plantations being termed
“Free coffee,” in contradistinction to that raised with restrictions by
the natives, such coffees being sold only by tenders, as in Java.
Like Java, Sumatra is geographically divided into a number of
districts politically termed “Residencies,” under Dutch control, the
coffee-producing districts comprising Painan, Padang, Palembang,
Ankola, Ayerbanjies and Mandheling, grading relatively in the order
named.
=Painan=--Is a medium-sized bean brownish in color, hard, solid and
regular in appearance, generally clean and well prepared, and though
fairly heavy in body and pungent in flavor is yet devoid of the
mellowness and fragrance which characterize Sumatra sorts in general,
but is still superior in many respects to a number of the Java growths.
=Padang=--Known to trade generally as “Interior” from being raised in
a somewhat desultory manner by the natives on government lands, in
the Padang plateau or highlands of the interior, which furnishes the
largest quantity. Padang or Interior coffees are not, as a rule, as
stylish or uniform as the other district growths, owing to careless
cultivation and the primitive methods of preparation in use by the
natives. Yet, notwithstanding these drawbacks, Interior coffees
frequently comprise invoices rivalling in roasting and drinking
qualities many of the regularly cultivated district coffees, and at all
times far outrank the average of the Java product. The raw bean as a
rule is of fair proportions, but very irregular in general appearance,
fairly uniform, and though lacking in the style and finer qualities of
the plantation grades, is nevertheless strong, rich and fragrant in the
cup, possessing a characteristic flavor entirely their own.
=Palembang=--Differs from Padang both in size, style, color and drink,
being smaller in bean, lighter in color, but stronger and more pungent
in liquor, and not, as a general rule, as highly valued, except when
the crop is good.
=Ankola=--Ranks among the finest of the Sumatra sorts in point of size,
color and general character, the natural bean being round, full and
firm, rich dark-brown in color, bright and mellow in liquor, and very
fragrant if not aromatic in flavor, and much superior in every respect
to the best of the Java growths, excepting alone that produced in the
Preanger district.
=Ayerbanjies=--Is closely allied to Ankola in all its leading features
of size, color, structure and character, being classed commercially as
on an entire parity with it, commanding the same price, and frequently
substituted for it when the former is scarce or difficult to obtain.
=Mandheling=--Is without exception the finest of the Sumatra products,
and is valued high commercially, not alone for its undisputed intrinsic
merits, but also on account of the comparatively small amount produced,
forming only about ten per cent. of the entire product of the island.
The bean is much larger, almost as large as Liberian, of a rich dark,
natural-brown color, round, full, well developed and symmetrical in
form, very stylish and attractive in the roasted state, and equalling,
if not positively surpassing, the much-vaunted Old Government Java
itself.
=Lahat=--Is another of the Sumatra varieties, but not deserving of
being classed with them. Being of lowland growth, the bean, while
large, is flat in shape, whitish in color, and chaffy in substance,
approaching a Malang in general contour. It is invariably “quakery” in
the roast, flat in liquor, insipid in flavor, or more correctly, almost
devoid of “cup” qualities.
Sumatra coffees, in general, possess a peculiarly characteristic flavor
in the raw or natural state, described by some dealers as “musty,”
but claimed to be acquired in transit through the tropics, the coffee
sweating in the hold of the vessel during the long voyage. Certain
it is, however, that this mustiness, or whatever it may be termed,
enhances rather than detracts from the value or flavor of the coffee.
And, more singular to add, Sumatra forms nine-tenths of the coffee
imported and sold in the United States under the head of Java, being
preferred to the latter by the American dealers in general, on account
of its usually dark-brown color and distinctive “musty” flavor. The
annual product, like that of all other countries, varies materially
from various and obvious causes, both in quantity and quality, the
average annual export being about 20,000,000 pounds, of which the
United States takes upwards of 75 per cent., the product of “Free” or
private plantation coffee forming about one-fifth of the annual yield.
It is packed in grass mats, and shipped from the port of Padang, when
purchased for account in the United States, and from Benkoolen, in the
north, when intended for the European market.
CELEBES COFFEES
Are grown in the Dutch island of that name, situated to the northeast
of Java, the coffee plant being introduced there from Java as far
back as 1750, but except where Dutch influence was felt little or no
attention was paid to it by the native races until about 1822, when
it was discovered by the Dutch rulers that the soil of the mountain
sides was admirably adapted to the cultivation of fine coffees and a
system established which stimulated the native chiefs to foster the
industry and undertake the management of coffee plantations. A law was
subsequently enacted by the Dutch government, however, compelling the
native princes to direct the total annihilation of the cultivation
of coffee in their dominions and to secure by treaty with them the
destruction and confiscation of all coffee found in the hands of the
natives. The island is divided into thirteen districts, in nearly all
of which more or less coffee is produced. The principal coffees being
known to commerce as Menado, Bonthyne and Macassar.
=Menado=--Produced in the district of Minnahassa situated in the
extreme north of the island, is not only the finest grown on that
island, but, also excels the best products of both Java and Sumatra.
The bean is uniformly large and regular, of a rich dark-yellow color,
solid and heavy in weight, magnificent in the roast, creamy and
aromatic to a high degree in the cup. It is claimed to possess the
“highest standard of excellence,” no other variety containing the same
all-round qualities of size, style, color, liquor, flavor and aroma to
the same extent. The supply, however, is very limited, and is generally
shipped to Holland, where it commands a price in accordance with its
merits, but rarely reaching the United States.
=Bonthyne=--Is medium in size, flat in form, reddish in color, inferior
in roast and flavor, and not a desirable sort by any means.
=Macassar=--Is the poorest of the Celebes sorts, closely resembling
Lahat and Malang, and on a parity with them in appearance, character
and value.
=Singapore Javas.=--What are known to commerce as “Singapore Java
Coffees” are not produced on that island, which, although lying
directly in the coffee zone, produces little or no coffee, except
small quantities of the Liberian species, which has recently been
introduced there. 90 per cent. of the coffee shipped from Singapore
is chiefly composed of the products of Bali, Timour, the Mollucas and
smaller Sunda islands, its position making it the only _entrepot_
for the commerce of the entire archipelago. The coffees are usually
small in size, reddish in color, irregular in grade and inferior in
quality, being generally produced from wild or carelessly cultivated
plants, and also possessing a peculiar spicy or “peppery” flavor, said
to be contracted from being imported with cargoes of pepper, but more
probably from being grown in the vicinity of pepper plantations in the
Spice islands. Formerly these coffees were marketed under their true
titles, but as their character became known they were palmed off as
Padang and other district Javas, to the detriment of the latter.
The systematic cultivation of the Liberian species of coffee was
commenced about ten years ago in Siam, Malacca and many of the smaller
islands of Malaysia, where it was found to prosper so well at first
that the demand for Liberian seed became very great. But after a
fair trial it does not seem to have been a great success, what little
is produced in these new districts being generally classed as “Jahore
Liberian” coffee.
POLYNESIAN COFFEES
Embrace Phillipine, Borneo, Guinea, Fijian, Samoan, Hawaiian,
Australian, New Zealand, and other islands in the South Pacific Ocean.
=Phillipine Coffees.=--Opinions differ as to whether the coffee plant
is indigenous to the Phillipine Islands or only exotic there, some
authorities declaring that it was first brought there by Spanish
priests from the Malay. Others again claiming that the plant was found
in a wild state in the island of Luzon prior to its introduction,
but that the natives, being ignorant of its properties, allowed the
fruit to decay on the trees. Be this as it may, coffee thrives there
remarkably well, the product possessing a peculiarly rich flavor, for
which it is highly esteemed on the continent of Europe, and, although
it is by no means well prepared or uniform, the worst grades bring
a higher price there than the Java growths, the value on the spot
exceeding the current rates for the latter in the foreign markets, and
is generally classed as “Luzon,” “Manilla” and “Zamboango,” from the
ports of shipment.
=Luzon=--Is a small-bean variety, hard and flinty in texture, rich
and aromatic in the infusion, but poorly or indifferently cleaned or
prepared, for which causes it is not as well appreciated as it deserves.
=Manilla=--Is principally produced on the islands of Indan, Laguna,
Batangas and Cavité, its price on the spot varying from twenty to
twenty-two dollars per picul. The bean is medium in size, regular in
form, and pale-green in color, perfect in roast and aromatic in flavor.
=Zamboango=--Comes chiefly from Mindano and the southern islands
generally. The bean is much larger than that of Manilla,
yellowish-white in color, but somewhat flabby in texture, and
containing much extraneous matter, being poorly prepared, while the
liquor is thin, flat and apt to be wild or “grassy” in flavor.
Recently the natives have planted patches of coffee in the islands
of Cebu and Bohol, small quantities of which have appeared in the
European markets, some also being secured from the islands of Yligan
and Amboyana. The area of land under coffee cultivation in the
Phillipines, and the amount of coffee raised annually is not definitely
known, as the plantations are widely scattered over the islands of the
archipelago, but is usually estimated at about 10,000,000 pounds. The
largest plantations are situated in the province of Batangas in the
island of Luzon, but considerable coffee is also produced independently
by the natives in small plots which they sell to speculators, who hold
it until they make up a fair-sized shipment, collected in this manner,
from the neighboring islands. The increase in production, however, has
been marked during the past five years, from about 10,000,000 pounds in
1888, to over 16,000,000 pounds in 1893, about 6,000,000 pounds coming
direct to this country, the remainder being taken by Spain, France and
Continental Europe generally.
=Borneo Coffee.=--The Liberian plant has been recently introduced
into Borneo on a small scale, where it has been found to thrive well
but producing a bean greatly modified in size, color and flavor of
the original species. It is much smaller, not as convex or brown, but
smoother and more pleasing, if anything, in the drink.
=Guinea Coffee.=--Rapid strides are being made in the cultivation of
coffee in New Guinea, the product ranking with the average of the mild
grades of the older countries.
=Samoan Coffee.=--The coffee plant has been in existence here for some
years, and though thriving luxuriantly, and the soil and climate being
well adapted, it has never been scientifically treated, and as a
consequence is not as yet an article of commerce.
=Fijian Coffee.=--Some coffee of fair quality was exported from these
islands as early as 1877, the industry making but little progress there
since that time, notwithstanding the fact that the islands possess
abundant facilities for the production of a superior variety. Several
of the most wealthy and enterprising planters are now, however, engaged
in its cultivation, and it is expected soon to become one of the chief
exports of those islands. The bean is medium sized, green in color, as
with all new coffees, and, owing to improper curing, somewhat grassy in
flavor.
=Hawaiian Coffee.=--Coffee has been cultivated in Hawaii and other
islands of that group with considerable success for many years
past, although the production has varied greatly there. The first
plantations formed in the island were only a few feet above sea-level,
to which fact is attributed the failure or rather slow progress of the
industry there. New plantations at higher elevations have recently
been established, from which better returns are expected. They are
classified, and known to trade as Puna, Hilo, Kona and Hamakua, of
which Kona is the finest, the others varying in size, color and flavor.
The exports have declined from 415,000 pounds in 1870, which in 1885
fell to as low as 1,675 pounds, but for 1892 it had again increased to
13,000 pounds, the total exports since 1881 amounting to 215,782 pounds.
=Australian Coffee.=--Coffee has been found to prosper well in
Queensland, a yield of over 600 pounds per acre being obtained there
so far and selling in Brisbane at twenty cents per pound, the smaller
farmers finding it paying better than corn or potatoes. Efforts are
also being made to introduce the industry into New Zealand and other of
the Antipodean colonies. This list does not by any means exhaust the
possible spots or sections in Polynesia where coffee is or may be grown
with the greatest advantage, touching only the chief centres of the
industry, and as suggesting some eligible sites for the extension of
the planting enterprise. Fair quantities of coffee being also produced
in the Hebrides, Society, Friendly and many other of the island groups
in the South Pacific Ocean.
AMERICAN COFFEES.
As previously stated, the history of the first introduction of the
coffee plant into the American continent is as romantic as it is
interesting. In 1714 the magistrates of Amsterdam presented to Louis
XIV a specimen of the coffee tree, which was carefully nursed in one
of the botanic gardens of Paris, until it eventually yielded fruit. In
1717 the French king sent several of the shoots from it to the island
of Martinique in care of one De Clieux, an officer in the French naval
service. The voyage being long and stormy, the ship’s crew were reduced
to a short allowance of water; for lack of which essential all but one
of the young plants died. De Clieux to save this remaining slip shared
with it his own scanty allowance, eventually succeeding in bringing
it safely to its destination. From this single plant thus heroically
preserved, according to De Tour, was propagated the numerous varieties
now to be found in the West Indies, Mexico, Central, and the northern
countries of South America. And where, notwithstanding the fact that
Coffee is indigenous to the Old World it has evidently found its true
habitat in the New, its production at the present being many times
greater than in the East; its cultivation also constantly and immensely
increasing there.
The climatic and topographic conditions of the American continent are
pre-eminently adapted to the cultivation of fine coffees, the great
mass of coffee lands, consisting of an elevated plateau formed by an
expansion of the Cordilleras from which terraced slopes descend with a
more or less rapid inclination towards both the Atlantic and Pacific
oceans. This vast tract comprises one of the richest and most varied
zones of the world, for while its geographical position secures to
it a tropical vegetation, the rapid differences of elevation which
characterize it afford it the advantages of more temperate climates,
thus combining within its borders an almost unparalleled exuberance and
multiplicity of natural products, lands favorable to the cultivation
of coffee being found not only on the entire Andean range but also on
its sea and land slopes from Mexico to Paraguay. While in addition to
these immense stretches of mountain range, the plant is also found to
flourish in the numerous valleys and plains of the interior of the
continent, and wherever the great tablelands of the Cordilleras are
sufficiently depressed to reach the level of tropical vegetation.
American Coffees are geographically divided into Mexican, West Indian,
Central and South American, and, as with the products of the Old World,
the commercial divisions and subdivisions of the numerous varieties are
based rather on the districts of production and the ports of export
than upon any great material difference in the appearance or even
quality of the various kinds produced.
MEXICAN COFFEES.
It is also a fact not generally known to Americans that at our very
doors there exists the climatic conditions and capacity for the
production of all the coffee that is required for consumption in
the United States, the area adapted to the cultivation of coffee in
Mexico being almost illimitable, and bounded only by the extent of
land brought under cultivation. Its suitability as a coffee-producing
country has been tested by more than fifty years of experience, and
that it has not heretofore assumed first place in point of production,
exportation, and the rank to which the merit of its product entitles
it, is to be attributed to the same causes that have so long retarded
its other agricultural and commercial developments. But while coffee is
chiefly produced for export only in the States of Vera Cruz, Oaxaca,
Michacoan, Colima, Chiapas, Jalisco and Tabasco, excellent coffee is
also grown on the plains of the interior as far north as Sinaloa,
as well as in the coast States from Yucatan to Tamaulipas. They are
commercially classified as Oaxaca, Cordova, Urupuan, Tepic, Tabasco,
Soconusco and Caracolillo, varying materially in size, style and
quality.
=Oaxaca=--Is a “Sierra,” or mountain coffee, large, bold and blue when
new, but bleaching with time. It is one of the best of the Mexican
varieties, being regular in roast, heavy in body, strong and rich in
flavor and aroma.
=Cordova.=--Grown in the State of Vera Cruz, is usually a large
yellow-bean coffee, from which fact it is sometimes termed “Mexican
Java.” It makes a handsome roast, yielding a round, full liquor,
approaching to that of a fine Maracaibo or medium Java.
=Urupuan=--Produced in the State of Michacoan is also a mountain grade,
rather small in size, greenish-blue in color but somewhat irregular in
appearance, not being well prepared. In flavor it is, however, high
and fragrant, approximating most to that of a Plantation Ceylon.
=Tepic=,--or “Mexican Mocha,” grown in the State of Jalisco is claimed
to be a transplant of the Arabian berry, which has by careful and
scientific cultivation been so improved in flavor and aroma as to
rival, if not actually excel, the product of the parent plant. The
natural bean is exceedingly small, hard and “flinty” in texture,
steel-blue in color, faultless in roast, rich and creamy in body and
highly aromatic in flavor. The supply being limited it is rarely
exported, being principally consumed in the district of production,
where it commands a very high price, selling on the spot for as much as
one dollar per pound.
=Tabasco=--Is a coast-grown coffee cultivated in the hot, moist
low-lands of the Campeachy gulf, and is the poorest of the Mexican
varieties. The bean is of a sickly-green hue, medium in size, and moist
or “spongy” in substance, bitter and astringent in flavor, and taken
altogether a most undesirable sort for any purpose.
=Soconusco=--Produced in Chiapas, close to the rich coffee lands of
Guatemala is another high-grade coffee, ranking among the finest of
the Mexican varieties. It is a large, mature bean, varying in color,
according to age, from a bluish-green to a pale-yellow, full and round
in body, ripe and mellow in flavor as a rule.
=Colima=--Raised on the west coast is a medium-sized bean, flat in
form, fairly solid, but varying in color from greenish to pale, even
in roast, rather round in liquor and pleasing in flavor, and generally
shipped to the Pacific States.
=Caracolillo=--or “Mexican pea-berry,” is a concave-convex bean, grown
on the new wood at the end of branches of trees that are pruned year
after year; but though not confined to any particular species, such
trees yield almost entirely male or pea-berry coffee, being the only
instance on record, and is considered the fanciest grade grown in
Mexico.
Mexico possesses more and better coffee lands than many other countries
where it is now extensively grown, a small proportion of which only
are under cultivation. The popularity of the product increases as it
becomes better known, besides being the nearest and most accessible
coffee producing country to the United States, the largest and best
coffee market in the world. More attention is now being directed to
the cultivation of coffee in Mexico, however, by both natives and
foreigners than has ever before been given to the industry in that
country. Native Mexicans are quietly, but steadily laying out new
coffee plantations or enlarging and reviving old ones and many large
tracts of land adapted to the growth of coffee have recently been
purchased there by foreigners with that object. But while Mexico
practically has no limit to her production of coffee, yet the average
annual exports amounts only to about 10,000,000 pounds, the bulk of
which is shipped to France, where it is graded as “Verde,” or Green,
and “Blanco,” or White, the United States receiving the largest
proportion of the remainder.
WEST INDIAN COFFEES.
The West India Islands at the beginning of the present century were
noted for the extensive quantity and excellent quality of their coffee
product, ranking at that period with the largest coffee-growing
countries of the world. Its cultivation has rapidly and materially
declined there in recent years, still continuing to do so at a
disproportionate rate; the decrease since the emancipation of the
negroes almost amounting to abandonment. But while commonly attributed
in a great measure to the ravages of the blight, already described, it
is more evidently traceable to social influences and a faulty system of
cultivation. Latterly, however, attempts are being made to restore the
industry to something like its former importance by new and improved
methods of culture, so that it remains to be seen what art can do to
combat the difficulty. They are classified in trade as Cuban, Jamaica,
Haytian, San Domingo, Porto Rico, Trinidad, Dominica, Martinique and
Guadeloupe.
=Cuban=--Though at one period one of the largest coffee-producing
countries in proportion to its size, yielding nearly 50,000,000 pounds
annually, Cuba now ranks lowest in the scale, not raising sufficient to
supply the home demand, its cultivation being replaced in that island
by that of sugar and tobacco. The districts most noted for the richness
and excellence of their coffees are situated on the Sierra Maistra
range, in the vicinity of Vuelta Abajo, as well as in the districts
of Alquizar and San Marcos, and from the fact that these latter are
among the oldest coffee-producing sections on the island, their product
bears a high reputation for fragrance and excellence. But the coffee
grown in the mountain district of Guantanamo is now considered the
finest, its cultivation there being on the increase, while decreasing
rapidly in the former districts. The bean of what little is produced on
that island is large in size, whitish in color and peculiar in form,
somewhat resembling a “male” or pea-berry. In roast and drink it is
superior to many of the mild grades, with which it is usually ranked.
=Jamaica=--The coffee plant was first introduced into Jamaica in 1730,
a special act of Parliament being passed in that year to encourage
and foster its cultivation. The island is famous for the production
of fine coffees, those grown on the regularly conducted plantations
rivalling the best products of any country. It is divided into two
kinds, “Blue Mountain” and “Plain-grown,” the latter being graded
commercially as “Ordinary” in contradistinction to the former, which
is always choice. “Blue Mountain Jamaica” is a bold, well-developed
bean, bluish almost translucent in cast, very solid and attractive in
style and appearance, and developing a characteristic peculiarity, that
of opening and exposing a whitish hull or silver-skin down the furrow
when roasted, while the liquor is heavy, round, full and rich, fragrant
and aromatic to a high degree. It is packed for export in barrels and
large casks, the bulk of the choicer grades being compulsorily exported
to England, where it commands a higher figure relatively than Java and
other equally fine coffees. Nearly all the coffee plantations on the
Island of Jamaica being mortgaged to London brokers and dealers, the
contracts containing a clause or stipulation compelling the planter to
dispose of their crops through the holders, who, by the harsh terms of
the contract, not only secure the best of the product and the interest
on the money advanced but also the commissions or profits on its sale.
“Ordinary” or plain-grown Jamaica is a large, whitish, flat and
broken-bean coffee, moist or spongy in the raw state, and invariably
stony and hully, being imperfectly cleaned. The roast is usually either
“quakery” or “niggery,” the liquor is strong, almost to rankness, and
apt to be “wild” or “grassy” in flavor, more particularly when new,
approximating close to a Travancore or Native Ceylon, to which coffees
it bears a striking resemblance in character and value. It is put up in
large coarse bags, averaging about 200 pounds, and shipped principally
to the United States.
=Haytian Coffees.=--Coffee is claimed to have been first introduced
into this island by wild fowl, being steriocaceously deposited
there after the manner of Monkey, Jackal and Tiger-cat coffees. Its
systematic cultivation was first begun there about 1740 by the French,
the industry flourishing during the French _régime_, but rapidly
declining after the island passed under native rule. It is cultivated
there now by natives exclusively, principally in the districts of
Jeremie, Jacmel and Gonaives, by which terms it is more familiarly
known to commerce. They are generally large, flat, white and broken in
appearance, invariably stony and stemy, being but crudely cultivated
and prepared for market. Yet, notwithstanding these defects, they are
elegant roasters, yielding an excellent liquor, full of snap and rich
in flavor, but owing to its indifferent treatment its commercial value
is reduced far below its intrinsic worth. The coffee itself being
mild and pleasant, added to its low price, would commend it to many
consumers were it but properly cleaned and graded. Usually all of it
received into this country is reshipped to France, Belgium and Germany,
where it is picked over by hand, the consumers in these countries not
being as exacting as regards cleaning and grading as in this country.
The production of coffee in Hayti has fallen from over 80,000,000
pounds in 1789 to less than 50,000,000 at the present time, although
the island offers an excellent and extensive field for the industry,
which, it is hoped, will be taken advantage of as soon as the country
devotes its energies more closely to the improvement of its internal
affairs and the encouragement of capital.
[Illustration: HULLING COFFEE.]
=San Domingo=--Known to trade as “Cape,” is grown on the same island
to the west of Hayti, and approximates very closely in size, style
and color to ordinary Jamaica--so much so that it is frequently
substituted and sold in lieu of it. Its cultivation being also
principally conducted by natives, who are so indifferent to its proper
preparation for market--machinery being employed only to a very limited
extent--that most of the product is shipped in a stony and otherwise
dirty condition, thus reducing its value commercially far below its
intrinsic worth.
=Porto Rico=--Is grown chiefly in the province of Ponce, small
quantities being also produced in the districts of Arecibo, Mayaguez
and Aguadilla. The bean is regular and well formed, but varying in
color from yellow to greenish, the quality is fairly good, and though,
not well known in the American market is much valued in Spain and the
European markets generally.
=Dominica=--Known to trade as “Souffriere,” from the district of
growth, is a peculiarly shaped bean, said to be produced from Mocha
seed, but much inferior to the product of the parent plant. From
the effects of Negro emancipation and the coffee blight, the annual
production of Dominica has fallen from over 2,000,000 pounds to almost
nominal.
=Trinidad=--The coffee export from Trinidad is only about 25,000 pounds
yearly, yet there is scarcely any part of the island where coffee
culture may not be profitably undertaken, particularly in the districts
of Aripo and Maracas, where the conditions are unsurpassed. Both
the Arabian and Liberian species are grown there, the product being
commercially divided into “Large” and “Small” and generally shipped to
Spain.
=Martinique.=--Although originally introduced into the New World
through Martinique, which island was for a long time celebrated for
the quantity and quality of its coffee, it produces very little
comparatively at the present day. In fact, barely sufficient to supply
the home demand, the excess going to France, where it is highly
esteemed for its intrinsic merits. The bean is exceedingly small, hard
and flinty, somewhat resembling that of a Mocha, bluish-gray in color,
heavy and round in body, pungent and piquant in flavor, and grading
with the finest of the milder sorts.
=Guadeloupe.=--More or less coffee is produced in Guadeloupe and
other of the smaller islands of the Antilles, but chiefly to supply
the home demand, and, with the exception of the former, are almost
entirely unknown to commerce. It is grown principally in the districts
of Bonfleur and Hatrant, what little is exported being shipped to
France, where it is valued high commercially for its superior drinking
qualities. A century ago the island exported nearly 8,000,000 pounds,
being now reduced to less than 500,000. The total annual production
of the entire West India Islands not exceeding 90,000,000 pounds at
the present time, but strenuous efforts are being made to increase the
product.
CENTRAL AMERICAN COFFEES.
Coffee forms the principal staple of the Central American States, the
soil and climate being eminently adapted to the cultivation of fine
coffees, but, as in all other countries, the best grades are produced
on the upland or mountain slopes. In some of these countries, however,
the most primitive system of cultivation and elementary methods of
preparing are still in use, while in others, notably Guatemala, the
most improved modern machinery is employed. They embrace Guatemala,
Nicaragua, San Salvador, Honduras and Costa Rica coffees.
=Guatemala=--Produces the finest, ranking in intrinsic merit with
that of any variety grown--more particularly that grown in the now
famous Coban district, in Vera Paz, which rivals, if it does not
actually excel, all other varieties in size, style, roasting and
drinking qualities. The average bean is large, bold and symmetrical
in form, of a translucent blue cast, and exceedingly handsome in
general appearance, making a perfect roast, yielding a rich brown
liquor, sparkling and aromatic in the cup. The next best coffees in
Guatemala are those grown in the “Costa Chica” and “Costa Grande,” a
prolongation of the chain of mountains crossing the southern boundary
of Mexico. The production of coffee has more than doubled in Guatemala
in the past ten years, the price during the same period being more
than quadrupled. The total product for 1892 was over 700,000 quintals,
representing a total value of 16,000,000 dollars. The extraordinary
high price of coffee now ruling has led to a transformation of the
country, small land-owners who heretofore realized from their crops
scarcely sufficient for working expenses, now find themselves with
considerable capital, with which they improve and enlarge their
plantations. These results have led to unbridled speculation, large
companies being formed there for still increasing the area and yield of
coffee, every speculator and small trader who has been enabled to save
a little money, abandoning his former occupation, turning his attention
to coffee growing. This condition may last as long as the present high
prices of coffee continues, but a reaction may occur at any time,
when complete ruin will be the natural consequence to the suddenly
increased number of producers, of which the reflex cannot be but felt
in the economic conditions of the country. Land which was but a few
years ago uninhabited, has been suddenly converted into smiling and
well-cultivated coffee plantations, towns and villages long in decay
have risen around them as if by magic and are steadily increasing in
wealth. New roads to facilitate transportation to the ports are being
constructed, commercial transactions are multiplied, the revenue of
the country is increasing, public credits re-established on a sounder
basis, and what was but a short time ago a poor, declining and almost
ruined State has been suddenly, by the cultivation of coffee, converted
into a rich and prosperous commonwealth.
=Nicaragua=--Is a medium-sized regular-formed bean, solid and heavy
in the hand, greyish-yellow in color, what is technically termed
“foxy,” and a smooth roaster. The drinking qualities, however, are only
fair, the liquor, while heavy, being devoid of snap and fragrance,
approximating more to a Rio in flavor.
=Salvador=--Is allied to Nicaragua in appearance and character, and
classed the same, but possesses much finer roasting and drinking
properties. The natural bean of the finer grades is, if anything,
better developed and more uniform, while the poorer ones are very
uneven, broken and “mottled” in appearance; the liquor thin in body and
lacking aroma.
=Honduras=--Is a yellowish, heavy-bean coffee, assuming a rich straw
color with age, and having an attractive appearance in the hand. As a
general rule it roasts even and smooth, becoming a rich brown color
when parched; the liquor, while thin, gives out a pleasant odor,
resembling that exhaled by cocoa or chocolate, said to be acquired from
being grown in close proximity to cocoa plantations.
=Costa Rica=--Is one of the most deceptive coffees grown, the raw bean
being large and bold in style, a rich pea-green in color, uniform and
shapely; but is invariably what is termed “hidey,” which is in reality
due to the soil in which it is grown, and, while it makes an almost
perfect roast, is “grassy” and bitter in the infusion, particularly
when roasted for any length of time, it becomes sour and unpalatable,
making its purchase at all times risky.
SOUTH AMERICAN COFFEES
Comprise Venezuelan, Colombian, Equador, Bolivian, Guiana, Peruvian,
Paraguayan and Brazilian, small quantities being also produced in Chili
and Argentina.
VENEZUELAN COFFEES.
The chief coffee-producing districts of Venezuela lie in a central
division, having Caracas and Valencia as a base, with the ports of La
Guayra and Puerto Cabello as shipping points, the district surrounding
the Lake of Valencia being one of the most productive coffee countries
in the world in the quantity and quality of its product. They include
La Guayra, Caracas, Maracaibo, Curaçoa and Angostura coffees.
=La Guayra=--Also known as “Coro” and “Port,” or Puerto Cabello, from
the ports of shipment, varies in size from small to medium, and from a
pale to a dark-green in color. It is usually graded on a parity with
Rio, to which coffee it most approximates in roast and drink, it being
frequently polished and sold as such, particularly when Rios are
scarce, and, although classed as a “Mild coffee,” develops more or less
of a Rio flavor in the cup.
=Caracas=--Is of two kinds--_Trilliado_ Milled or “dry-hulled” and
_Descerazado_ (Washed) or “wet-hulled”--from the different methods
employed in pulping and preparing for market. The former is a
yellowish, medium-sized bean, regular and uniform in the natural state,
but apt to be “quakery” in the roasted, and only fair in the drink.
While “Washed Caracas,” on the other hand, is bold and bluish in
color, opening at the furrow when roasted like a Mountain Jamaica or
Plantation Ceylon, exceedingly heavy and rich in body and fragrant in
flavor, and may be classed as one of the best varieties grown.
=Maracaibos=--Consist of five different varieties or grades--Cucuta,
Merida, Bocono, Tovar and Trujillo--district terms, ranking in the
order named, “Cucuta” being, when the season is favorable, one of the
best coffees grown, grading with many of the products of Java itself.
The raw or natural bean of the finer grades is large, round and solid
in substance, deep, rich-yellow in color, approximating to that of
the best yellow-bean Java sorts in style, appearance and drink. While
“Merida” is a mountain-grown coffee, large, bold and bluish in color,
frequently excelling “Cucuta,” particularly when the crop is good, and
possessing a full ripe liquor with round full body and distinctive
flavor very pleasing to the average consumer.
“Bocono,” “Tovar” and “Trujillo,” are inferior grades to the above,
small and gnarled in the natural state, generally stony and broken,
“quakery” and shriveled when roasted, light in liquor, but smooth and
pleasing in flavor withal, making good useful coffees for blending
purposes. Maracaibo coffees are packed in Sisal-hemp bags averaging 130
pounds, and principally shipped to the United States, where they are
held in high esteem for their many excellent qualities, the regular
grades of Cucuta being marked “C” under the importers’ initials, and
the choicer grades “C C.” Merida is indicated by the letter “M” in the
same manner, Bocono by “B,” Tovar by “T” and Trujillo by “To.” But
owing to the too common practice of substituting and repacking indulged
in by unscrupulous dealers, these distinguishing marks cannot always be
relied on with any certainty.
=Curaçoa=--Is a small, yellowish, shriveled or shrunken bean coffee,
evidently immature or blighted in growth from some unknown cause. It is
generally “quakery” in the roast, but yields a not disagreeable liquor
in the cup, making a valuable variety in combination to reduce cost.
=Angostura=--Is a large, flabby, yellowish bean variety, shapely in
form but light and “chaffy” in substance, and invariably “quakery” when
roasted, the liquor being thin, watery and almost flavorless.
Venezuela supplies about one-tenth of all the coffee consumed in
the United States, the total imports being in round numbers about
60,000,000 pounds per annum, and growing steadily.
COLOMBIAN COFFEES.
The coffee-producing districts in Colombia are situated chiefly in
the departments of Boyaca, Santander and Cundamarca, these three
departments having an area of over 160,000 square miles, of which
nearly one-half is adapted to the cultivation of some of the finest
varieties of coffee grown. The possibility of this extensive area
promises a future supply of almost six times the amount consumed in the
United States; in fact, coffee-growing in Colombia, like Mexico, has
no limit except that caused by the lack of labor and capital to work
it. They are known in trade as Ocana, Bogota, Panama, Savanilla and
Bucaramanga.
=Ocana.=--While bold in bean and regular in form, inclining to a
yellowish in color, is still light in weight and thin in body,
approaching that of a Trujillo Maracaibo in flavor, with which coffee
it is usually graded.
=Bogota=--Is a mountain-grown coffee, raised on the western slopes of
the Andes. It is usually a large and well-developed bean, bluish-green
and very uniform in general appearance, solid, compact, and faultless
in the roast. The liquor is heavy, full, round and fragrant in flavor,
comparing favorably with Caracas, Jamaica, Guatemala and Plantation
Ceylon in general style and character.
=Savanilla=--Is a large, light and “spongy” bean coffee, brittle
and chaffy in the roast, devoid of body and almost flavorless. It
closely approximates to a Native Ceylon or Angostura in appearance and
character, with which coffees it is commercially classed.
=Panama=--Is comparatively a new variety, recently produced on the
isthmus, and like all new productions immature in appearance. It is
of the average size, greenish in color, but moist and spongy in the
natural state, and as yet but poorly prepared. The liquor is heavy
and strong almost to rankness, possessing a grassy or uncooked taste,
defects, it is claimed, that will be overcome in time when its
cultivation and preparation is better understood there.
=Bucaramanga=--Known to trade as “Bucaramanga Maracaibo,” ranks among
the finest of the South American varieties, being large and bold in
style, solid and weighty in substance, perfect in roast, heavy, round
and full in liquor, fragrant and aromatic in flavor, the finest grades
being superior to many of the Java sorts. The department of Chinqui in
the interior of Colombia also offers a good field for coffee culture,
the fine lands along the slopes of the mountain ranges being admirably
adapted for the purpose. The annual product is about 20,000,000 pounds,
going chiefly to the United States and France.
=Equador Coffees=--Include Cuenca, Tacunga and Machala, but are
generally classed under the name of “Guayquil,” being shipped from that
port and consumed principally on the Pacific coast, but are limited in
production, little being left for export after the home demand has been
supplied. They range from medium to large in size, are somewhat bold
in style, hard and flinty in texture, pale to greenish in color, and
only fairly uniform, being rather imperfectly prepared, but roast and
drink well, nevertheless, yielding a light-brown liquor, full in body
and fairly fragrant in flavor. Increasing attention is being given to
coffee cultivation in Equador, the produce of the new districts being
of good quality. The exports from Guayquil average about 1,000,000
pounds per annum, but in some years the crop is entirely spoilt by
heavy rains, the yield being inferior in quality and so low in quantity
as not to suffice for local needs.
=Bolivian Coffees=--Are comparatively new to commerce and bid fair
to become popular sorts in time, when their cultivation and methods
of properly preparing are better understood in that country. They
are produced principally in the provinces of Yungas and Mapin, small
quantities being also grown in the other provinces. The finest kind is
that cultivated in the valley of Yungas, which though small in size
and pale in color possesses a peculiarly rich and delicate flavor,
commanding a very high price relatively. The product, however, is
limited, only about 300,000 pounds per annum, or equal to one-fourth
the entire supply. The product of Mapin is much larger in size,
greenish in color, but not near as rich in flavor, bringing a much
less price, the annual product being three times greater. Bolivian
coffees in general produce an intoxicating effect, this peculiar action
being as yet unaccounted for, but is claimed by some authorities to
be acquired from being grown in the immediate vicinity of the cactus
plant, from which _pulque_ is distilled, the coffee plant being of such
a sensitive and absorbent nature that it readily acquires any foreign
flavor within range. Whether this claim is correct or not has not as
yet been ascertained, but certain it is that what is known as Singapore
coffee usually tastes of spices, Honduras of cocoa and Costa Rica of
what is called, for want of a more applicable term, “hide,” but which
is in reality due to the presence of oxide of iron in the soil.
=Guiana Coffees.=--Known to trade as “Surinam,” “Demerara” and
“Cayenne,” from the ports of shipment, are produced in the French
and Dutch colonies of South America. But although the cultivation of
coffee was introduced into these countries about the same period as to
Martinique, its cultivation there has made but little progress, the
total production being limited in supply, and going chiefly to the
mother countries.
=Peruvian Coffee.=--Coffee grows luxuriantly on the mountain slopes
of Peru, the crops often being so heavy as to necessitate artificial
support for the branches, yet the export from Mollendo, the shipping
port, amounts only to about 16,000 pounds per annum. It ranges in size
from medium to bold, varying in color from bluish to yellow, roasting
and drinking with the average of other South American sorts.
=Paraguayan Coffee.=--The total production of coffee in Paraguay is
exceedingly small in comparison with what might be grown there under
more favorable circumstances, little or no attention being given to its
cultivation, owing to lack of labor and capital, and notwithstanding
that it offers a fine field for its more extensive growth.
BRAZILIAN COFFEES.
Brazil being the most extensive coffee-growing country in South
America and the largest producer of coffee in point of quantity of
any country in the world needs more than a passing notice in this
work. The gigantic extent to which its production has been carried
there, the enormous, almost fabulous, amount of capital invested in
its cultivation, the multitude of people employed in its preparation
and handling, including the quantity of shipping employed in its
transportation invests it with great importance. One must have been
an eye-witness of the immense bustle occasioned by the coffee trade
of Rio and Santos, must have observed the feverish excitement and the
unprecedented rapidity with which it is prepared, transported, bagged,
unbagged, mixed, rebagged, loaded, marketed and shipped before he can
form any conception of the extent of the coffee industry in Brazil.
In 1718 the Dutch colony of Surinam began to introduce and cultivate
coffee in Guiana from plants received from Java, and in 1722 De la
Motte, the French Governor of the adjoining colony of Cayenne, having
business in Surinam, contrived by an artifice to bring away with him
from there a small coffee plant, which in 1725 had produced many
thousands which were distributed among all the French colonies on the
mainland, its propagation extending to Para in 1732, the first coffee
plantation formed in Brazil being commenced in that province a few
years later. Its cultivation, however, made but little progress there
until about 1767, when its cultivation was still further extended to
the province of Maranhao, where it soon increased rapidly under a more
careful and systematic management. In 1774 a Belgian monk named Molke
procured some coffee plants from a prosperous plantation in Maranhao,
which had previously been obtained from Surinam, and planted them in
the garden of the Capucin monastery of Adjuda, then situated in what
is now the centre of the city of Rio de Janeiro. The plants prospered
so well, and he becoming convinced of their importance as a valuable
acquisition to the industries of the country that he established a
plantation in the vicinity for its more systematic cultivation. Joachim
Bruneo, the then Bishop of Rio de Janeiro, perceiving the valuable
benefits that would result from its more extensive cultivation,
distributed seeds and plants raised on Molke’s plantation among the
religious institutions and planters of the country, recommending and
encouraging its cultivation among them, but it was not until 1800
that Brazilian coffee came to be so highly valued in the markets of
the world. In that year a planter named Dr. Lecesne, expelled by the
revolution from San Domingo, settled near Rio and introduced the
latest improved methods of cultivating the coffee plant into that
country. From these simple and unostentatious beginnings has grown the
now enormous coffee industry of Brazil, which at present produces
more coffee than all the other countries in the world combined; it
being calculated that upwards of 1,500,000 acres of land are under
coffee culture there, containing nearly 600,000,000 trees, hundreds of
millions of dollars of capital being invested in its culture, sale and
transport. The cultivation of coffee in Brazil now extends from the
banks of the Amazon to the southern province of Sao Paulo, and from the
coast to the western limits of the country, the plant seeming to find
the requisite conditions of soil and climate in almost every part of
this vast region, and nearly everywhere giving an abundant yield. Its
chief zone of production for commercial purposes, however, is chiefly
confined to the coast provinces of Bahia, Ceara, Rio Janeiro, Sao
Paulo, Minas Geraes and Espiritu Santo.
In Brazil it was formerly the custom to propagate the coffee plant
by slips or “shoots” cut from the older plants on the plantations,
but at present it is more generally grown from the seed, as in the
Eastern countries. The seeds are sown in nurseries planted with
advanced stalks of the mandioca, which serve to shade the sprints
while young and tender from the extremes of heat and cold alike, but
are gradually thinned out as the growth of the young plants advance,
the nursery at this period resembling a young plum thicket. When the
plants have reached a height of from eighteen to twenty-four inches,
they are transferred to the plantations and planted from six to ten
feet apart, according to the district and conditions. As a general
rule a crop is not expected until four years after setting out the
young plants, unless when the plants are from eighteen months to
two years old before transplanting, in which case a partial crop is
obtained at the end of the third year. Nearly all over the Brazilian
coffee zone the plantations extend with the greatest regularity, as
far as the eye can reach, presenting a most attractive and pleasing
effect, some _fazendas_ (plantations) having as many as 350,000 trees,
others again having as low as 30,000, but all averaging from 500 to
800 trees to the half _fanegada_ (acre), the average annual produce
of each tree ranging from one to seven pounds of prepared coffee, or
about one to one and a half pounds per picking of cleaned coffee. The
plantations situated on high lands and exposed to the east being the
most productive, but prospering equally well in the lowland districts,
although the product is much inferior in quality and flavor. The
trees are grown in lines and squares, the face of the country in the
coffee-growing districts being undulating and hilly, a plantation
of coffee being at every season of the year an object of beauty and
interest. The leaves are perennially bright and polished, resembling
those of the laurel when in full bloom, but of a much darker green in
color, the flowers or blossoms of the purest white, growing in tufts
along the top of the branches, and blooming so suddenly that in the
morning the trees look as if snow had fallen on them in flaky wreaths
during the night, their jasmine-like perfume being powerful enough
to be oppressive, but lasting only for a single day, being succeeded
immediately by branches of immature green and the dark-crimson hull of
the ripe berries--resembling cherries in their brilliancy and size--and
following each other in quick succession, which added to the thick
foliage of the trees presents altogether a magnificent spectacle.
In Brazil the coffee trees continue to bear from fifteen to twenty
years, but it is found necessary to the healthy development of the
plants to keep the ground in good condition, and when the interspaces
are not cultivated with other plants--principally corn and beans--as
is usually the custom, it is annually cleared around the roots, a
compost of dead leaves and coffee-hulls being placed about them.
In some districts--notably Sao Paulo--many of the trees have been
producing continuously for twenty-five years, still presenting a
vigorous appearance and yielding an average each year, while others
that had attained an age of thirty-five years were cut off within
eighteen inches of the ground, and two years later put forth new
branches, presenting all the appearance of thriving trees, bearing
fruit like much younger trees. This is a new and interesting feature
in the management of the old trunks of coffee trees, one having the
advantage of new growth being secured in one-half the time it could
be obtained from seedlings, as even should these stumps require to
be dug around and manured frequently, it is much more preferable
and profitable to the trouble, expense and uncertainty connected
with the raising of new plants from seed, and certainly presents
greater advantages over the latter method. In Brazil the picking is
latterly--since the abolishment of slavery--done by contract with
the _fazendon_, or proprietor, who only requires the services of the
pickers to gather the berries from the trees, for which labor they are
paid what is considered to be one-half the value of the crude coffee
that is gathered by them. The estimate placed upon an _alquerie_
(bushel) of crude berries being about seventy-five cents, which, unless
the crop is good, ordinary hands do not gather more than two bushels
per diem; yet, again, when the crops are large, an industrious and
skillful picker can average from five to eight bushels without effort.
The berries are picked by hand, the ground being raked clean under
the trees previous to picking, an immense, broad, flat receptacle
of bamboo being placed underneath the trees, the berries that fail
to fall into this being carefully swept up from the clean, smooth
ground and emptied into it until filled, when it is carried to a point
convenient to the roadside and emptied in piles, from which the coffee
is afterwards hauled in ox-carts to a large building known as the
_terreiro_ or drying-yard. Picking commences in April, and is continued
almost uninterruptedly until November, and after the coffee is gathered
it is carted just as it comes from the plantations, mixed with leaves,
stalks and stones to the drying-house and spread out on the terraces,
large smooth, concrete pavements, to dry in the sun until the berries
become black and crisp, after which they are “hulled” or cleaned by one
of two methods: one the old or “Monjola process,” and the other the new
or “Despolpodor” process.
Brazilian coffees are known to commerce as Bahia, Ceara, Capatinea,
Rios, Santos and Maragogipi.
=Bahia=--Is a small, uneven greenish bean, very inferior in style and
appearance, usually “stemmy” and stony and thickly interspersed with
black or immature beans, and is usually branded “S” or “S S.” The roast
is poor, irregular and quakery, the liquor thin and grassy or unripe in
flavor.
=Ceara=--Resembles Bahia somewhat in general character, being poorly
prepared and very unsightly in the natural state, the body and flavor
being still more inferior.
=Capatinea=--Grown in the province of Espiritu Santo, but also known to
trade as “Victoria” from the port of shipment, is a large whitish, soft
and flabby bean coffee, quakery in the roast and watery and flavorless
in the cup.
=Rio Coffees=--Are almost too well known to need description; the bean,
however, varies widely in size and color, ranging from small to large,
and from dark green to light yellow, being known to trade as “Light,”
“Dark” and “Golden.” They are heavy in body, possessing a flavor and
aroma peculiarly distinct from that of all other coffees, and which is
so marked in degree as to be readily detected by the most inexpert,
excepting “Golden Rio” which, aside from its rich color, possesses a
markedly pungent liquor and pleasing flavor.
=Pole-cat Rio=--Is a very dark, almost black bean coffee, which,
although muddy and dark in liquor, is nevertheless much appreciated by
many coffee drinkers.
=Liberian Rio=--Grown from Liberian plants in Brazil, is little thought
of, producing little, and that irregularly. The fruit also requires
special machinery to prepare it, the husk being too thick and leathery
to pass through the regular machines.
=Rio Hache=--Though frequently classed with Rio coffees, as a matter
of fact is not grown in that country, but in Colombia. The bean is
yellowish-brown in color, light in weight and liquor, and somewhat
mawkish in flavor. Like all other coffees, Rios improve with age, and
with time lose their harsh flavor, which becomes greatly modified
by storing, disappearing altogether in from three to four years,
particularly when kept in an even temperature.
=Santos Coffees=--Produced in the adjoining province of Sao Paulo,
but deriving its trade-name from the port of shipment, ranges from
small to large in size and from green and yellow to a full white in
color according to its maturity, it is an immensely popular sort among
American consumers as well as in Europe, having more than doubled in
consumption in recent years. It is fast supplanting the milder growths
of other countries, the finer grades being frequently substituted for
Maracaibo, and even Java, by unprincipled dealers. While many of them
roast “quakery,” they are nevertheless almost invariably smooth and
pleasing in liquor and flavor.
=Red-bean Santos=--Grown in the Campinas district, is medium in size
and reddish in color--a peculiarity derived from the soil, which is
composed of _terra rocha_ (red earth)--and is claimed to be richer and
more flavory than either the white or yellow bean varieties.
=Mocha-seed Santos=--Is a small-bean variety, grown from Bourbon seed
or transplants, and is fast becoming a very popular sort. It is shipped
principally to France, where it masquerades under the name of Mocha,
thereby diminishing the demand for this favorite sort in proportion to
the amount distributed.
=Maragogipi=--Which was discovered in the province of Bahia some years
since, is claimed to be an indigenous variety and is called after the
district where it was first found. The bean is as large as Liberian,
but flat in form and varies in color from a very light to a dark-green,
but while heavy and full in body and fair in quality, it is yet lacking
in all the essentials of a fine coffee, disappointing the great
expectations at one time formed of it.
OTHER BRAZILIAN VARIETIES.
=Cafe des Aguas=--Is so termed from blossoming in the rainy season, and
which has the effect of stunting and deforming the beans. The bean is
oblong in shape and imperfectly formed, while the liquor is thin and
watery and devoid of flavor.
=Cafe Vermelho=--Is the regular “Red-berry” species, and is so named to
distinguish it from a new variety said to have been recently discovered
and termed
=Cafe Amarello=--Or “Yellow-berry,” recently found in the district of
Botucatu, and is so called because the ripe berry is yellow instead
of red. It is superior to the ordinary sort, not on account of any
difference in the size of the bean, but according to the chemical
analysis of experts, who claim that it is much richer in caffeine.
=Brazilian Java.=--Extensive plantations of Java coffee plants have
lately been formed in Brazil as an experiment, but does not produce
such heavy and regular crops as in the original soil.
=Goyaz Coffee=--Is a wild species, discovered a few years ago in the
province of Goyaz, but is little thought of by planters or dealers,
being wild and grassy in flavor.
In Brazil the planters generally forward their crops to a _Commissario_
or factor at the shipping port, who acts as their agent, the coffee
being received in varying lots and conditions from different growers,
no uniformity being observed in the kind of bag or quantity. The
commissarios again disposes of it to the _Ensaccaderes_, who are the
actual buyers at first hands, and who store it in large warehouses,
where it is graded and bagged, and stored until required for shipment
to the foreign markets. The sacks of coffee being piled on either side,
each being numbered and further distinguished by some special mark or
brand. At the present time many commissarios have the coffee weighed
as they sell it, but sales between the commissarios and ensaccaderes
are never concluded in Rio without the assistance of a _Corretor_ or
broker, while in Santos, where the exporter buys his coffee direct
from the commissario, it is sold mostly without the intervention of a
broker, the terms of payment being fixed at thirty days.
Brazilian coffees are generically classed in the Rio and Santos markets
as “Highland” and “Lowland” and are graded as Superior or “Choice,”
Primera or “First,” Primera boa or “Good first,” Primera regular or
“Regular first,” Primera ordinaria or “Ordinary first,” Segunda or
“Second,” Segunda boa or “Good second,” and Segunda ordinaria or
“Ordinary second.” Importations are generally in “Cargoes” divided into
“Invoices” or “Lines,” designated by letters. An invoice consisting
of a number of “Chops” denoted by figures, each chop varying from the
other in quality, size and color. In the American market the coffee
is subdivided into six grades, known to trade as “Fancy,” “Choice,”
“Prime,” “Good,” “Fair,” “Ordinary” and “Common,” the first four grades
being further distinguished by the terms “Light,” “Medium” and “Dark,”
and by prefixing the term “Strict” or “Strictly” correct selections of
each grade may be secured.
There is no standard grade, nor is it possible to establish one,
owing to the changes made by time in the appearance of the coffee,
which causes the different grades to vary with the size, color and
quality of the coffee and the condition of the market on arrival. On
an active and rising market the coffee that on a steady market would
be denominated only “Fair,” suddenly becomes “Prime” or “Good,” and on
a dull or declining market may be classed as “Ordinary.” The following
constitutes the different grades as they are generally accepted on this
market:--
=Fancy Rio or Santos=--Is large, bold and uniform in size and color,
free from all imperfections, and attractive in style and appearance.
=Prime=--Is very clean and regular in size and color, but deficient in
the rich, pleasing appearance of the former.
=Good=--Is acknowledged as the average or “Standard” grade, and ranges
from clean to strictly clean, and is uniform in bean and color.
=Fair=--Is only moderately clean, containing some black or broken beans
and other slight imperfections.
=Ordinary=--Is irregular in size and color, and unsightly in
appearance, containing much black beans and other extraneous matter.
=Common=--Is the poorest grade, and is generally full of black and
broken beans, stems, hulls and chaff, having no definite color, and
very unsightly in general appearance. On the Coffee Exchanges they are
graded numerically from No. 1 to No. 10, No. 7, or “Low ordinary,”
being adopted as the “Standard grade,” upon which all transactions are
based. In point of quantity Brazil heads the list of coffee-producing
countries, its annual product ranging from 7,000,000 to 8,000,000 bags
of 130 pounds each, 75 per cent. of which is exported to the United
States, the remainder going chiefly to Europe.
OTHER VARIETIES.
=Pea-berry Coffees=,--Also known to trade as “Male-berry” and
“Pearl-bean,” are concave-convex in form and may belong to any
variety, from Rio to Java. Their peculiar shape being accounted for as
follows: Each _perfect_ coffee _berry should_ contain two oval seeds
or _beans_ placed facing each other in the fruit or pod, but it most
frequently occurs that only one _seed_ will form in it, the other
becoming abortive. The _one_ forming receiving all the nourishment of
the investing coats, forces itself against the dividing membranes and
encountering no opposition naturally develops into a larger bean, which
in the process of growth assumes a shape different from that of the
regular or “flat bean” of commerce.
=Cherry-dried Coffee=--Is a term applied in the East to coffees cured
by the old or sun-dried process. After the berries have been harvested
they are spread out on “patios” or terraces exposed to the sun’s rays
for a period covering from six to eight weeks, or until they are
thoroughly dried, before being pulped and hulled. Meanwhile they are
raked and turned over once a day during the drying period, in order to
prevent heating and fermentation, and at night heaped up and covered
over with matting or other material to protect them in case of rain,
and from the heavy dews, until the process is completed, after which
they are pulped and hulled by crushing in a mill.
=Washed Coffees=--Are so termed from being prepared by the new or West
India process, by which the coffee is pulped immediately after being
picked, the berries being placed in a large vat and the pulp soaked
off. The coffee in the parchment left in the vat is kept in constant
motion by agitation with a kind of rake or shovel to wash it well, the
water being constantly changed also while the washing continues, to
remove the _débris_ with which the coffee charges the water, the coffee
sinking, while the pulp, blighted berries and other extraneous matter
such as stems and leaves are floated off by the water, after which the
beans are again washed and spread out on mats to dry. By this method
the coffee must be crushed the same day, otherwise it will ferment and
the flavor be greatly injured.
=Triage=--Is composed chiefly of dead or decayed beans, which are
invariably sour, bitter and black, being entirely destitute of the
active principle of coffee, containing no aroma and invariably injuring
and detracting from any coffee in which they may be mixed--as they
usually are--no matter how small the quantity used.
=Screenings=--Are composed of the dust, chaff and mutilated beans
separated from the regular grades of coffee in the process of milling,
and drink well according to the variety or grade from which they are
obtained, but are generally roasted, ground and mixed with chicory, and
sold in package form.
=Skimmings=--Are usually composed of that portion of the cargo stowed
in the bottom or sides of the vessels in which it is imported, or of
the storehouse sweepings after the regular coffee has been delivered.
A greater or less portion of all cargoes are found damaged by dampness
or bilge-water during the voyage, thus staining and discoloring the
coffee, rendering it mouldy or musty. The strained and damaged bags
are emptied and the tainted coffee “skimmed” off, milled, rebagged and
sold under the head of “Skimmings.” They are generally branded “G. S.”
(Good skimmings), “G. L. S.” (Good light skimmings), “G. D. S.” (Good
dark skimmings), “F. S.” (Fair skimmings), and “S. S.” (Store or ship
sweepings). Notwithstanding their origin many of those coffees roast
and drink exceedingly well, but great care must be exercised by the
dealer in selecting them, as they may taste of the bilge-water or be
mixed with coal, iron, chips and other extraneous substances.
=United States Coffee=--The Department of Agriculture at Washington
has recently issued a circular relative to the possibility of coffee
culture in some of the Southern States, in which it is led to believe
that the soil and climatic conditions of Texas, Florida and Lower
California will be found suitable to the profitable cultivation of
coffee. It is also claimed that a species of wild coffee has been
discovered in the two latter States, and that in California seed has
been planted obtained from Costa Rica with satisfactory results. A
coffee planter from Guatemala has recently been investigating the soil
and climate of San Bernardino in Lower California with a view to the
introduction of coffee culture in that section. The conditions there,
it is stated, are very favorable for its profitable production, and he
has offered to invest capital in a company to be organized to start the
industry.