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A synopsis of the history
of Puerto Rico Coffee
 It has been said that the first
seedling of coffee was of the Arabica kind and was introduced in the island
in early 1700 by a French immigrant. Some coffee historians have a
different account of the beginning of coffee growing in the island.
They believe that its origin dates back to the post Columbus
arrival in Puerto Rico. One can reasonably suspect
that coffee might have been introduced in Puerto Rico by the Spanish that
found the perfect climate and soil conditions in the high altitudes of the
Cordillera Central mountain regions in the late 1500's or early 1600's.
However the introduction occurred, the fact remains that the coffee plant
was born in Africa in an Ethiopian region (Kaffa). It spread out to Yemen,
Arabia and Egypt and on to other parts of the world and later to the
Pacific and Central and South America and the Caribbean. The coffee
bean followed the same route except that it was in Europe that it first
became a popular drink and later on throughout the rest of the western
hemisphere.
Puerto Rico Coffee has always been considered of the finest quality in
taste and aroma and it was coveted around Europe as the BEST coffee of the
world. This standard was the guideline followed to compare coffees
being produced elsewhere.
The coffee industry flourished and became one of the three top most
products that were produced to be exported, coffee, tobacco, and sugar.
Unfortunately
for the small coffee farmers the industry has experienced a steady sharp decline
during the last decade and
is trying to recuperate from the bad reputation that's been caused by
unscrupulous big roasters. At CAFEdePR.com we take this situation seriously
and we are working hard with small farmers in the coffee region of Puerto
Rico to bring you the same quality of coffee that you used to enjoy and
expected from Real® Puerto Rico Coffee. We do not sell coffee from
every nook and cranny of the world; at CAFEdePR.com you will only find
super-premium select cultivated and hand picked Arabica Borbon grown in
the high altitude shaded mountains of the Cordillera Central of Puerto
Rico.
The
biggest three roasters, Yaucono, Cafe Rico, and Cafe Crema control 70%
of the coffee production in Puerto Rico. When the yearly crop is not
enough for the local demand the government imports from other countries.
It has been reported in the local press that on several occasions the government has
had to confiscate shipments of illegally imported coffee that was going to
be delivered to some of the big roasters. One has to wonder how many other
shipments are smuggled and get by undetected and make it to the big roasters. In other words, the coffee you buy
in the supermarkets is not necessarily grown in PR. This
practice of mixing is producing coffee of lower qualities that does not
compare to the coffee that's grown by the small farms in the mountains of
PR. The taste and aroma and qualities are not the same as the famous
coffee that gave Puerto Rico Coffee its fame worldwide.
The
small farmers admit that because of a shortage of pickers some of the crop is
lost and never
harvested but they insist that this problem does not affect them directly
and they still manage to grow and produce enough to supply the most
demanding coffee connoisseur. They say that
the demand for
Puerto Rico coffee has dwindled because of the damage done by the
deceitful practice of the big roasters of selling coffee with a Puerto
Rico label when in fact the content might be coffee mixed with third world
countries. They are very concerned and want the public to know that
their coffee is Real® Puerto Rico Coffee grown under the same
conditions that produces the best coffee Puerto Rico can grow. There
are also some self-serving explanations, that you can read at some of
these big roasters websites, in which they claim that the devastating
destruction caused by Hurricanes like Hugo and Georges are the reasons for
the decay of the coffee industry. The small farmers disagree and
insist that worse than that has been the constant adulteration of the
product which produces coffee of a lower quality that can't compete in the
world markets with roasters from Jamaica, Hawaii, Colombia, etc.
At CAFEdePR.com
we are very concerned about re-capturing the industry from the big
roasters and we will continue to strive towards improving the bad
reputation that the big roasters have created. We are asking the
consumers of Puerto Rico coffee to stop buying the big brands that you find
in supermarkets because there is no guarantee that the coffee in the bag
originated in Puerto Rico. We are recommending you buy coffee from
small farmers or distributors that can guarantee the origin and quality of
the product. At CAFEdePR.com we are currently offering a coffee
that's guaranteed to be completely elaborated in the farm in the high
mountain shades of Maricao, Puerto Rico. For obvious reasons we do
not sell Yaucono, Cafe Rico, Yauco Select, Cafe Crema and other mass
produced coffees. We are working hard with small farmers concerned
about improving the reputation of the best coffee in the world, The Real®
Coffee of Puerto Rico.
We would also like to provide the following facts about the coffee
growing region of Puerto Rico which is located in the Cordillera Central
of the island. Please see the green oval in the map. The history
that has been written indicates that the town of Yauco is considered
Coffee Town. One of the big roasting companies in Puerto Rico is the
Yaucono Coffee which has its roasting facilities in Santurce. There
is no rationale in all of this. It might be obvious to some that
they might have formulated the name Yaucono from the name of the town
of Yauco. We recognize the fact that Corsican immigrants in the
1800's settled in the Yauco mountain section and made coffee their main
concern and did produce considerable crops of the best qualities. We also know that the town of Yauco has some limited areas that stretch out
into the mountains that grow some coffee but we know that the town is
mostly over developed and most of the town limits are on the coast away from
the mountains where coffee does not thrive. We know that in comparison
to Yauco other coffee growing towns produce much more and better coffee than Yauco, yet
Yauco is popular because of the Yaucono brand and the
history that was written around the Corsican influence there. However, we can reasonably conclude that
Yauco because of its topographical location and over development is no
longer the best coffee producing town in Puerto Rico, although it seems to
retain its notoriety.
The topography of the island is very simple, it's mountainous in the
center from east to west especially the coffee region, and the coastal
areas around the perimeter of the island is mostly plane land where coffee
is not cultivated. If you look where Yauco is located you can see that
it's in the south coast near the town of Guanica which is known for having
the only DRY FOREST in Puerto Rico. This entire area is typically of
an arid-dessert like characteristic. We know that COFFEE can not
survive in this type of setting and soil conditions. We provide this information so that
you can have a better understanding of important facts that might clear up
some misunderstanding about some coffee brands that are promoted as Puerto Rico coffee when in fact we know that today there is no
certainty about the origin of the coffee they sell.
Maricao, Puerto Rico - one of the largest coffee plantations in Maricao was Hacienda Juanita.
This farm and the town are known for producing the best coffee of
Puerto Rico that was exported to Europe and
coveted worldwide as the best and was the coffee that was preferred by the Vatican.
This coffee was introduced with great
acceptance in France, Spain, England and all over the world in
the beginning of the 19th century. The Cafe Arabica de Puerto Rico
is a bean that's hard and of the best kind with all the qualities
necessary to produce the rich and exquisite flavor and aroma of Real® Puerto Rico coffee. The coffee
growers of Maricao and neighboring coffee growing towns like Las Marias,
Lares,
Ciales, Adjuntas, Jayuya, and Utuado have dedicated more than 500 years to
the perfection of this Cafe Real® de Puerto Rico. This coffee
can only be achieved when the climate, the soil, and the elevation of the
land are favorable and can be controlled for the cultivation of the best
Cafe Real® de Puerto Rico.
The town of
Maricao
is also known for its traditional festival
'La Fiesta del Acabe del Café'
which is celebrated every year during the month of February.
It had been a tradition of the big coffee plantation owners to celebrate the
end of the harvest with a feast for their workers,
neighbors and friends 'La Fiesta del Acabe del Café'.
This tradition has been kept alive every year with the celebration of
this festival in which the town people open their doors to visitors
reminiscent of the old days. We highly recommend you visit
Maricao during the weekend of the festival. The festival is a local
celebration of the pride and the hard work associated with coffee farming
and the town people go out of their way to make the visitor's experience a
memorable one.
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Café
Real de Puerto
Rico®
is precisely the result of the most adequate and controlled cultivation and of
the dedication and efforts of the coffee growers of Maricao and Jayuya. A cup of
coffee with the freshness of the mountain. It's a coffee bean exclusively grown
in the most perfect soil and high altitude with the climate conditions only
found in the Puerto Rico high land and rain forest shadowy characteristics.
We bring to you
the opportunity of savoring and enjoying this most uniquely farm grown and
elaborated coffee. This gourmet ground coffee is completely and 100%
elaborated in the mountains of Maricao.
This mutual effort
between the grower and distributor
will enable you to order this coffee only thru this website. It
is very important to understand that this coffee is 100% select and that
it's not blended or mixed with beans from other parts of the world.
Café Real de Puerto Rico®
is roasted 100% Pure Puerto Rican style in the farm where it's grown and
should not be compared with other brands that blend and mix their coffee and label them with fancy names
at astronomical prices. Some of these are mass produced imported beans
of less qualities than our coffee, and how do you really know what you are
getting? The best way is to go directly to the farm and purchase
directly from the farmer and the 2nd best choice is to make sure you are
getting the coffee directly from the farmer thru an exclusive distributor
that has a personal and direct relationship with the grower and that's us CAFEdePR.com. We only sell
this 100% Maricao farm grown and farm elaborated coffee Café Real de Puerto Rico®. We know the family and the farm where it's grown and
elaborated and it comes with our seal of Purity, Integrity, Distinction,
Quality and Guaranty. We are not a warehouse wholesaler that buys cheap
over the phone from all over the world and sells a hundred different kinds
of coffee.
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I'd like to share a family secret
with you. This is
the way my grandfather (1896) and my mother (1913) would prepare the most delicious
cup of coffee. Keep in mind that coffee in those days was the main
crop that my grandfather produced in the family farm high in the mountains
of Ciales, Puerto Rico which was simply known as 'cafe de la montańa'.
This recipe is very easy to make, yet, many people spoil a good cup of
coffee. It's mind-boggling how some with so little (just a cotton
sock) can make the best cup of coffee in the world yet some with such
expensive espresso machines and grinders can spoil the brew....Is it perhaps
because they are starting with the wrong beans or grind? OK! in a casserole pour 2, 3, 4, or 5 cups of water
(depending on how many cups you are making) and to that, add a little
more water to replace the evaporated loss. Measure 2, 3, 4, or 5 heaping tablespoons of
'Café Real de Puerto Rico®'
and set aside; at this time you should take care to close the coffee bag
tightly and put it back in the refrigerator or freezer. Heat the water to its
boiling point. As soon as the water starts bubbling from the bottom of
the casserole add the coffee to the water and stir to mix well with the water.
Lower the heat to low-medium and allow the coffee to cook in the boiling water
not more than 1 minute. Turn the heat completely off and let the
casserole stand on the burner simmering for another minute to two minutes while you stir the coffee
occasionally. The good thing about this is that you do not need any expensive fancy urns or
coffee makers to make this excellent brew. Now here comes the good
part; you are welcome to use a sock or any cloth, preferably cotton, to
drain or filter the brew right into your cup. I highly recommend the
Puerto Rico style inexpensive 'colador'. The important thing is not to
allow the coffee ground to get into the cup of coffee..... there! Buen
Provecho! Enjoy your coffee and spread the word!
To preserve the natural aroma and
flavor of our coffee - we recommend to use the entire content of the bag
as soon as possible once the bag has been opened - and to squeeze the air
from the bag and close it tightly and place it in airtight container and
store in the fridge or freezer after every use.
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Café
Real de Puerto Rico® is guaranteed 100% arabica coffee grown in the
mountains of Maricao, Puerto Rico. This coffee is elaborated in the
farm where it's grown and harvested and it's produced by the the same family
under their strict care and experience. A Gourmet coffee to satisfy
the palate of coffee connoisseur with a guarantee that it's 100% pure Puerto
Rican coffee. CAFEdePR.com is the exclusive distributor of this coffee
in the US.... This is the only coffee that we distribute and we guarantee
that this coffee comes direct from the farm where it is completely
elaborated...this guarantees that you will be getting true 100% Arabica
Puerto Rico Coffee grown in the family farm that produces it. We hope you
enjoy a good cup of Real® Puerto Rico coffee.