Coffee from Haiti |
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Coffee from Haiti |
| Haiti |
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As soon as de Clieu's coffee plants
began to thrive on Martinique in 1715, Jesuit priests took some to
Haiti (or the western side of Santo Domingo, as the entire island
was so named at that time). Today Haiti's coffee, which is all
Arabica, makes up about 0.43 of one percent of world production, or
very slightly less than that produced in the Dominican Republic on
the eastern side of the island. Haiti is very poor country. The coffee trees grow more or less wild at an average altitude of about 460 meters on thousands of tiny farms held by families which have to grow several crops in order to survive. Although coffee exports are a main source of income for the island, the processing often employs crude methods and outdated machinery. Most of the crop is processed rather haphazardly by the dry method - unusual for Arabica from this part of the word. The beans, large, bluish and heavy with moisture, are classified by size, denoted by Xs, and numbers designating average defective beans and stones (!) in a 500 gram sample. Altitude differences of the washed coffees are given with the categories "Strictly High Grown" (SHG), "High Grown", "Standard" and "Good Washed". Some of the lower grades of washed coffee are favored in Europe, particularly France, for a slightly darker roast. The washed SHG can be a winey, sweet, rich and mellow gourmet-quality coffee, but both the supply and quality are erratic. |
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