The Minute Gourmet

Coffee Bean Colombian
Coffee Bean Colombian

In todayÂ’s world you hear people of all races, creeds and socio-economic backgrounds declaring that they couldnÂ’t possibly get through the day without their coffee.

If you are a true coffee connoisseur like me, then you will know before Starbucks or the like, there came a man named Juan Valdez who put Columbian coffee on the map. Juan Valdez for those who donÂ’t know, is the highly fictional character who merited Columbian coffee with notoriety when he began appearing in commercials and other advertising exploits promoting the umber liquid. Through his popularity nearly eighty five percent of all Americans associate this man with Colombian coffee.

Like a large proportion of the worldÂ’s population I too am more than partial to Columbian coffee beans because of their exquisite style, taste and flavour which in my opinion out ranks most other coffees by far. It is no surprise that the Columbian coffee market boasts a huge following. Columbia contributes to over twelve percent of all coffee imported around the world which is second only to Brazil who is the largest producing nation of all time.

In 1835 Columbia first began exporting coffee beans to a number of different countries around the globe including the United States and it wasnÂ’t long before it became one of its biggest customers. ItÂ’s not hard to see why when we all know Americans love nothing better than a good cup of java. Since the early 1800Â’s a roaring trade was established between the two countries with Colombia exporting a little over two thousand bags of coffee beans per year from those early beginnings. Since then, sales have increased to about eleven million bags per annum. Now thatÂ’s a lot of sacks of beans being sent to our shores but equates to billions of cups of coffee being consumed each year!

Producing fine Columbian Coffee is no easy feat to achieve successfully. It requires great skill, perseverance and patience to grow and tend the trees. However that is only one part of the entire complicated process. Once the berries are filled out and ripe then follows the important picking process of the fresh green beans. It is essential that the coffee beans are handled in the proper way to ensure they maintain their perfect flavor.

Columbian coffee comes from the Coffea Arabica tree which takes about four to five years of careful cultivation before it begins producing coffee berries that are ready to be hand picked. The green beans that are plucked from a fully developed Arabica tree are more commonly referred to as cherries. You know when they are ready to pick by their color. Fully grown Coffea Arabica trees produce enough beans for approximately one pound of Colombian coffee per year. ThatÂ’s a lot of beans to make one cup.

As good as it is Columbian coffee comes in second best behind Brazil who ranks as the number one favourite in the world. Who knows, given time Columbian coffee may grow even more in popularity and take over as the worldÂ’s best brew?

Author John is a coffee lover from “Down Under”. He likes nothing better than a great cup of coffee and has travelled the world in search of the perfect brew. At Johns site http://www.thecoffeebrew.com he shares his vast collection of experiences and ideas with you. Don’t miss it.

Colombia Sumpremo from Coffee Bean Direct – Episode #65