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Coffee Regions
African / Arabian Coffee
Coffee grown in the African / Arabian region is characterised by high acidity and low body. Its taste has fruity overtones, with a floral aroma.
Asia / Pacific Coffee
Coffee originating in the Asian / Pacific region is famed for being rich and full bodied, with earthy and spicy flavours.
Central / South America
Latin American coffee is renowned for its wide spectrum of tastes; from fruity, to earthy to chocolaty. It is intensely aromatic, with medium acidity and body.
Brazil
Brazil is the largest producer and exporter of coffee, contributing almost 30% of the world’s total coffee supply. It is also the second largest coffee-consuming nation. Brazilian coffee is at the mercy of winter frosts, which are capable of destroying the buds. This scenario would seriously impact on the world market price for coffee. Brazilian coffees are smooth, with medium body and low acidity.
Columbia
Columbia is the second largest coffee supplier, with a market share of 10%. Columbia enjoys a reputation for producing some of the world's finest coffees. The coffees have a lovely rich flavour and are famous for their body, depth and balanced acidity. They grow in the temperate foothills of the Andes Mountains.
Costa Rica
Costa Rica enjoys a reputation for high quality coffee, having developed its production techniques over many years. The flavours are quite complex, being delicate and nutty, with a fine subtle acidity. These subtle tones will be fully appreciated when the coffee is prepared using filter or cafetière coffee makers.
Cote D'Ioire
Côte D'Ivoire (the Ivory Coast) on the west coast of Africa produces coffee as a secondary tree crop, after cocoa. The coffee crop is Robusta, which is stronger flavoured and contains more caffeine than the Arabica variety. The coffee bushes tend to be grown on small holdings, where shade from the cocoa trees protects them. Côte d'Ivoire coffees are strongly aromatic, with a light body and acidity. Their lower quality and taste make them ideally suited to a darker roast.
Ethiopia
It is believed that the Arabica coffee tree originated in Ethiopia and today some still grow in the wild. Ethiopia produces some of the world's most exotic, distinctive coffees, which are full of flavour and often carry a fruity, floral aroma.
Hawaii
Hawaii is the only state of the United States in which coffee is commercially grown. Hawaiian coffee is medium bodied with a rich flavour and a good acidity level.
Guatemala
Southern Guatemala is dominated by the Sierra Madre mountain range, which creates a perfect climate for growing some of the world’s best coffee. Guatemalan coffee has a smokey flavour, which comes from drying mechanically with smoke fires.
India
Although usually associated with tea, India is one of the world's oldest coffee growing nations. During the early 1600’s Baba Budan, a pilgrim to Mecca, smuggled some coffee beans out of Arabia concealed in his robes, and grew them in India. Indian coffee is characterized by a sweet taste and low acidity.
Indonesia
Indonesia is the third major coffee producing nation behind Brazil and Columbia, providing 7.5% of the world’s coffee. Indonesia has a long history of coffee production, the Dutch having first introduced coffee growing to Java in the mid-seventeenth century. Nearly all coffee grown in Vietnam and Sumatra is the Robusta variety. One of the most expensive and sought-after coffees comes from Sumatra. Kopi Lewak or “fox dung coffee” is made from coffee beans that have been eaten and 'passed through' the civet cat (which looks like a fox)! This process enhances the taste of the beans and makes them highly desirable to coffee connoisseurs worldwide. The heavy, rich flavour and full body of Indonesian coffees makes it ideal for the addition of milk or cream.
Jamaica
Jamaica is renowned for Blue Mountain coffee, which grows at over 5,000 feet above sea-level on the beautiful, tropical island. The classification Blue Mountain is synonymous with excellence and increasing demand has resulted in the scarcity of this unique coffee, which is reflected in the high price. Blue Mountain coffee is full bodied, with a perfect acidity balance, rich flavour and wonderful aroma.
Kenya
Kenya produces some of the most sought-after coffees. Kenyan coffees are famous for their bright, lively flavours, rich aromas and excellent quality.
Mexico
Mexico is one of the world's largest coffee producers, although the crop is grown mainly on small farms. Mexican coffee is characteristically smooth and mellow, with delicate body and a pleasantly dry acidity snap.
Peru
The climate and soil structure in Peru offers tremendous possibilities for growing fine coffee, which is medium bodied, low in acidity and full of flavour and aroma. In the past, Peru experienced political and economic problems and as a result the production of quality coffee suffered.
Tanzania
Just after the Second World War, Mr. H.R. Higgins tasted Chagga coffee. The rich flavour caught his attention, because it had a lower acidity than most Kenyan coffees but more body than many Colombian coffees. Chagga, is produced by the Wa-Chagga people, on the slopes of Mount Kilimanjaro.
Yemen
Coffee plants thrive on Yemen’s mountains, at altitudes exceeding 4500 feet. Local farmers have cultivated and processed the coffee in the same way for centuries. Their coffee is organic, as they rely on rainwater irrigation and dry the coffee naturally without the use of chemicals. Yemeni coffees are medium to full bodied and have a unique rich flavour, with overtones of wine, chocolate cherries and cheese. Originally shipped through the ancient port of Mocha, Arabian Mocha, grown in the northern mountains of Yemen, is the finest and one of the oldest coffees in the world!
Zimbabwe
The Chihosa Estate, situated in the Eastern highlands of Zimbabwe at 5,600 feet above sea level, has been run by the Cugnet family since 1990. The coffee is of impressive quality and taste and has a rich, full character with an interesting mild acidity.
Tea Regions
Argentina
Since the 1950s, Argentina has been producing teas on estates that lie near the borders with Brazil and Paraguay. The main growing season is during the hot and humid months of November through to May. The 50 million or so kilos that are exported annually are mostly sold to the USA for the manufacture of iced teas.
Bangladesh
Tea gardens were planted in this perfect tea growing region as far back as 1857, long before the country existed as a separate territory from India. Each year, Bangladesh produces approximately 56 million kilos of black teas that are strong and have a hint of spiciness in their aroma and flavour.
Brazil
Although Brazil is synonymous with coffee, the tea estates were established as long ago as the 1920’s, mainly to the south west of São Paulo. The country now produces roughly five million kilos of black tea every year and although the majority are used for making iced teas, the smooth coconut character makes them common in English Breakfast style blends.
Britain
Tea is grown on the vast estate owned by the Boscawen family, at Tregothnan near Truro. Since early Victorian days, the camellia has grown successfully in the warm micro-climate of this protected part of Cornwall and, having experimented with camellia sinensis, the tea plant, both green and black teas are now being produced. The manufactured leaf is blended with teas from other origins to give excellent quality.
China
Until competition from India began at the start of the nineteenth century, China was the world’s only tea exporting nation. Today China remains one of the leading suppliers, producing approximately 75% of the world’s green tea. Tea bushes are grown both on family smallholdings and on vast plantations on the mountains in China’s southern provinces. Each village or region has its own style of tea manufacture and many of the white, green and oolong teas are hand made. However, as the country becomes more industrialised, tea companies are modernising their factories and equipment. China also creates flavoured teas that are blended with additional ingredients such as jasmine flowers and rose petals, and aged pu'erh teas. The very finest of China’s teas are produced in the spring when the bushes are just starting to grow after their winter sleep.
Georgia
Tea was first cultivated in the Caucasus Mountains in the first half of the nineteenth century. Georgia’s tea is drunk predominantly in Russia; though today there is some limited export. Mainly orthodox black teas are manufactured and the Tea Producer Farmers’ Association offer ‘Caucasus Teas’, which are developed using traditional hand made skills that have been passed down from generation to generation.
India
India is one of the world’s largest tea exporters, yet most of its tea is consumed in India. This highlights the magnitude of production on its 13,000 estates and the economic impact of tea on the nation, with the industry employing more than a million people. In the past, almost all the teas made were black orthodox but today, white, green and oolong teas are also being produced. In the seasonal areas of the north, the finest teas are made from the new leaves and leaf buds that grow in the spring. In the south, the plants grow all year, with a peak season from mid-April to mid-June. Darjeeling, grown at the foothills of the Himalayas, is recognised as on of the world’s finest teas.
Indonesia
Tea was first grown in Indonesia by the Dutch in the early eighteenth century and by the beginning of the twentieth century, black teas from the islands had become central to the British and European markets. Most of the plantations are set at high altitudes on the island of Java and as the country lies right on the equator, the bushes grow all year round. The peak season, when the best quality teas are made, is in August and September.
Japan
Japan’s tea plantations lie close to lakes and rivers, where the misty damp air shields the bushes from harsh sunlight and encourages slow steady growth. The country produces green teas which are harvested mechanically, due to high labour costs and processed in vast, automated factories. The only hand plucked teas are Gyokuro, an intensely flavoured, spring-picked tea, and Tencha which is ground into a fine powdered tea called Matcha, ready for use during the Japanese Green Tea Ceremony.
Kenya
Tea bushes were first planted in Kenya in 1903 but commercial production only commenced in the 1950’s, when CTC (cut, tear, curl) factories began manufacturing small leafed teas for use in teabags. Today, Kenya is Africa’s largest tea producing nation and Britain buys approximately half its teas from here. Kenya’s teas are marketed both as single origin teas and they are blended with teas from several other regions to make strong, English Breakfast style teas. A small quantity of orthodox teas are now also being made and whereas Kenya’s CTC teas are strong, rich and coppery and drink better with milk, the large leafed teas have a softer, smoother aroma and flavour and are best served without milk. Since Kenya sits right on the equator at high altitude with consistent moisture, the tea grows robustly all year, with the best teas being produced in late January and early February.
South Korea
South Korea produces green teas from plantations in the warm, wet south of the country. The Hadong-gun region has been producing tea since the ninth century AD, when an envoy brought tea seeds from China and planted then on the mountain slopes around Ssanggye Temple. The bushes are cultivated in long curved rows rather like those in Japan, but all Korean teas are hand-plucked and hand-manufactured. As in any seasonal area, the finest teas are made from the young leaves and leaf buds that grow in the spring.
Malawi
Tea cultivation in Malawi began in 1878 when tea seeds from Edinburgh’s Botanical Gardens were planted in what was then called Nyasaland. The teas are very similar in character to those grown in Kenya. With warm temperatures and plenty of rain, the bushes flush almost continuously during December to May, to produce brightly coloured, strongly flavoured tea, ideal for Breakfast style blends.
Malaysia
Malaysia’s famous Boh Estate plantation was established in 1929 and was named from China’s Bohea area, where most of China’s early exports were manufactured. Nicknamed “Malaysia’s Green Bowl”, the area enjoys plenty of rainfall, moderate temperatures, steady sunshine and good soil, and the plants thrive in the almost perfect conditions. The teas are bright, brisk and flavoursome.
Nepal
Tea was first planted in Nepal in the 1870’s and today, the country produces teas that rival the best quality Darjeelings. The gardens lie at altitudes of between 3,000 and 6,000 feet and the growing season is from late February to the end of September, when the bushes stop growing for the duration of the cold winter months. As in Darjeeling, the finest teas are harvested in the spring to make the "first flush”. This tea has an intensely aromatic, floral character with hints of muscatel grapes.
Rwanda
The Rwandan tea industry was established in the 1950’s and with the excellent conditions, fertile soil, long hours of sunshine and plentiful rainfall, the crops thrived. The civil war of the 1990’s badly affected production but a programme of refurbishment and investment has brought quality and consistency back and the country is once again producing some of Africa’s best teas.
Sri Lanka
When Ceylon’s coffee crop failed because of the coffee rust fungus in the 1860’s and 70’s, the planters decided to try growing tea. The plant thrived and by the 1890’s, the island had become one of the world’s most important tea producers. The industry divides its teas into low grown, mid grown and high grown teas. The different altitudes, with their varying weather patterns, monsoons at different times of the year, and varied soil types, produce teas with very distinct individual characters. The low-growns are malty and thick, the mid-growns are flavoursome and bright, and the high- growns range from intense, pungent and almost medicinal to light and subtly layered with flavour.
Taiwan
When the people of China’s Fujian province migrated to the island of Formosa, later renamed Taiwan, they took their tea-making skills with them and improved what they did best in their new homeland. Today, almost the entire island produces green and oolong teas, with the very best coming from the high mountains running down the centre of the island. The growing season is from April to December, with the finest teas made from the end of May to mid-August.
Tanzania
Commercial tea production began in Tanzania in 1926 and quickly expanded. Today, the tea is grown both by smallholders who sell their leaf to state-owned factories and by large private estates that grow and process their own leaf. All the teas are manufactured by the CTC (cut, tear, curl) method to give strong, black teas that are mainly used in breakfast style blends.
Tibet
The Tibetans learnt about tea from the Chinese more than 1000 years ago and started growing their own. Tibetan tea grows at altitudes of more than 12,000 feet, where mist, cloud and cool temperatures create perfect conditions for the bushes. In view of the very high altitudes, the bush is only harvested once a year and the tea made from the carefully plucked leaves is considered sacred by the Tibetan people.
Turkey
Turkey has been growing tea since the 1920’s when seed from Russia was planted in the Rize district, but commercial production did not commence until the 1940’s. Today Turkey is one of the world’s largest tea producers. The bushes grow along the coastline of the Black Sea and the plantations are surrounded by the Caucasus and Kaçkar mountains. The liquor from Turkish teas is coppery-red and has a gentle, neutral, almost sweet flavour which is perfect for iced teas.
Uganda
After the disastrous Amin years, Uganda’s tea industry took a decade to begin to recover from the expulsion of Asian tea estate owners and managers. However, the favourable climate and good soil conditions have enabled Uganda to begin exporting some of Africa’s finest teas once again. Today production and quality continues to be hampered by high costs, shortages of labour, equipment and fertilisers and high taxation on machinery and other essential equipment.
USA
America’s only tea plantation is on Wadmalaw Island off the coast of South Carolina. Planted in the nineteenth century, the estate was later owned by Lipton but after little success, they sold it to a private concern who marketed its product as ‘American Classic Tea’. In 2003, the estate was purchased by Bigelow, one of the USA’s major tea companies. Their factory manufactures black tea and incorporates a state-of-the-art tourist centre, where visitors can watch the entire process through glass panels.
Vietnam
Since the 1990’s, Vietnam has gradually become an important tea producing country, making white, green, oolong and black teas. The tropical climate and well-drained soil produce high quality teas, which are sought after by buyers from all over the world.
Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe’s tea plantations are in the south-east of the country, where a cold winter season means that the bushes grow seasonally from spring to autumn. Rainfall in this part of Africa is low and the bushes require carefully-managed irrigation. The teas are all black CTC (cut, tear, curl) and give good colour and flavour, ideal for blending.
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