| |
| |
|
Coffee Information |
|
|
|
Coffee from Guatemala
In Guatemala coffee grows in the heart of what was once the center of the Great Mayan Civilization. The Maya ruled this region of Central America from around 2500 B.C. until the arrival of Spanish Conquistadors in mid 1500 A.D. Coffee arrived in Central America from the Caribbean around 1700 and local cultivation began shortly after. Commercial export of coffee from Guatemala did not begin until the mid 1800's as the square-rigged sailing ships of the day could only travel downwind. The trade winds blew the ships across the Atlantic toward the coast of Central America, but there was no easy way to sail back east. The advent of clipper ships around 1850, which could point higher into the wind, made commercial exports possible. In order to export Guatemalan coffee the small growers expanded into full-scale production. This led to a land war of sorts and the larger plantations took over the smaller ones, sometimes by buying them out and sometimes by force. In Guatemala coffee growing land is in small supply, being that the country is about the size of a small U.S. state. The larger plantations, or fincas, were owned mostly by wealthy descendants of the Spanish Conquistadors who viewed the native Maya people as inferior. They quickly enslaved large populations of Mayans to work on the Guatemala coffee farms. As you may expect they did not submit voluntarily and a bloody resistance ensued. In 1877 the Guatemala government passed a law that made it easier for foreigners to get land, granting exemptions for taxes and import duties on machinery and tools. Many Germans fleeing the political unrest in their country took advantage of the opportunity and set up operations to grow, process and export coffee from Guatemala. The German influence had a very positive effect on the coffee industry in Guatemala. The Germans brought capital and modernization to a poor and under developed country. They financed the construction of a railroad from the mountainous interior to the sea to transport coffee. They built sea ports for the ships and processing plants that were previously unavailable to smaller growing operations. The Germans also treated the Mayan workers better, paying them for their labor, not as much as they would pay non-Mayan workers but it was definitely an improvement. This however, caused dissent among the Spanish plantation owners who were used to getting their labor for free. The Spanish tried to lobby the government to pass laws that made paying the Mayan illegal but they were unsuccessful. Today, coffee from Guatemala is highly respected among aficionados and is prized for its smooth character, balanced acidity and full flavor. © Copyright Randy Wilson, All Rights Reserved. Randy has more articles on coffee such as Starbucks Coffee Company, Coffee Beans and Coffee Colonics.
MORE RESOURCES:
Coffee - Google News |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Make Money In Your Own Coffee Business A 2001 survey by the National Coffee Association indicated that over 100 million people drink coffee on a daily basis and that nearly 60 million more occasionally consume coffee. Based on average drinking habits, the daily coffee drinker will consume multiple cups per day - totalling hundreds of millions cups of coffee being consumed every 24 hours. Buy Only Fresh Gourmet Coffee Beans if You are Looking to Brew Flavorful Gourmet Coffee Most coffee beans are grown in sub-tropical climates all over the world. The altitude and region can make a world of difference in the taste of your coffee. History of the Coffee and Espresso Machine A large percentage of the population loves to drink both gourmet coffee and espresso drinks. We are all aware of the fact that coffee and espresso provide a boost of energy and they also warm your body up on those cold winter days. The History Of Coffee Coffee - THE Drink of ChoiceDid you know coffee is the most consumed beverage in the world. How did coffee get this ranking? What country first figured out coffee was safe for consumption? When was the first drink of coffee prepared? Where did the first coffee shop come in being? There are many questions about the starting point of drinking coffee. How to Make Restaurant Quality Coffee At Home Have you ever wondered how restaurants get their coffee to taste so good?First of all, restaurants are in the business of pampering you so they devote much more time to the perfection of a good cup of coffee. Sometimes I'll remember a restaurant just because of their excellent coffee. Starbucks Coffee Company Starbucks Coffee Company was founded in 1971 by three businessmen in Seattle, Washington who had a love for coffee and tea. It was important to them that the city of Seattle to have access their coffee. A Coffee Roaster For All Occasions Coffee roasters and those who roast, brew and serve the ultimate cup of coffee are now esteemed professionals within the social fabric of our community at large. A good coffee roaster is a little like a celebrity chef these days, complete with loyal followings, highly descriptive reviews and the ability to command premium prices for their products and services. Tea at Sea Marylyn Monroe famed amongst other things for her love of Tea once said that, "World Peace would be with us if politicians drank tea at meetings" - or something to that effect. And she was very true in her words, very true indeed. Coffee Storage Myths; Freeze Your Fresh Roasted Coffee & Other Popular Misconceptions So you are finally fed up with that bland black liquid, you once called coffee, brewed from the finest can of generic supermarket grinds. You are financially outraged at the price of a single cup of designer coffee shop coffee. Coffee Club Membership Is A Joy For Coffee Lovers Coffee club membership is a joy for coffee lovers The coffee club concept is relatively new but is taking the world by storm. Reward yourself or your friends and relatives with coffee clubs by joining up and saving loads. Gourmet Coffee Habit Costing Consumers as Much as $1,500 Yearly Gourmet coffee consumers rarely consider the cost of their daily coffee in terms of the expense to brew premium whole bean coffee at home (50 cents to 75 cents) with prices of a pound of gourmet coffee beans versus a two or three cup a day ($4.50 to $6. Coffee, A Brief Overview The coffee plant has two main species. There is the Coffea Arabica, which is the more traditional coffee and considered to be superior in flavor, and the Coffea Canephora known more commonly as Robusta. Caffeine - I Bet You Didnt Know This! Health and Nutrition! What exactly is caffeine? It is a colorless, somewhat bitter substance that is found in coffee, tea, chocolate and cola. It is also in many over- the-counter medicines and in many diet/weight loss supplements. The Coffee Culture in the USA It wasn't until I moved to the US that I started drinking coffee regularly and became what they call in the Netherlands a 'koffieleut', which translates literally into 'coffee socialite.' Although the average European drinks more coffee per year than the average American, the cultural importance and its effects on the average European seems to me smaller than that on the average American. Live the Life of a Civil War Soldier When you Drink your Mornin Coffee Civil War soldiers, Confederate and Union, used to make their coffee in pots. But on the march, they just usedtheir boilers. Coffee For Your Health Many of us rely on coffee to get us going in the mornings, wake us up in the afternoons, and prepare us for that special business meeting. Go ahead, have a cup of coffee. Coffee Roasting: Learning the Fundamental Art of Making Coffee Can be Fun Coffee roasting from light to very dark, is an art form in itself. Green beans have none of the flavor we are all accustomed to. Italian Coffee - Something For Everyone Espresso, caffč latte, cappuccino; there would seem to be as many types of Italian coffee as there are pastas. And just like pasta, Italian coffees are an art form accompanied by hundreds of customs and traditions. Portrait of a Barista The barista is the Italian word for the skilled person who prepares coffee (ultimately espresso) in a coffee house.What would you want your barista to be like?This is not a trick question. Coffee is a commodity At Starbucks they obviously need coffee. To insure that they get the coffee at a good price, Starbucks has chosen to buy the coffee fields, rather than pay an advanced contract price for the coffee beans.
|
| home | site map |
| © 2006 |
