why do all the good coffee beans come from 3rd world countries?

[xit2nowhere]

Damn, Kona coffee is EXPENSIVE ! 🙁

 

[Skanderberg]

The temperature has a lot to do with it. Coffee grows well in an equatorial climate. It just so happens that most of the contries with the proper climate are third-world cuntries.

 

[Lola]

Originally posted by: xit2nowhere
Damn, Kona coffee is EXPENSIVE ! 🙁

it is truly worth it... i just bought an 8oz bag of the good stuff for a little bit of money, it is really enjoyable.

 

[iamwiz82]

Originally posted by: IGBT
..last batch of Kona beans I got from Hawaii weren't tat good. What the heck happened their coffee harvest?? I'm not the only one complaining either.

This past year wasn't good for a lot of different harvests on the Big Island. No tomatoes, Mangos were hard hit.

 

[Linflas]

Originally posted by: IGBT

Originally posted by: Slew Foot
Is there really a guy named Juan Valdez who hand picks the coffee beans?

..and he has only one mule??

Actually Juan and the mule recently retired so there are 2 job openings if anyone is interested.

 

[DurocShark]

Originally posted by: iamwiz82

Originally posted by: IGBT
..last batch of Kona beans I got from Hawaii weren't tat good. What the heck happened their coffee harvest?? I'm not the only one complaining either.

This past year wasn't good for a lot of different harvests on the Big Island. No tomatoes, Mangos were hard hit.

Yeah, wasn't just coffee.

I've been exploring some african beans lately. Still not my estate Konas. 🙁

 

[sao123]

Originally posted by: madeupfacts
I don't get it 😕

Taxes?

 

[Descartes]

A couple of people have mentioned this, but it all comes down to climate just like almost everything else. Coffee ultimately comes from a fruit, and you need a proper climate to fully ripen the berries. If I remember correctly, the berries take approximately 9 months or so to ripen, so that is a lot of sun. There aren't many countries very far north or south of the equator that have such a climate.

I think the better question to ask would be, "Why are most countries close to the equator third-world?" I'm not saying it's true as I haven't checked the facts, but coffee has no affinity for any economy.

 

[Descartes]

Originally posted by: DurocShark

Originally posted by: iamwiz82

Originally posted by: IGBT
..last batch of Kona beans I got from Hawaii weren't tat good. What the heck happened their coffee harvest?? I'm not the only one complaining either.

This past year wasn't good for a lot of different harvests on the Big Island. No tomatoes, Mangos were hard hit.

Yeah, wasn't just coffee.

I've been exploring some african beans lately. Still not my estate Konas. 🙁

African coffees are arguably the best in the world and can make even the best Konas taste empty; of course, the almost passive quality is partially what makes Kona appealing to some. Considering that there are coffees far, far better than Kona it's really not worth the cost, imo.

Try a quality Ethiopian Harar or Yirgacheffe, Tanzanian Peaberry, Kenya AA, Rwanda maybe, and my absolute favorite coffee in the world: anything Yemeni (I know it's technically not African, but it has a similar flavor profile from a similar climate).

 

[glen]

Any Costa Rican Terrazu region coffee will be as good or better than Hawiian Kona, and cost about $5 per pound
Kona is $25

 

[Scarpozzi]

The most common coffee plant is Arabica. The deal is that depending on WHERE it is grown, it picks up different flavors from the soil and water. So if you drank coffee from an Arabica plant in Hawaii (Kona), it would tast different from one from Columbia.....Both of those are good compared to the African or Vietnam/Indonisian beans....ick.

 

[glen]

Originally posted by: Scarpozzi
The most common coffee plant is Arabica. The deal is that depending on WHERE it is grown, it picks up different flavors from the soil and water. So if you drank coffee from an Arabica plant in Hawaii (Kona), it would tast different from one from Columbia.....Both of those are good compared to the African or Vietnam/Indonisian beans....ick.

You are correct that Arabica is the better tasting variety of Coffee.
However, you seemed to refer to the "other variety" by regions.
The other variety is robusto.
The region "Africa" actually grows some of the best coffee in the world - arabica variety, of course.

 

[alien42]

Originally posted by: Descartes

Originally posted by: DurocShark

Originally posted by: iamwiz82

Originally posted by: IGBT
..last batch of Kona beans I got from Hawaii weren't tat good. What the heck happened their coffee harvest?? I'm not the only one complaining either.

This past year wasn't good for a lot of different harvests on the Big Island. No tomatoes, Mangos were hard hit.

Yeah, wasn't just coffee.

I've been exploring some african beans lately. Still not my estate Konas. 🙁

African coffees are arguably the best in the world and can make even the best Konas taste empty; of course, the almost passive quality is partially what makes Kona appealing to some. Considering that there are coffees far, far better than Kona it's really not worth the cost, imo.

Try a quality Ethiopian Harar or Yirgacheffe, Tanzanian Peaberry, Kenya AA, Rwanda maybe, and my absolute favorite coffee in the world: anything Yemeni (I know it's technically not African, but it has a similar flavor profile from a similar climate).

i know you are the coffee guru around here but i will take a cup of sumatran over african any day.

 

[BillyBatson]

Originally posted by: DainBramaged
whoa...n00bfest in here.

like you are any better 😉

 

[glen]

Originally posted by: alien42i know you are the coffee guru around here but i will take a cup of sumatran over african any day.

I thought I was the coffee guru here.
Have I been supplanted?
I grow, roast, grind, and brew my coffee.

 

[xit2nowhere]

Originally posted by: LolaWiz

Originally posted by: xit2nowhere
Damn, Kona coffee is EXPENSIVE ! 🙁

it is truly worth it... i just bought an 8oz bag of the good stuff for a little bit of money, it is really enjoyable.

Heh, I know it's good :thumbsup:
I work for Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf in West LA 🙂

 

[Descartes]

Originally posted by: glen

Originally posted by: alien42i know you are the coffee guru around here but i will take a cup of sumatran over african any day.

I thought I was the coffee guru here.
Have I been supplanted?
I grow, roast, grind, and brew my coffee.

But you did call it Robusto. 🙂

Shens on the growing. I've "grown" plants too, but no way are you producing enough to drink consistently.

I'm not trying to compare credentials here, but I'd be pretty surprised if you had were more hardcore than me in coffee.

 

[glen]

Originally posted by: alien42


i know you are the coffee guru around here but i will take a cup of sumatran over african any day.

Furthur more, Summatran is NOT that good.
It never has been - too much body, and no acid and no spice.
That is why the earliest traders, the Dutch mixed it with high acid, high spice African and Middle Eastern coffees.
They called this blend Mokka Java
Mokka for the port of Mokka, and Java for the Indonesian coffee (Summatra)

 

[Descartes]

Originally posted by: alien42

Originally posted by: Descartes

Originally posted by: DurocShark

Originally posted by: iamwiz82

Originally posted by: IGBT
..last batch of Kona beans I got from Hawaii weren't tat good. What the heck happened their coffee harvest?? I'm not the only one complaining either.

This past year wasn't good for a lot of different harvests on the Big Island. No tomatoes, Mangos were hard hit.

Yeah, wasn't just coffee.

I've been exploring some african beans lately. Still not my estate Konas. 🙁

African coffees are arguably the best in the world and can make even the best Konas taste empty; of course, the almost passive quality is partially what makes Kona appealing to some. Considering that there are coffees far, far better than Kona it's really not worth the cost, imo.

Try a quality Ethiopian Harar or Yirgacheffe, Tanzanian Peaberry, Kenya AA, Rwanda maybe, and my absolute favorite coffee in the world: anything Yemeni (I know it's technically not African, but it has a similar flavor profile from a similar climate).

i know you are the coffee guru around here but i will take a cup of sumatran over african any day.

Nothing wrong with that. Indonesian coffees are some of the best in the world as well of course. I actually prefer Flores and Sulawesi over Sumatra, Flores being one of my absolute favorite Indonesian coffees. Not as easy to find though as it's not as familiar.

 

[xit2nowhere]

Hey Alien42,
you ever tried Jamaican Blue Mountain ? People says it's pretty good.

 

[xit2nowhere]

I'm pretty sure it is Mocha Java.

 

[Descartes]

Originally posted by: glen

Originally posted by: alien42


i know you are the coffee guru around here but i will take a cup of sumatran over african any day.

Furthur more, Summatran is NOT that good.
It never has been - too much body, and no acid and no spice.
That is why the earliest traders, the Dutch mixed it with high acid, high spice African and Middle Eastern coffees.
They called this blend Mokka Java
Mokka for the port of Mokka, and Java for the Indonesian coffee (Summatra)

Don't be silly. Of course it's THAT good. Not everyone has the palate for high-altitude acidic Africans, even if it is a blend. That doesn't change the fact that they are spectacular coffees full of flavor, albeit not entirely balanced; of course, nor are Africans by themselves. My favorite blend is Yemeni, Sulawesi/Flores, and Monsooned Malabar. I roasted the Yemeni to about a full city and everything else to a full city+.

BTW, it's Sumatra and Moka, Mokha or other random spellings, but not Mokka 😉 Just giving you a hard time!

 

[Descartes]

Originally posted by: xit2nowhere
I'm pretty sure it is Mocha Java.

That's one of the more common spellings that you see in marketed versions of the blend, and it's why a lot of people think it has something to do with chocolate coffee.

 

[glen]

Originally posted by: Descartes


But you did call it Robusto. 🙂

??
We generally talk about 2 varieties of coffee - robusto, and arabica.

Originally posted by: DescartesShens on the growing. I've "grown" plants too, but no way are you producing enough to drink consistently.

Agreed

Originally posted by: Descartes
I'm not trying to compare credentials here, but I'd be pretty surprised if you had were more hardcore than me in coffee.

If you own a small coffee shop and roast your own in a Diedrich, I will tip my hat to you.
I don't own one.
But, I have spoken to him (Steve) and all the other coffee gurus, and the guy who started SCAA is on my AIM buddy list.
I have a bag of Bill McAlpin's La Minita in my basement.

 

[glen]

Originally posted by: xit2nowhere
Hey Alien42,
you ever tried Jamaican Blue Mountain ? People says it's pretty good.

I have tried it many times and it wasn't that good.
I assumed it was old.
So, I aquired some Jamacian Blue Mountain from the Mavis Bank estate - you know it comes in the wooden barrels in stead of burlap bags. It was terrible.
JBM is not that good.
For year after year quality bourbon coffee, it is really hard to beat la Minita form Bill McAlpin.