2008年1月1日星期二

Coffee Comes from Around the World

Coffee consumption is at an all time high. People all over the world love their daily cup (or cups) of coffee. If you are a coffee drinker and feel that you must have the cup of caffeine the first thing in the morning, then you know that you could never trade your coffee for anything else. Have you ever stopped and wondered where exactly your coffee comes from? Coffee usually travels a long distance to reach you. In fact, the prices of coffee will fluctuate depending on the crops and the weather in these various parts of the world,. You might be interested and surprised to learn that the little coffee bean has a long way to travel before it ever reaches your cup.

Where does that cup of coffee come from? Coffee is grown throughout the world. That is a fact. However, the most delicious and the largest supply of coffee beans come from locations around the world that experience tropical climates. Coffee beans (actually fruit) needs diffused sunlight, a good amount of rain and high humidity. Usually, coffee beans are grown in tropical and sub tropical climates of the world. Brazil is the largest producer of coffee beans in the world. This country produces approximately 28% of the total coffee beans grown in the world. Following Brazil is Colombia, which produces 16% of coffee beans and Indonesia, which produces 7%. Mexico is also a popular producer of coffee beans, as they grow 4%.Other countries also grow and produce coffee, but these places are by far the most popular.

The most popular location: Because Brazil is such a huge producer of coffee, it would be economically devastating if something were to happen to the crop of coffee beans in Brazil. Coffee bean plantations cover much of the rural areas and employ thousands of workers each and every day. It is interesting to note that the rugged mountains in this country means that coffee beans are still carried out by mule much of the time. This certainly gives a new meaning to your daily cup of coffee when you think about all the hard work and the long way that it has come to reach you.

What is an individual coffee grower? An individual coffee grower is a person or company that has decided to undertake growing coffee beans either for profit or for his or her own use. Growing coffee beans can be a frustrating task if you do not live in the right areas of the world. However, individual coffee growers take pride in the coffee that they can produce and many coffee connoisseurs enjoy tasting coffee beans grown by the smaller companies.

The next time that you sit down to enjoy a cup of coffee. Think about what it has gone through to reach your cup coffee is a huge industry all over the world. Whether it comes from Brazil, Indonesia, Mexico or an individual coffee grower, your delicious daily cup of coffee takes work before you can even enjoy that cup.