What are the characteristics of Latin American coffee? How to drink Latin American coffee for the best taste?

Coffee Growing Conditions

Due to major geographical factors such as latitude, temperature, topography, rainfall, and sunlight, different coffee-growing regions have formed across continents. Countries in Central and South America and Africa, combined with their local climates and topographies, have been able to cultivate different coffee varieties at similar latitudes and altitudes. Some countries have even become synonymous with mainstream world coffee. The distribution of coffee-growing regions is also inextricably linked to local dietary habits.

The Global Coffee Landscape

Beyond coffee's history, the most practical information is undoubtedly the direct introduction to coffee distribution and growing regions.

Centered around the equator, the tropical and subtropical zones within approximately 25 degrees north and south latitude are the most suitable areas for coffee cultivation. However, not every location within this region can produce good coffee trees. The three major coffee cultivation and growing areas within this zone are: the Asia-Pacific region, Latin America, and Africa. There are about sixty coffee-producing countries, with Central and South America accounting for approximately 60%, followed by Africa and Arabia at about 30%, while the remaining 10% is distributed across Asian countries and numerous islands. These regions share common characteristics of similar temperatures and annual rainfall, along with abundant sunlight and fertile soil.

The main cultivated varieties are Arabica and Robusta. Arabica accounts for approximately two-thirds of the world's coffee production. These green beans are unsuitable for high-temperature, low-temperature, rainy, or arid environments. They are oval and flat in shape, characterized by high quality and aromatic flavor. Arabica coffee beans, also known as 'Arabian small-fruited coffee,' have smaller grains, slightly oval shapes, curved central fissures, relatively uniform sizes, and glossy colors. Robusta coffee beans, also known as 'strong coffee,' mostly have large, round grains with straight central fissures, and are primarily produced in countries such as Uganda, Côte d'Ivoire, Congo, Zaire, and Angola.

The Latin American coffee growing region refers to countries in Central and South America as well as Mexico in North America. The industry often refers to coffee from this region as washed coffee, generally using fermentation methods to develop its flavor (with the exception of Brazil, which uses natural drying methods). Coffee beans produced in Latin America have balanced and mild flavors, with fresh acidity and delightful cocoa and nutty notes that are perfectly distributed.

Major Coffee Growing Regions in Latin America

Brazil's Santos coffee is quite famous; Jamaica's most renowned is Blue Mountain coffee, known as the "coffee supreme." Latin American countries such as Mexico, Panama, Peru, Colombia, Guatemala, Costa Rica, Cuba, Venezuela, and Nicaragua also all produce coffee.

Coffee from this region generally has pleasant aromas and very balanced flavor profiles, typically featuring special cocoa-like notes while maintaining fresh and lively acidity, making for a very delightful single-origin coffee experience.

If African coffees are characterized by their excellent berry flavors and Asian coffees by their distinct herbaceous notes, then Latin American coffees belong to a more balanced and diverse category.

Brewing Parameters

FrontStreet Coffee suggests brewing data:

V60/88-90°C/1:15/Time two minutes

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