How to Drink Surinamese Coffee? Does Suriname Produce Coffee? The History of Coffee Cultivation in Suriname

Introduction to Suriname

Suriname lies in northern South America, its name derived from the local indigenous peoples. It borders French Guiana to the east, Brazil to the south, Guyana to the west, and the Atlantic Ocean to the north, and it has a tropical rainforest climate. The country covers approximately 164,000 square kilometers, slightly smaller than China's Henan Province. The north is coastal lowland with many marshes, the centre is tropical savanna, and the south consists of hills and low plateaus. Suriname was formerly a Dutch colony in South America, became an overseas autonomous province of the Netherlands in 1954, and gained independence in 1975. Its capital, Paramaribo, is a commercial port at the mouth of the Suriname River.

Demographics and Economy

Suriname is a country of racial, linguistic, and religious diversity, with a population of approximately 546,000. People of Indian descent make up 33%, Creoles 31%, Indonesians 15%, Maroons 10%, Indians 4%, Chinese 3%, whites 1%, and other ethnic groups 3%. Dutch is the official language, with Sranan Tongo commonly spoken. 42% of the population practices Christianity, 20% Hinduism, and 13% Islam. The country covers 163,821 square kilometers with a population density of 2.9 people per square kilometer. Its total GDP is $3.79 billion, with a per capita GDP of $7,096; in 2004 that ranked 85th in the world.

Coffee History in Suriname

Alongside cotton, cocoa, and indigo, coffee and sugar became successful cash crops in Suriname. As the BHS project has shown, plantation economics drew other industries to Suriname as well. From past to present the success stories are plain to see, in crops that reshaped the landscape or in agricultural products that remain widespread today. That, however, is not the whole story.

Suriname was the first country in South America to cultivate coffee, with Norway the primary importer of its coffee. Today, though, its production is minimal, and it is mentioned here mainly for historical reasons.

Early Coffee Cultivation

The first coffee seeds arrived in Suriname around 1712, and every four to five years, as the next generation of coffee plants reached fruit-bearing age, the growers' excitement grew. Coffee is a "tree product," and the rapid expansion of Surinamese production significantly changed the colony's appearance. Until coffee planters rose to prominence, enslaved Africans were used for sugarcane production and forest clearing. This took place primarily on the dry sand ridges upstream along the Commewijne and Cottica rivers. Coffee production was established in the thicker clay closer to the ocean and led to conflicts in Paramaribo, as people tried to steal one another's land to plant coffee trees.

The coffee frenzy was hardly surprising, since people were constantly searching for crops that could thrive after sugarcane. The success of coffee came at a heavy price: people were enslaved on a massive scale and forced to work on Suriname's polder plantations.

Introduction of Coffee to the Region

The Dutch, who had settled in Suriname from 1667, introduced coffee trees from Java in the early 18th century. The first coffee trees were a gift from the mayor of Amsterdam to a Flemish pirate named Hansback. These trees were planted in what was then Dutch Guiana, and a few years later they were widely cultivated in the neighbouring French Guiana region. At the time, a French convict named Mourgues was promised that if he could introduce coffee trees to the French colonies he would receive a pardon and the freedom to come and go from France. Naturally, he succeeded.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

Suriname may have been the first country in South America to grow coffee, but it is Brazil that became the world's largest producer, and if the history above has you curious about South American coffee, FrontStreet Coffee's Brazil Cerrado Red Bourbon is a fine place to start. A classic Brazilian single origin made from the red Bourbon variety common in South America, it is medium roasted to bring out creamy peanut, toast, caramel, and hazelnut aromas, with a round body, low acidity, and a gentle bitterness. It works as a pour-over and equally well in a moka pot, a siphon, a French press, or as an espresso SOE.

For a fruitier, cleaner expression, FrontStreet Coffee's Brazil Queen's Estate comes from Mogiana near South Minas, where fertile red volcanic soil yields a rare Yellow Bourbon with sugarcane sweetness, fruit, and chocolate notes. Brazil's low-acid, balanced character and friendly price also make it the backbone of many of FrontStreet Coffee's espresso blends, including the Classic, Premium, and Black Cocoa blends, which draw chocolate and cream aromas and a soft sweet-sour balance from their Brazilian components.