Venezuela Coffee Production and How to Drink Venezuela Coffee: Characteristics of Venezuela Coffee

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The Origin and Spread of Arabica Coffee

The Arabica species originated from the Abyssinian plateau in Ethiopia and was later transplanted to Yemen. At that time, Arabica coffee was considered a sacred medicine in Islam, and the government strictly prohibited its cultivation or the transmission of propagation techniques to other countries. However, Arabica seedlings were eventually brought to Europe, where they became commercially valuable plants. Countries such as the Netherlands, France, and Britain also transplanted this variety to their respective colonies.

Important Varieties: Typica and Bourbon

Typica and Bourbon, both belonging to the Arabica native species, are extremely important varieties in coffee research. Both varieties originated from Ethiopia and have low genetic variation rates, making the aroma characteristics of varieties from different regions easier to distinguish.

The Spread Journey of Typica

The Typica variety spread from Yemen to Ceylon, India, and Java, but its descendants largely died out due to rust disease around the 1860s. Afterward, Ceylon switched to growing tea, while India, Java, and Sumatra changed to Robusta coffee trees. Although no detailed survey data is available, it is believed that descendants of Typica varieties should still exist in Sumatra, Sulawesi Island, and the Philippines after this period.

The widespread dissemination of Typica allowed coffee to spread across almost all continents, and Venezuela naturally was no exception. Venezuela's famous aged beans have a surprisingly sweet and distinctive flavor. However, in recent years, drinking a cup of coffee in Venezuela has become extremely expensive, as due to inflation, a cup of coffee can cost as much as a house.

The absurd phenomenon of Venezuela's cocoa industry being "like a beggar sitting on a pile of gold" is just one example of how its industries have long been unable to upgrade and thus remain controlled by others. Its fate has been equally unfortunate in coffee, iron ore, and the aforementioned petroleum industries:

At the end of the 19th century, Venezuela entered its "coffee era," but as imperialist countries massively cultivated cocoa beans and coffee beans in Africa and Asia, using inferior raw materials for mass production combined with advanced processing technology while dominating secondary market (such as raw material futures) trading, this formula of (new) economic imperialism once again shook the coffee (and cocoa) markets.

Therefore, Venezuela, plagued by periodic price declines and difficulty obtaining reasonable market prices, is not an exception in Latin America. For example, Ecuador, whose economy mainly relies on banana, coffee, and cocoa exports, until around 1960, 7 out of every 10 Ecuadorians still lacked basic caloric intake, making it one of the countries with the highest mortality rates in the world.

Until one night in 1922, Venezuela suddenly became an oil-rich country: thanks to the urgent demand for raw materials during World War II, Venezuela strengthened its international status and cooperated with foreign capital in oil refining, but simultaneously contracted "Dutch disease" (Hollandse ziekte), causing the industrial structure to become highly dependent on a single product.

Before oil extraction, agricultural production originally accounted for one-third of Venezuela's total economic output, but by 1950, agricultural production accounted for less than 10%.

Venezuelan Coffee Characteristics

Venezuela's coffee production is not high, with most of it supplied for domestic consumption. Although geographically Venezuelan coffee is mainly produced in the western regions close to Colombia, its acidity is very weak, which is unlike Colombian beans but rather more like Caribbean beans that are sweet and deep.

Brewing Recommendations

FrontStreet Coffee suggests using water at 89-90°C to brew Venezuelan coffee to highlight its sweetness.

About FrontStreet Coffee

FrontStreet Coffee: A roastery in Guangzhou with a small shop but diverse bean varieties, where you can find various famous and lesser-known beans, while also providing online store services. https://shop104210103.taobao.com

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