Where are we? The coffee belt

Where does coffee come from? My trite answer is “a tree”! But getting to a more serious discussion of where coffee comes from. We need to look a the types of coffee beans. Most people have heard of Robusta and Arabica coffees; but there are two more types of beans grown around the world, Excelsa and Liberica. With the exception of Antarctica, coffee trees are grown on every continent of the world. Most are grown in a belt around the equator and usually at nearly the same altitudes (we’ll discuss altitude in another blog).

So, now that we know that coffee is grown around the world we can start to look at a few of the more specific aspects of the different coffees locations. Just as different plants and other trees grow better in certain climates and soils, so do coffee trees. Most grow better near the equator in rich, porous, well drained and slightly acidic soil. Sandy and volcanic soils fit the bill well for soil, but not too sandy! They are not going to tolerate (at least very well) the thick clay I have in my back yard. Strike one for growing coffee in my back yard.

Elevation tends to play a role also. Most coffee trees grow between 1000 and 6000 feet with the best conditions averaging between 3000 and 4000 feet. My back yard is a little less than 1000 elevation. Strike two for growing coffee in my back yard.

Coffee trees are finicky when it come to temperature. Most of the time they enjoy temperatures between 60 and 75F. They don’t do well if the temps go much above 80 or below 50. Along with the temperature they do prefer a humid environment. That’s strike three for growing coffee in my back yard as we often have summer days in the 90’s and winter days well below the 50 degree mark.

Do coffee trees grow outside the conditions listed above? Yes! There are a few coffee trees that have over time evolved (or had human help) to tolerate different climates. Most of those are still in the equatorial belt but at higher elevations and lower temperatures. Because they tend to be rarer trees (and beans) they are usually more expensive. A few we have looked at and tried have a retail price of $100 and more per pound. These are definitely not your routine everyday breakfast coffees.

Here at Colorado Craze we are looking for (of course) the best flavored beans at the lowest prices. We have brought in coffee from several countries and tried tasting the coffee before we actually sell them to our customers. There have been a few that, after multiple roastings during various times and temperatures that we decided not to put out for sale. All of the beans we offer have been roasted multiple times and at multiple temperatures to find the sweet spot for various types of coffee brews.

Next time, We will look at the different types of brewing along with how different roastings and brewing affect the flavors. Which types of coffees are best for hot brews, cold brews, adding to food and candies, or just snacking on the beans. Yes, you can eat roasted coffee beans as a snack!