Most of us are not very adventurous when it comes to selecting our coffees. We tend to stick to our favorite brand of all American medium roast, and our most difficult decision is whether to take instant or spend a bit longer making filter. However, there are a fantastic range of coffees available from a wide variety of countries, and learning a little about the possibilities can help us to discover what we really want in a coffee.
The biggest coffee grower globally is Brazil, which should come as no surprise when you consider that one third of the land is ideal for coffee production. With such a large volume, the varieties of Brazilian coffee are numerous, but some of the more popular blends are from Minas Gerais and Bahia. Less is produced in Columbia, although this may be a better known coffee producer. Exquisite Columbian coffees from Popayan or Narino, are sweet gentle blends available as supreme or excelso.
Other less well known coffee producers in the Americas are Mexico and Cuba. The small beans grown in Mexico make a lightly acidic coffee with a smooth flavor that can rival Columbian or Brazilian blends. The strong dark Cuban Cubano is drunk in shot form...