October 2019

Located in Western South America, Peru often gets lost in the shuffle when people discuss coffee origin, but it was actually one of the first countries in the Americas to be introduced to the crop. With a highly diverse climate that swings from tropical temps in the east to the dry desert conditions of the west, as well as high elevations provided by the Andes mountains that cut through the country, Peru provides optimal conditions for coffee production. And, in fact, Arabica beans are grown in most of the country – from the peaks to the coasts to the jungle. A Brief

Colombia is the world’s third largest coffee producer, trailing only Brazil and Vietnam. Unlike those countries, however, which also farm Robusta coffees – Colombia produces only 100% high-quality Arabica beans, and is responsible for approximately 12% of all coffee production worldwide. Without question, Colombian coffee has become world-famous, and is perhaps the first nation that springs to mind when people think about imported beans. You can probably thank Juan Valdez for that. A Brief History Coffee is believed to have been introduced in Colombia in the early 1700s, perhaps brought there by Jesuit priests. The first documented shipment occurred in 1835, when 2,500 pounds was

Every day, auto drip coffee makers are sold by the scores for their pre-programmable, time-telling convenience, but are largely derided by those who take their coffee seriously. It’s true – there are bigger, better, faster, more furious methods of making coffee available. We’ve profiled many of them in this space. And a good argument can be made that the lion’s share delivers a richer, more satisfying cup of java than the countertop auto drip that occupies countless shadowy kitchen corners and appliance graveyards throughout the country. BUT! Making a satisfactory cup of coffee using an auto drip coffee maker isn’t a fool’s errand.