Coffee Santo Domingo

History

Dominican Republic - a country in the eastern part of Hispaniola island. The island is located in the Caribbean Sea and is part of the Greater Antilles archipelago. The Dominican Republic shares the island of Hispaniola with Haiti, occupying the eastern part of the island.

Coffee trees were introduced by French colonists in the western part of the island in the province of Dondon presumably in 1726-1735 years. In the Spanish part of the island of Hispaniola, where now is the Dominican Republic, according to some sources, the coffee appeared in 1735 in the hills of the province of Bahoruco.

Sprouts coffee trees were brought from the island of Martinique, where coffee was first planted in a new light. The similarity of coffee from various Caribbean islands due in part to the fact that most of the coffee trees are descended from the same trees on the island of Martinique. The similarity of taste is also determined by similar climatic conditions.

 

The peculiarity of the Dominican coffee

The taste Dominican coffee is very close to the coffee with the other Caribbean islands: Jamaica, Cuba, Haiti and Puerto Rico. All these varieties are characterized by balanced with slight acidity.

The rich taste of coffee provide the ideal climatic conditions of the Dominican Republic, as well as the fertile volcanic soil, enriched with minerals. The coffee is grown at high altitudes, where the fluctuations of day and night temperature is quite sharp, which is one of the favorable factors for proper ripening grain.

Harvesting of coffee begins in August or September at lower elevations in the southern half of the country, and continues until May or June, at higher altitudes in the north. A wide variety of altitudes and climatic zones allows you to collect the Dominican coffee is almost all year round.

 

Production

In the Dominican Republic six major areas where coffee is cultivated: Barahona, Cibao, Cibao Altiura, Cordillera Central, Neyba and Valdesia. Barahona Of these, perhaps the most famous area, and coffee there is valued above the rest.

All Dominican coffee is harvested by hand and primary processing method washed and then dried in the sun. In the Dominican Republic there are 40,000 - 50,000 manufacturers and most of them - the small farmers who grow coffee in areas little more than two hectares. Farmers themselves carried out the primary processing of fruits - washed, soaked grains, freed them from the pulp, dried in the sun. After this, the coffee goes in the big yards, where it is sorted and ready for export or for the domestic market.

 

Dominican arabica

There are two main varieties of the Dominican coffee "Arabica": Tipica and Caturra. Tipica - Traditional, old variety of high-quality coffee with a relatively low yields. Tipica grows on tall, spindly trees (approximately 3 m in height), which are often affected by hurricanes. Caturra - a new variety, which gives higher yields, but is smaller in size and quality of the beans it below. Trees Caturra smaller and more dense than Tipica and less susceptible to hurricanes. Caturra plantings can be grown individual, without a shadow of what it allows easier processing. There are also Catuai - superior grade of coffee, derived more recently, it is - a cross between Caturra and Borboun.

Since 2000, about 75% of coffee producers grow only trees Tipica, and approximately 64% of the land area occupied by this culture. Caturra variety grows about 5% of coffee growers and their employing 8% of the land area. Mixed planting Caturra and Tipica use 16% of manufacturers and they occupy 27% of the land area.

 

Domestic market and export

In the Dominican Republic the highest coffee consumption per capita - more than 3 kg per year. 2.3 million tourists who visit the country each year, also explain part of the domestic consumption. These tourists are drinking, coffee shop and take home.

In the 1990s, domestic consumption was on average 50-75% of total production, but due to a sharp decline in exports, domestic consumption after 2000, more than 80% of the total.

Dominican Republic - a minor player on the international coffee market, with a share of approximately 0.5-1% of global exports. The average annual export of 105,000 quintals in the last seven years. Dominican coffee is exported mainly to North America and less in Europe. The North American market receives approximately 60% of the export of coffee. The share of European countries (Italy, Germany, Spain, Holland) is 35% of the country's exports. Italy - the main consumer of the Dominican coffee in Europe (two-thirds of European exports). In Asian countries account for about 4% of exports, but in recent years Japan increased imports of Dominican coffee. Interesting fact - Dominican exporters have recently increased their sales in other Caribbean countries - Puerto Rico and Jamaica.

 

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