Brazil

Flavours: Chocolatey, nutty, mellow fruit, good body and low acidity

Processing method: Dry or natural

Background: Coffee here is mostly grown in non-volcanic, grassland areas so doesn’t benefit from the high altitudes usually vital for speciality crops

Fact: Brazil is the biggest coffee producer in the world!

Colombia

Taste: Caramel sweetness, nutty hints, mellow acidity, medium body

Processing method: Washed

Background: Speciality coffee is grown on the Andes mountains, as the best coffee needs a high altitude for stable temperatures

Fact: Over 2 million Colombians depend on coffee for their livelihood

Honduras

Flavours: Caramel and chocolate with aromatic wood, citrus and flowers

Processing method: Washed

Background: The economy is heavily tied to the coffee market, so much so that sales have recently prevented the whole country from going bankrupt

Fact: Honduras is constantly at risk of disastrous weather conditions, like El Nino - a reoccurring weather phenomenon that cause droughts and flooding, devastating coffee farms around the world

Guatemala

Flavours: Rich body, deep fragrance, smoky chocolate notes, strong acidity

Processing method: Washed

Background: Coffee is grown near active volcanoes - a dangerous job, but it produces great crops thanks to their mineral-rich soil

Fact: Over 80% of Guatemalan coffee is considered “high quality”, partly thanks to the creation of the Anacafe organisation in the 1960s - they provide support for farmers whether it’s research, education or marketing

El Salvador

Flavours: High acidity and clarity, red apples and plums, good body

Processing method: Washed/Dry

Background: Coffee barons warred with cooperative and union-forming workers in the 1980s, with thousands losing their life

Fact: Now small coffee producers account for over half of all farms, so the coffee industry is no longer held back by the government - just by global markets

Ethiopia

Flavours: Tea-like, fragrant, fruity, sweet, round will a full body

Processing method: Natural

Background: Ethiopia is considered to be the birthplace of coffee

Fact: Ethiopia is one of the few places where you land at the capital, Addis Ababa, and have to fly down to a lower altitude to visit coffee farms

Rwanda

Flavours: Clean, full body, high acidity and flavours of dates, plums, cherry

Processing method: Washed

Background: The 1994 genocide coincided with a worldwide coffee price crash, meaning coffee infrastructure was almost totally destroyed

Fact: The loss of men from the genocide has inadvertently led to a more equal workforce in the coffee industry in Rwanda, as women has to step in

Kenya

Flavours: Wine-like, blackcurrant and citrus notes, full body, high acidity

Processing method: Washed

Background: Coffee came to Kenya in 1900, but they grew tea before then

Fact: Though late bloomers in the coffee world, Kenya immediately started the Coffee Research Foundation and have since become pioneers of the washed method

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