Hawaii
Hawaiian coffees are grown on new (geologically speaking) volcanic soil in a tropical paradise that is gently cooled by a gentle Kona breeze. These perfect conditions produce a coffee that is equally perfect in many aspects.
Hawaiian coffees are the epitome of balance. Coffee from these lovely islands is clean, mild with a nice hint of milk chocolate, and just enough fruit and acidity to round out the cup. Kona coffee is carefully processed and produces a deliciously rich, aromatic cup of medium body.
Mexico
Mexico is the fifth-largest grower with about five million bags, or more than 817 million pounds. Of this, 575 million pounds are exported, primarily to the United States, which buys about 75% of all the exported coffee Mexico produces.
Coffee is grown throughout Mexico, from the infamous Puebla of Cinco de Mayo that yields 10%, to the regions of Chiapas, Oaxaca, Coatepec, Atoyac, and Veracruz, which together yield 70%. Coffee growing is still a small farm business, with most coffee plantations (called fincas) being barely 25 acres. The finest Mexican coffees are, like elsewhere in the world, the ones that are high-grown Arabica beans. In Spanish, they are called altura.
Just as coffees grown in different areas of the country produce different flavor profiles, the variety and style of "Mexican" coffee drinks range from province to province, sometimes with an added jigger of tequila, and quite often with the nectar of the Mayans: chocolate.
Puerto Rico
During the 18th and 19th centuries, Puerto Rican coffee was the talk of the royal courts of Europe. It was the coffee everyone who was anyone drank! Kings and queens, dukes and duchesses made Puerto Rican coffee all the rage! Over the decades, Puerto Rican coffee took a dive – mostly due to huge hurricanes in the late 1800’s which all but destroyed the industry there.
In the Caribbean islands of Puerto Rico, Jamaica, Haiti & the Dominican Republic, coffee is typically grown at altitudes ranging from 1,000 to 3,500 feet and higher. It is processed by the traditional 24 hour wet fermentation, wash and 5 to 7 day sun drying method. It possesses a characteristic gentle flavor of the region in which they are grown, is softly or agreeably acidic and typically medium to dark roasted to enhance its hint of cocoa like flavor & pleasant palatable after taste, making it a favorite morning and after dinner coffee. Some coffee beans, particularly the peaberry or "Caracolillo" taken from the Spanish word "Caracol," which translates into seashell (the shape of the the single lobed coffee been), is dark roasted to bring out its inner secrets. Jamaica and Puerto Rico have the rich bauxite soil and geographical location suited for coffee growing. This makes Jamaican Blue Mountain & Puerto Rican coffee very similar, in terms of texture, taste & quality. In terms of costs, however, Puerto Rico is the best deal. In the early 20th Century Puerto Rican Coffee was served in official state dinners at the White House, by the devout coffee lover, US President Theodore Roosevelt, who termed it as "Grand."