Se pou nou ede pwomosyon kafe ayisyen

Haitian bleu beans great for espresso
Published Thursday June 11th, 2009
Kevin Steen

Haiti is the poorest nation in the Western Hemisphere, but it didn't start out that way.
When Columbus discovered Hispaniola in 1492, the land was richly-forested and farmed by peaceful natives.

Later, under French rule and thanks to African slave labour, Haiti became one of the wealthiest of the Caribbean communities.

After 300-odd years of widespread agricultural cultivation and the use of wood for fuel, forests now only cover four percent of the total land area, a number which declines every year.

Factor in periodic droughts, flooding (made all the more catastrophic because of deforestation), sugar and coffee crops destroyed by hurricanes, plus near-perpetual political instability and corruption, and the recipe for hopelessness is complete.

Well-meaning reforestation plans have not been activated in a country where 62 percent of the population makes their living by farming. So far, only 0.4 percent of Haiti's total land area has been protected.

But there is a bright spot in this dismal story. Kopcab is a union of seven coffee cooperatives residing in a protected area of Southeastern Haiti, near the Haitian Pine Forest. Certified by the Fair Trade Labelling Organization in 1999, this 2,000 member cooperative is one of the few remaining exporters of coffee in a country which was once a major coffee exporter. Today, coffee represents only 5.4 percent of Haiti's exports. Its production of coffee in 2004 totaled 28,000 tons compared to a record high of 43,600 tons in 1962.

Haiti Bleu is an arabica bean grown on humid mountain slopes at an elevation of 1,400 metres (4593 feet). Estimating an annual production of 262,500 pounds, Transfair Canada reports the Kopcab cooperative has invested profits back into agriculture programs like crop diversification and the reintroduction of the Creole pig.

The community was also able to build a much-needed local bus station.

Rich, opulent and sweetly low-toned, each crop of unique blue-green coloured Haiti Bleu is shade-grown and handpicked. The Coffee Companion author Jon Thorn says in Japan, Haiti Bleu is sometimes combined with Jamaican Blue Mountain to make the prized blue beans go farther.

Our Haiti Bleu coffee, prepared for us by Downeast Coffee Roasters, yields a rich, well-balanced brew with dry notes. Its sweetness makes it perfect for espresso.

Even a poverty-stricken country like Haiti still has its heroes, like these farmers. I'm happy to say their product is excellent and well worth our loyalty.


* Kevin Steen is a true coffee lover and proprietor of Damascus Coffee House in Riverview. Do you have a coffee question for Kevin? Visit him at the shop, or call him at 855-4646.