# Coffee Continents



## BongoSteve (Apr 10, 2012)

If you were only allowed to use beans from one continent for a whole year, which would you choose and why?


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## MikeHag (Mar 13, 2011)

South (and central) America. Quality of farming is very high and it shows in the cup.


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## Outlaw333 (Dec 13, 2011)

I'll second Mike on that.


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## vintagecigarman (Aug 10, 2009)

MikeHag said:


> South (and central) America. Quality of farming is very high and it shows in the cup.


Does coffee come from anywhere else?? ;>)))


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## BongoSteve (Apr 10, 2012)

So maybe the question should be changed to one country then, rather than continent...?


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## MikeHag (Mar 13, 2011)

That's much tougher... every country I could choose would mean rejecting lots of other fantastic countries.

Probably El Salvador.


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## Filthy_rich85 (Jan 20, 2011)

Would have to second El Salvador but Bolivia would be a tough one to miss out on...


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## garydyke1 (Mar 9, 2011)

South America indeed....but life without Kenya and Ethiopia!??! Thats a toughy


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## wastedhours (Jan 2, 2012)

Really loving the Guatemalans at the moment.


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## tribs (Feb 21, 2012)

South America for me too. If I had to choose a country I'd have to go for Peru.

I've had 2 Peruvians recently and one was the best brewed coffee I've had and the other the best espresso.


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## stavros (May 4, 2011)

What a fantastic question. God! There's some great coffee from Central American countries around. Having said that, I think I'm going to have to plump for Bolivia. Machacamarca, Loayza, David Vilca, Bolinda, Espinoza. That's quite a line-up.


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## BongoSteve (Apr 10, 2012)

Seems like a consensus for central/south America then! Being realatively new to the 'proper' coffee world I was curious where everyone's tastes lay, to help narrow down the choices for my next bean! I've been pretty scatter-gun up until now, try things from lots of different places, but maybe I should restrict myself to one area for a few months and really learn about the coffee's which come from there.

Thanks for giving me something to think about!


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## RolandG (Jul 25, 2010)

There are definitely trends by country - although I'd struggle to make any choice of one!

some of the stereotypes are:

Brasils - chocolaty, nutty and low acidity

Kenya - Creamy with bright fruit flavours

Ethiopia - Fruity and acidic

Indonesia - Earthy, thick and syrupy

The combination of local weather/altitude/soil/etc affects these, as does the plant stock they use and lots of other things. Whilst the generalisations are useful to know, they're just that - generalisations. There are always exceptions (I've tried an Indian coffee, that I expected to taste earthy and spicy, actually taste like a typical brasil) and variation. Sticking to one country is a great way to explore that diversity (and the similarities)


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## BongoSteve (Apr 10, 2012)

So who's going to recommend me a country then? Where should I start? I'll mostly be using an aeropress or FP just now. Currently saving up for a decent espresso machine!


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## tribs (Feb 21, 2012)

IMO you can't go wrong with the CoffeeBeanShopLtd fortnightly promotion. 4 x 250g bags of beans from various locations with at least one blend all for £14.99 plus P&P (£5?). Nowt wrong with the scattergun approach


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## RolandG (Jul 25, 2010)

If you fancy something totally different, Ethiopia is a great one to try. Bolivia is still current crop and a slightly more accessible option (and a popular one as you can see)


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## fatboyslim (Sep 29, 2011)

I'm really enjoying Ethiopian Harrar (in a blend...Extract Strongman).

Very distinctive and yummy.

I want to be controversial and choose Colombia. Only because my plan is to buy a coffee farm there in my retirement.


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## Outlaw333 (Dec 13, 2011)

Wow, what a toughy! after serious consideration I would have to say Brazil, even though my favorite coffees of late have been Bolivians, El Salvadors and a Sumatra. I have said Brazil for a year because it is so vast that you have a great diversity in climate, if one region had a poor harvest, you can guarantee somewhere else would have had the harvest of a lifetime! whereas somewhere like Bolivia the prime growing regions are so tight together, they would all be subject to similar conditions for each given season. A bit like how last year Kenya had a terrible year all round and decent Kenyan coffee was thin on the ground(not sure about this harvest yet)

If based on this year though I wouldn't like to say, there are just too many great coffees right across the map!


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## SlowRoast (Sep 24, 2010)

I seem to go for Brazilian coffee's, not a fan of fruity coffee's, but I do like some. So yes, Brazil for a year for me!


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## brun (Dec 26, 2011)

from the replies in here i think i need to choose a Brazilian coffee next, they sound like a good match to my taste


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## Nikkihamlton (May 13, 2012)

el salvador for sure


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## Earlepap (Jan 8, 2012)

For continents I think I'd chose South America for espresso, and Africa for brewed. Or is having two cheating?


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