Kenyan Coffee, Gifts from the Owner of Snow
Mt. Kenya was a ghost ship on the horizon, its existence only rumored among Europeans for decades. Although it seems …
From the Valley of the Moon to Prices Over the Moon, Panama Coffee has Come a Long Way
In the 1884 edition of Coffee: From Plantation to Cup, Francis Thurber writes “Recently some 70,000 trees have been planted in the Chiriquí district, in the state of Panama, and this marks the beginning of the enterprise in that state.” The word Chiriquí has indigenous origins and means “valley of the moon.”
The History of Papua New Guinea Coffee
In the highlands of Papua New Guinea (PNG), morning fog fills the valleys and the mountain peaks float above in …
Sumatra, the Island of Gold No Less
When Marko Polo turned his cellmate into a scribe and reached the part of his story where he visits Sumatra, …
Remembering the Children of Guatemalan Coffee
Twenty years ago, I landed at night in Guatemala. As my plane approached for landing, a volcano sparked in the distance, welcoming me on my first visit. I was shuffled into a jeep for the three-hour drive to Lake Atitlan, which would serve as a home base for visiting coffee growers in the region.
Juan Valdez: The story of "Uncle Juan " and Colombian Coffee
In 1958, when Jose Duval walked into the Manhattan advertising agency of Doyle Dane Bernbach (DDB), auditioning was old hat …
On Folger’s Shoulders: Lessons from the Early Years of a Coffee Giant
They have something better than royal blood there. The grandmother of Benjamin Franklin was Mary Morrel—afterwards, by marriage, Mary Folger, …
Yemen Coffee and the Birthplace of an Industry … Probably
Historians recognize that their work is less about gathering facts than it is about reckoning probabilities. This is an important distinction when considering the early history of coffee...