Coffee Adventures Around the World

This is a guest post by Marina Pliatsikas. Learn more about how you can guest post for Daily Shot Of Coffee here.

To many people, travelling means seeing the sites, tasting the food of a country, and experiencing all the different cultural activities a region has to offer. Taking part in local customs is an important part of any travel plan, yet while planning our trips, we often forget how important one particular drink will be during our travels – coffee.

Drinking coffee is a much-loved pastime all around the world, and indeed has become a ritual in many parts of the world. Coffee is grown in more than 50 countries, and is largely purported to be the world’s most popular non-alcoholic drink (apart from water).

Coffee enthusiasts travel far and wide to experience the different blends and flavours available all over the world. With a rise in the number of airlines offering cheap international flights, it is now easier than ever for people to embark on their own intrepid coffee adventures, and even if you’re no expert, you can still take the time to enjoy different types of coffee which can only be found in certain countries. Before booking your airline tickets, here are some of the top-coffee-producing destinations. You’re sure to come across a blend that you like.

Brazil
The biggest coffee producer in the world, Brazil has traditionally been known for two very different types of coffee: Santos coffee, a mild flavoured blend, and Rio coffee, a harsh, bitter coffee which it lends its name to a medicinal flavour called Rioy. Some coffees roasted currently in the United States for the Latin taste still include Rio coffee, to mimic the Rioy-tasting coffees which Latins drank at home because the more expensive, washed milds were being sold to the United States.

Panama
If you like your coffee to taste more like dessert, Panama is where you need to be. With slight hints of vanilla and caramel, the Carmen Estate coffee, in Finca La Florentina, is a sweet blend with a multitude of full-bodied flavours.

Indonesia
Indonesia is home to what is supposedly the most expensive coffee in the world: Kopi Luwak. This unique kind of coffee is made from the beans of coffee berries which have been eaten by the Asian Palm Civet, then passed through its digestive tract, collected, washed, and roasted lightly to maintain the delicate flavour.

Vietnam
The 2nd largest coffee exporter in the world, Vietnam produces its own version of Indonesia’s Kopi Luwak, called Weasel coffee. It is produced by feeding coffee beans to weasels, then collecting the coffee after it has passed through the animals’ bodies. It is then washed, ground and brewed, resulting (supposedly) in a musky, smooth, flavourful coffee. Give it a go if you’re game, but if you’re still queasy about the idea of drinking something that has been digested by a rodent, there are also synthetically produced versions of the coffee.

Colombia
Colombia is the 3rd largest coffee producer in the world. Colombian Supremo, the highest grade, has a delicate, aromatic sweetness while Excelso Grade might be softer and slightly more acidic.

There are countless more coffee-producing countries with cultures and histories as rich as their signature coffee blends. Get a little adventurous, and rather than booking more flights to Europe, consider undertaking a coffee adventure with a smooth, full bodied, flavoursome twist.

Marina Pliatsikas is a guest writer for cheapflights.

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Photo by U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service – Northeast Region.

Category: Coffee Information, Coffee Thoughts