Buy Haitian Coffee, Help Haitian Recovery
Haitian Bleu Coffee is considered by some to be one of the world’s best coffees. J.L Hufford, renowned seller of outstanding coffees, calls it “perfectly balanced with rich flavor, snappy acidity, and wonderful mellow body”. Koffee Attributes, an online coffee rating website, gives it the high mark of three in acidity, aroma, body and flavor. Unfortunately, you can’t get it in the United States right now because Haiti sold last year’s entire very small crop to France.
Since colonial times, Arabic coffee has been one of Haiti’s major exports. However, because Haiti has an abundance of weather troubles, the crops are often destroyed by either hurricane or drought. This has made the island’s income from coffee sporadic and unreliable. Still, coffee export remained an important factor in the Haitian economy despite the problems in achieving consistent levels of production. It was only moderately profitable even in the best years.
In the 1990’s the USAID (United States Agency for International Development) began to work with the small farmers in Haiti. Through these efforts, they developed a high quality coffee, Haitian Bleu. With similarities to Jamaican Bleu, Haitian Bleu is competitive with other high quality coffees produced elsewhere. This was a great boon to the Haitian economy until a hurricane destroyed most of the crop about two years ago. The most recent crop was extremely small. France was the lucky recipient of all that was available.
Happily, hope remains alive for the future of Haiti’s coffee exports. The Haitian Bleu crops can be replanted and will eventually be strong again. In the meantime, American people can buy an alternative Haitian coffee. It’s known as Kafe Lespwa, Creole for “Coffee of Hope.” Subsistence farmers grow it in Southwestern Haiti. It’s imported and roasted by a nonprofit organization, Just Haiti. You can buy it on their website, www.justhaiti.org.
Haiti needs a great deal of rebuilding right now. They need money, medical help, food, clean water, and many hands to do the lifting. Nobody doubts that we should do all we can to get food and shelter to the living and recover the bodies of the dead. Nevertheless, let’s not forget that while we are doing this, and afterward, Haiti must achieve an economy that can support her people. When you buy Haitian coffee, you not only help Haiti recover today, you help them have a tomorrow.
brewed on Feb 3rd, 2010
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