Bogota and Coban coffee, other South American products, are finding their way to the United States and are becoming favor ably known. They roast Java style, being large and handsome beans and are used for the same general purposes as their cousins Maracaibo and Savanilla, namely, mixing with Java.
Jamaica coffee is grown on the Island of Jamaica and is much superior to any other variety grown in the West Indies ; it pos sesses fine aromatic qualities, and is very popular with intelligent coffee dealers. Blue Mountain Jamaica, which certainly possesses as much merit as any coffee raised, its solid, heavy, oily bean, almost transparent in color, will, when roasted and ground, make a delicious and fragrant cup of coffee. It is shipped largely to England, where its splendid qualities are appreciated. It is usually packed in barrels or casks, and with the exception of Plantation Ceylon is the only coffee so exported.
The more prominent coffees of Central America are Nicaragua, San Salvador, Guatamala and Costa Rica, all of which are at times sold as Costa Rica. This last coffee has a peculiar, positive flavor, is dark liquor in the cup, very strong and acid to the taste. In color the bean is green and generally semi-transparent, in size is often large and flat, and is highly prized by experts as an excellent coffee. It has many attributes of other coffees, especially that of Mocha, and there is no doubt but what selected Costa Rica will make a cup of coffee which entitles it to high rank.
Guatamala, coffee has many of the qualities of Costa Rica, and is often sold as such. It drinks like a Costa Rica, only smoother, lacking its pungency, roasts handsomely, and develops one peculiarity after roasting, the bean cracks open, showing the white hull, and is very attractive in style, either raw or roasted It is universally coming into favor and its production promises to be doubled within the next five yers. It is very largely used in the West, and is sold and consumed on its merits.
San Salvador coffee is similar to Guatamala, but not so hand some or stylish ; it drinks well, and has, when brought to market and exposed to the air, a sweet smell resembling chocolate or cocoa, and is inclined to turn light-yellow or straw-color with age.
Nicaragua coffee is among the poorest of the Central American products ; it is not particularly stylish, and in color is of a dull gray hue or mottled straw, and has only fair drinking qualities.
Laguayra coffee is raised in Venezuela, a South American State. This coffee is of a dark-green color and small bean, simi lar in appearance to Rio, and when Rio has been scarce it has been polished and sold as such. It possesses mild qualities, but often develops more or less Rio flavor.
Cape Haytien and St. Marc productions have a slight prefer ence in market value over San Domingo coffee. They drink fairly well, but is not much used for mixing, and sell for about three quarters of the price of good Maracaibo.
Mexican coffee. The improvement in this variety has been something wonderful. Five years ago the demand was very limited, owing to its particularly poor drinking qualities, but at the present time this peculiarity has nearly disappeared, and some exceedingly fine coffees are being received from Mexico, ranking equal to any of the South American mild grades, the rancid, disagreeable flavor once disgustingly noticeable having entirely disappeared. The two principal producing districts ire Cordova and Oajaca. The Cordova product is a large-sized, light-colored bean, resembling fine Maracaibo, in appearance green, roasting large and smooth, and possesses a peculiar flavor in the cup, somewhat resembling Mocha. That grown in the Oajaca district resembles Plantation Ceylon in style of roast and drinking qualities. Porto Rico at one time produced a ,coffee of that name, which was exceedingly popular, and the sale In this country, both East and West, was large, but, like Costa Rica cof fee, it is inclined to become sour and hidey, and the experience of the trade has been such as to entirely stop the demand.. It resembles Costa Rica in style of bean, and has about the same market value.
Liberia produces a variety of coffee but little used. It has very marked peculiarities. It is a large, misshapen bean, and drinks strong and rank, possessing no fine qualities. With the exception of Mocha, its market value is the highest of any on the list, owing no doubt to its scarcity and the demand for it as a novelty.