Puerto Rico

Once ranked the world's seventh-largest coffee producer, Puerto Rico now has a small, niche gourmet industry after decline and hurricanes.

Coffee reached Puerto Rico in 1736 from Martinique, and by the end of the 18th century the island produced more than a million pounds a year. By the late 19th century it was the world's seventh-largest producer. After the United States obtained the island in 1898, emphasis moved toward sugar cane and coffee production declined. Wikipedia lists the main coffee areas as the municipalities of Yauco, Adjuntas, San Sebastián, Lares and Las Marías, with popular varieties Bourbon, Typica, Pacas and Catimor. Wikipedia, citing a 2014 book, puts the belt at 730 to 850 m, but farms in Adjuntas and Jayuya report roughly 760 to 915 m and Yauco guides run up to about 1,200 m.

Hurricane San Ciriaco (1899) destroyed coffee haciendas in Utuado, and a century later Hurricane Maria (2017) destroyed an estimated 18 million coffee trees, with bringing back even 15% of prior production projected to take five to ten years. About one third of production is consumed locally, about half of the crop remains unpicked, and Puerto Rican coffee is characterized as smooth and sweet. Yauco Selecto is a registered commercial brand (not a legal appellation), exported since around 1990. Trade accounts disagree on which estates supply it, naming Hacienda San Pedro in Jayuya and Hacienda Caracolillo in Maricao among them. It is the island's best-known top grade.

History

Coffee was introduced to Puerto Rico in 1736 from Martinique as a minor cash crop under Spanish rule, and by the late 19th century the island ranked as the world's seventh-largest producer. After the US obtained the island in 1898, emphasis moved to sugar cane and coffee production declined. Hurricane San Ciriaco (1899) destroyed coffee haciendas in Utuado. Wikipedia's Maricao entry notes that Puerto Rico still has a niche in the gourmet coffee market, but the large-scale coffee growing that once sustained towns like Maricao is no longer economically feasible. Hurricane Maria (2017) destroyed an estimated 18 million coffee trees, with recovery of even 15% of prior production projected to take five to ten years.