The elixir of the Caribbean, the robust café dominicano is perhaps more famous than amber rhum, the other popular drink to emerge from the land that once served as Columbus’ harbor. One wildly popular brand which is favoured by many coffee aficionados is Café Santo Domingo. As the very best coffee that the country has to offer, Café Santo Domingo has made Dominican coffee a worldwide favourite.

As you observe the gleaming surface of the Dominican Republic’s greatest export, you will note its dark, unlightened hue, devoid of any added milk. This is how most Dominicans enjoy their favourite caffeinated beverage: hot, black and sinfully sweet. In fact, they will often brew their coffee with a spoon or two of sugar!

When you take a sip of this traditional drink, the aromatic brew inevitably envelops your senses with its complex flavor. You cannot help but notice the subtle smoke of roasted nuts, the citrus notes of bright acidity and the smooth tinge of dark and velvety chocolate. This distinctive equilibrium of hard and soft is the flavourful signature of the arabica bean which tends to leave anyone in need of a caffeine fix happily satisfied. While it remains a fact that premium arabica coffee is indeed produced in other parts of the world, the taste of Dominican arabica coffee is delightfully discernable from all others.

You may be asking why Dominican coffee in particular possesses such distinctive qualities. The truth is that there are several factors that contribute to its unparalleled quality and taste.

Geography

One such factor is location. As a general rule, coffee shrubs tend to do best at elevated altitudes but only with the absence of freezing temperatures. Geographically, the Dominican Republic is known not only for its pristine beaches and lush rainforests, but also for its mountains which include Pico Duarte, the highest peak of not only the island of Hispaniola but the entire subcontinent. As of today, the coffee industry is stronger than ever in Dominican agriculture, employing over 40% of its citizens. The country has a multitude of small coffee farms that average at about eight acres of lands and they span the five major coffee producing regions: the Central Mountain Region, the Northern Mountain Region, the Neyba Mountain Range, and the Bahoruco Mountain Range. These regions are all situated in hilly areas; the relief of the land is therefore ideal for providing the correct amount of shade, elevation and warmth for the fruitful growth of the plant known as coffea arabica. Thanks in major part to an idyllic climate where there is not a single season that can be defined as primarily rainy, the majority of Dominican coffee trees are also grown under the shade of pine, macadamia, and guava trees that create a canopy of sorts for the shrubs to flourish.

History

Another factor that adds to this coffee’s impeccable quality is its history which spans over three centuries. This may come as a surprise to some of you, but Dominican coffee has actually been around since the early 1700s! Its journey began when Spanish colonists procured perennial coffee tree seedlings from the island of Martinique and decided to bring them over to the Dominican. Today, the Dominican coffee bean has evolved and is significantly larger in size than its Martinique parentage. Once the bean was brought over, the rapid growth of coffea began, dotting the entire country with the unmistakable trees adorned with ruby colored cherries and white-petaled flowers. As coffee production took off, its popularity began to increase over the course of the following century. The end product began to be exported to other countries in the mid to late 1800s. Due to its early beginnings, there have been a multitude of expert coffee farmers and brewers who have honed the process from seedling to cup. With each successful harvest, they have passed down their knowledge throughout each generation which has resulted in exceptional coffee making that easily rivals the product of known brewers from neighboring countries.

From Seedling to Cup: the Process

The process of Dominican coffee production is noteworthy for a couple of reasons. First off, about 90% of the coffee produced is not only organic but also environmentally friendly since the farmers do not use harmful pesticides or fertilizers. Secondly, the multiple, time-consuming steps that are required even in today’s age of technological advancements is another reason that the process is worth a mention.

To give you a quick glimpse of how it’s done, here is the breakdown:

Planting: Once a seedling has been planted, it takes an average of four years for the emerging tree to bear fruit. The tree grows no more than four meters in height, hence the reason it is also referred to as a shrub at times. It is however, regularly pruned and kept shorter to facilitate harvesting. As a perennial plant, the blooms will emerge every year between March and October in regular circumstances. However, due to the aforementioned geographical attributes, Dominican plants have been recorded blooming twice in a year, and living long past their average lifespan of 40 years.

Harvesting: An average tree will bear around nine pounds of fruit a year. Once the fruit is ready to be harvested, the ripe ones are hand picked carefully. The green cherries are left behind to be picked only when they have reddened in color. While this process might sound simple, it is nevertheless a time-consuming part of the big picture.

Processing: Within 24 hours of harvesting, the beans are cleaned and pulped using a wet mill that separates the fruit from the bean. When the beans hit the water, the good ones float to the top while the unusable ones sink down. The demucilation is done through fermentation which takes about 12 to 48 hours, after which the beans are dried on a vast drying patio under the sun. The length of time needed to dry the beans varies on the weather and the level of humidity in the air. The goal is to retain 12% of moisture and to calculate this with precision, a coffee moisture meter is used.

Sorting: The beans are sorted using the European process, meaning that they are hand-sorted. The workers are tasked with identifying the denser and darker ones which they then separate from the lighter ones which are considered inferior in quality and taste. At this point of the process, the beans do not give off that unmistakable aroma just yet. This only occurs during the roasting.

Roasting: Prior to roasting, the coffee bean is still green. It’s only once the roasting process begins that the bean begins to change colors, shifting from light to dark. This is also when the lush aroma is coaxed from the bean. The length of time spent and the temperature used for roasting depends entirely on the type of coffee the brewer wishes to achieve. Once the roasting is complete, the beans are kept in airtight conditions to avoid contact with oxygen since it would adversely affect the flavour.

Dominican Coffee Culture

Dominican coffee is generally brewed in a geyser coffee maker (similar to the stovetop receptacle used for a long espresso) wherein the bottom part is filled with water and the top is filled with the rich grinds. As the water heats to a boil and travels through the filter with pressurized steam,  it becomes infused with the awaiting ground coffee. The end result is a lush and smooth drink without even a hint of bitter aftertaste unlike many of its competitors. One of the factors which make this delicious drink prevalent in the Dominican culture is its accessibility. Nearly all Dominican, regardless of their wealth or background can agree that their coffee is perhaps the best in the world and also the best parts of their day.

That’s right, parts, not part! Most Dominican coffee drinkers do not confine their caffeine fix to the A.M. Coffee is to be enjoyed at any time of the day. It would not be a leap to assume that perhaps this is becoming a trend in other parts of the world as well. Coffee lovers from all over the world can easily acquire Dominican coffees from their local grocery stores as well as online. With its rising international popularity thanks to beloved brands such as Café Santo Domingo which is by far the very best in the market, it’s safe to say that café dominicano is here for the long haul.