Brief history of Venezuelan coffee
The history of coffee in Venezuela dates back to around 1730 when Capuchin missionaries brought the seeds from Brazil. From that moment, coffee spread throughout the territory, from east to west.
It was first planted in Caracas in 1783-84, and the first cup was consumed in 1786 at Hacienda Blandin, which today is La Castellana and the Country Club. Bartolomé Blandin's hacienda, dating from 1929, is now the home of the Country Club.
Afterwards, coffee cultivation expanded to the valleys of Aragua, where it eventually displaced cocoa crops. It then spread to the Andes through Trujillo, Mérida, and Táchira, and finally entered Colombia through Cúcuta.
Coffee cultivation became a major economic driver and contributed to the establishment of urban centers, roads, and ports, such as the port of Maracaibo.
One of the most important settlements was Santa Cruz de Mora, in Mérida, where Calogero Paparoni established Hacienda La Victoria as a major processing center. From there, coffee and cocoa were sent to the port of Maracaibo.
The peak of coffee exports occurred in 1919 when Venezuela was already among the top 3 coffee producers worldwide, with Germany/Europe being one of the main importers.
Despite the reduction in exports, Venezuelan roasters continued to use the most prized varieties in blends such as Typica, Caturra, and Bourbon, thanks also to a growing purchasing power that created a culture of good coffee in Venezuela.
After the 1950s, the oil industry began to gain prominence, shifting labor towards that sector and to large cities. Although exports decreased, certain private initiatives were successful towards what would be the beginning of quality coffees.
Caracas Blue, Cooperativa Quebrada Azul, Cooperativa Grano de Oro, Hacienda Carabobo, among others, are a few examples of friends who started the path towards quality.
Around 2005-2009, with price regulations, export regulations, and expropriations, Venezuelan coffee definitively disappeared from the international scene. The little quality coffee that remained crossed the border into Colombia through unconventional means.
Today, there is no defined profile of a Venezuelan coffee cup, but a growing group of new entrepreneurs, with individual and institutional initiatives, has stoically persisted in circumstances that today favor a rediscovery of Venezuelan coffee.
The need for economic openness, a prolonged period of high prices, institutional initiatives such as the Specialty Coffee Association which promoted the change of the COVENIN standard, and new groups with export capacity have allowed this new rebirth of Venezuelan coffee. In summary, the history of Venezuelan coffee is long and complex, but its aroma and flavor remain incomparable.