Puerto Rican Coffee

Coffee arrived in Puerto Rico in the eighteenth century and by the nineteenth the island was one of the world's significant producers, with its mountain arabica sought after in Europe and, by repute, served at the Vatican. Hurricanes, competition and the shift to sugar knocked the industry down, and it is now small but serious, with growers in the Cordillera Central producing at altitudes above eight hundred metres where slow ripening concentrates the flavour. Several haciendas around Jayuya, Utuado and Yauco open for tours that walk you through picking, the pulping machinery, the drying patios and the roasting, ending in a tasting. The drive up through the mountains, past steep planted slopes and small villages, is a side of the island that beach visitors never see.

What you actually see

• A working hacienda - picking, pulping, drying patios and roasting.
• The mountain plantations - steep slopes above eight hundred metres.
• A tasting - island lots compared side by side.
• The Ruta Panorámica - the mountain road that links the coffee country.

When to go

The harvest runs roughly August to February, and visiting then means seeing picking and the wet mill actually working; outside it the tours cover the process without the activity. The mountains are cooler and wetter than the coast, so rain is likely in any month.

Honest expectations

The industry is small and several haciendas are modest family operations that need a booking rather than accepting walk-ins. Roads into the interior are steep, narrow and slow, and a car is essential. Genuine island-grown coffee is expensive and much of what is sold in tourist shops is blended with imported beans, so read the label.

Nearby

Jayuya's indigenous petroglyph sites are close; the karst country lies north.