I selected to write about topic #1 "Coffee is King". At the very foundation of Colombia, there lies coffee. Coffee has been deeply ingrained within the history, economy, culture and social structure of Colombia; it 's no wonder that it is referred to as “king”. The objective of this essay, is to explore how coffee has had a direct impact on the development of Colombia, and how it continues to affect it today.
Colombia is located in South America. To the east, are its neighbors Brazil and Venezuela; Ecuador and Peru lie south. While to the west, there is the Pacific ocean and to the north lies Panama as well as the Caribbean Sea (Bowman, 2014). Colombia’s geography and topography are significant in its history, as well as to the production …show more content…
Our text indicates two factors that contributed to this delayed economy. One being that Colombia had an unstable political climate, and another being the country’s difficult geography (Skidmore, 2014). Coffee production had a huge impact in both of these areas. Our text states that by 1880’s “coffee had become the country’s leading export (Skidmore, 191).” It was because of coffee that Colombia became a part of the international market. In 1906 coffee was responsible for 37% of Colombia’s export earnings, only to climb all the way to 80% by the 1950’s (Skidmore, 191). Due to the topography in Colombia, many of the of the farmers growing coffee remained small and very competitive. This group of small coffee cultivators helped “provide a middle-class base for the consolidation of political democracy (Skidmore, 192).”
Another major contribution coffee had on Colombia was that of transportation. Prior to the coffee boom, the country had made little progress on the railways and highways. The coffee industry made an efficient transportation system necessary. Although, even with these advancements it wasn’t enough. Colombia’s terrain made air travel increasingly important. Skidmore writes that there is a saying that Colombia “leaped directly from the mule to the airplane (Skidmore, 192).” To this day, air travel is the most efficient means of transport in …show more content…
Yes, Colombia is a huge exporter of the product but it hasn’t been consumed locally very often. Locals believed that due to the high demand for exportation of the drink, they were left with only “ defective and rotten beans (Alsema, 2015).” In the last 10 years there has been a huge push to get Colombians to enjoy the fruits of their labor, so to speak. Many coffee shops are opening and developing new brewing techniques to increase the drink 's popularity. Juan Cano, Toucan’s resident coffee expert explains “as a coffee expert it’s a little embarrassing that both locals & tourists to Colombia don’t get to experience the best Colombian coffee that we have to offer (Alsema, 2015).” It will take more time for coffee to develop a local reputation but it is on the rise. I personally found this incredible, because in America coffee is huge. We are known to consume it in mass quantities. In fact the average American consumes 9 lbs of coffee per year (Alsema,
Colombia is located in South America. To the east, are its neighbors Brazil and Venezuela; Ecuador and Peru lie south. While to the west, there is the Pacific ocean and to the north lies Panama as well as the Caribbean Sea (Bowman, 2014). Colombia’s geography and topography are significant in its history, as well as to the production …show more content…
Our text indicates two factors that contributed to this delayed economy. One being that Colombia had an unstable political climate, and another being the country’s difficult geography (Skidmore, 2014). Coffee production had a huge impact in both of these areas. Our text states that by 1880’s “coffee had become the country’s leading export (Skidmore, 191).” It was because of coffee that Colombia became a part of the international market. In 1906 coffee was responsible for 37% of Colombia’s export earnings, only to climb all the way to 80% by the 1950’s (Skidmore, 191). Due to the topography in Colombia, many of the of the farmers growing coffee remained small and very competitive. This group of small coffee cultivators helped “provide a middle-class base for the consolidation of political democracy (Skidmore, 192).”
Another major contribution coffee had on Colombia was that of transportation. Prior to the coffee boom, the country had made little progress on the railways and highways. The coffee industry made an efficient transportation system necessary. Although, even with these advancements it wasn’t enough. Colombia’s terrain made air travel increasingly important. Skidmore writes that there is a saying that Colombia “leaped directly from the mule to the airplane (Skidmore, 192).” To this day, air travel is the most efficient means of transport in …show more content…
Yes, Colombia is a huge exporter of the product but it hasn’t been consumed locally very often. Locals believed that due to the high demand for exportation of the drink, they were left with only “ defective and rotten beans (Alsema, 2015).” In the last 10 years there has been a huge push to get Colombians to enjoy the fruits of their labor, so to speak. Many coffee shops are opening and developing new brewing techniques to increase the drink 's popularity. Juan Cano, Toucan’s resident coffee expert explains “as a coffee expert it’s a little embarrassing that both locals & tourists to Colombia don’t get to experience the best Colombian coffee that we have to offer (Alsema, 2015).” It will take more time for coffee to develop a local reputation but it is on the rise. I personally found this incredible, because in America coffee is huge. We are known to consume it in mass quantities. In fact the average American consumes 9 lbs of coffee per year (Alsema,