Local Coffee: A History Worth Growing

 

Coffee has a longer history in Trinidad and Tobago than you might think. Records show coffee being grown on both islands in the 1800s. By the 1950s, robusta had become one of Trinidad’s important export crops. There was a proper industry here, with farmers growing coffee for people at home and markets overseas.

 

Over time, though, that industry lost a lot of ground. Production fell, and challenges like finding reliable farm labour made it harder to keep things going. Coffee continued to be grown, but the industry became a much smaller part of the picture.

 

We think there’s still plenty worth building on. Growing coffee here is something we already know how to do, and there’s room to give more attention to how it’s picked, processed and roasted. Just as importantly, it needs to make sense for the people doing the farming.

 

That’s where we see the potential: good local coffee, farmers getting a worthwhile return, and more people taking an interest in what can be grown right here. It’ll take work and consistent support, but we think local coffee deserves that chance.

 

And that brings us to Floyd Homer’s story.