Cameroon Coffee

Cameroon Coffee is grown in nutritiously rich volcanic soil situated at higher altitude, with more than enough rainfall is responsible for optimum climatic conditions for growing Cameroon coffee, which is the best coffee and has its own unique features of excellent taste and appealing aroma to the coffee lovers.

Cameroon Coffee has great demand all over the world. Cameroon probably has the most going for it of any country in the world. To maintain the camroon coffee standards the founder farmers have formed a Farmers Cooperative body, which puts in consolidated efforts to improve upon the quality of Cameroon Coffee and build an infrastructure necessary for its marketability superiority. It is ideal utilization of great environment, fertile soil and presence of good labour to make the program a success.

Most of Camroon’s coffee is robusta variety, which is grown every where except in the north. The Arabica variety is grown in high altitude locations spread in west, northwest and east. The western highlands of Cameroon are located at a height of 5000 ft above sea level, where most of coffee is grown.

Farms and Processing:

Family head holds the authority in extended families in the region. On an average there are only seventy families and each family has farm holding of nearly 3 to 4 hectares.

Farmers having small holding are engaged in multi crop growing activities and normally grow Arabic variety. The land has volcanic soil suitable for growing a number of crops instead of just one crop.

Climatic Virtues:

By virtue of mild climatic conditions of the region coupled with strenuously working population of the area, has recorded tremendous results in agricultural production. Social togetherness is highly depicted in the population as a result of which there are very dynamic groups and association. So as to have their sustenance easy and making food available to their families, other crops are grown in between coffee plantations.

Coffee plantations grow with other crops and hence they are saved of fungus or pests infestation, since they are not very near to each other. The fungus and pest infest the plants if they are closely near to each other. The height of coffee plantation trees, which are about 10 feet tall, also helps in preventing spread of fungus disease and pests.

Concept of Organic farming:

The coffee plantations are organically grown in the area using natural manure and no pesticides and insecticides. The weeds, which grow in the field are manually removed and hence is free from harms of chemical substances used to destroy weeds and pesticides. The coffee production per hectare is 200 kg.

Processing of Cameroon Coffee:

Ripe berries are plucked and collected from the trees hand and put in water drums, the deformed berries get removed. Coffee is instantaneously de-pulped by use of small hand operated de-pulper.　

The de-pulped berries remain in fermentation tanks for 2 days. They are washed for second time. The berries, which could not be stripped of the pulp, are segregated.

Sun Drying of Cameroon Coffee:

After above processing the de-pulped berries are spread on woven mats and exposed to Sun for drying till humidity is between 12% to 14%. After the coffee is dry, it is sent for milling where the export processing and bagging takes place.

Historical Account:

It is the Germans, who brought coffee to Cameroon in the year 1905. It took a period of 25 years for the arabica variety to get cultivated properly. Small growers in the region grew Arabica variety, whereas growers in Dschang, Bamenda and Foumban area grew robusta variety initially at their experimental locations.

By late 1980’s, coffee became, one of the major export crop of Cameroon with state subsidy to to meet the cost of fertilizers. Simultaneously, the State put its regulation on coffee trade, participated in its marketing structure, quality control measures and pricing of the product.

The Economic Downfall:

From 1988, there was withdrawal of government subsidies followed by liberalization of the coffee trade and the devaluation of the CFA franc forced small growers to do integration of their farms in the traditional manner held by the individual families. This caused presence of a casual attitude and interest towards coffee plantation and production. Decline of coffee prices, compelled majority of coffee farmers, for abandoning or diversifying their farming activity towards other crops.

The coffee trees remained where they were; in the spaces between coffee trees other crops were planted. Indirectly there was benefit to the coffee trees. The coffee trees continued their growth naturally. At this juncture the interest of health and stressing for environment friendly organic farming spread all over the globe. The coffee prices also improved. Now it was a sustainable activity to do coffee plantation and production activity.　

Organic Certification:

With the growing awareness of organic farming and realistic prices after a lapse of 10 years again majority of farmers started growing their coffee plantations in an environ friendly organic manner. Another remarkable activity was farmers organized small cooperatives to market their produce collectively at better prices.

Organizations were set up to do the certification of the produce, which helped in improving the economy of the farmers of the area.

Unique Taste of Cameroon Coffee:

Cameroon’s coffee possesses all the characteristics being full-bodied has earth and chocolate flavour. Making  Cameroon coffe that will have a tantalising finish with overlapping taste of red berries.