[brief] History of Haitian Coffee :

Gabriel de Clieu brought coffee seedlings to Martinique around 1720. Those sprouts flourished, and 50 years later there were 18,000 coffee trees enabling Jesuits to spread cultivation to Haiti, Mexico and other Caribbean Islands.

Because of the world's taste for coffee, French colonial plantations relied heavily on African slave laborers. In 1788, Haiti supplied half the world's coffee.

Dreadful slave conditions and brutality resulted in the first successful slave revolution in 1804. After independence, coffee remained one of Haiti’s major export crops, peaking around 1850. In the 1940's Haiti's coffee sector made a brief comeback where in 1949, Haiti was the third largest coffee exporter in the world. Thereafter, like before, coffee production and exportation made rapid declines.

Since 1950, Haitian coffee, once again, has been forgotten for many reasons:

• Political instability / the brutal dictatorship of the Duvalier years, 1957-1986, brought about economic demise - including coffee exports.
• Like many countries, after the collapse of the International Coffee Agreement in 1989, coffee production fell with the onset of low market prices.
• During the U.S. embargo in the mid 1990s [boycotting the Aristead regime], many farmers burned coffee trees to make charcoal [Haitians buy charcoal at the market to use as cooking fuel].
• Decades of political unrest and government corruption made farmers too afraid to come down from the mountains to sell crops.
• Between the 2000 and 2001, worldwide oversupply caused coffee prices to drop to their lowest levels in 100 years.
• Over time, Haitian farmers lost skills needed to grow, harvest, and process coffee, and Brazil eventually cornered the regional market, aided by modern facilities.

Seeds for an upswing in Haitian coffee production were planted in the 90's when better coffee processing plants were developed. Ensuring growers a good price by cutting out local middlemen and selling directly to the United States also made things better. Furthermore, training in land management, shade canopies and coffee seedling programs launched practices that, today, are bearing fruits of long and hard labor.

In spite of near collapse, coffee will continue to be a backbone of Haiti's economy; Haitians have an incredible resiliency to weather cyclical downturns and dramatic political unrest - maybe that's why we, at the Rooster, enjoy working with Haitians as much as we do ! They're tenacious and ever inspiring.

Fun Facts on Coffee:

Coffee was first consumed in Ethiopia around 850 A.D.

Coffee reached Europe after first spreading throughout the Muslim world.

The first coffee shop was located in Constantinople and opened in the 15th century.

Vincent Van Gogh spent hours in coffee shops and once said: “I have tried to show the café as a place where one can go mad.” Know anyone who cut off an ear after drinking Haitian coffee?

When Pope Clement VIII tried coffee, he enjoyed it so much that he baptized the drink, making it acceptable for all Catholics to consume.

After water, coffee is the most popular beverage in the world

Great Stats: A September 2010-published survey commissioned by CareerBuilder and Dunkin' Donuts found the following:

• 32% of workers say they depend on coffee to make it through the day; 43% of coffee drinkers say they're less productive without a cup of coffee on the job
  
• Nurses and physicians say they need coffee the most
  
• Surprise! Tampa is often cited as America's most caffeinated city

People who buy coffee primarily at drive through windows spend 45 hours a year waiting in line.

Heavy taxes on tea imposed by British Empire forced a shift towards coffee in America; in fact, some have traced the planning of the American revolution to coffee houses.

Over 400 billion cups are consumed every year; the United States consumes 35% of the world’s coffee.

The expression “a cup of Joe” was coined during WWII, when American servicemen (G.I. Joe) were identified as big coffee drinkers.

The coffee industry employs over 25 million people.

Coffee, after oil, is the second largest commodity traded in the world: $60 billion per year.

Caffeine is listed as a prohibited substance by the International Olympic Committee: if one tests positive for 12 micrograms of caffeine per millimeter of urine, which can be reached with 5 cups of coffee, he/she would be banned from participation.

The two most commonly cultivated varieties of coffee are Arabica and Robusta. Arabica is preferred for its smooth and rich taste. Robusta is used most often to make instant coffee.

Instant coffee was invented more than a hundred years ago in 1906 by a Belgian named George Washington.

All 53 countries that grow coffee lie between the tropics of Cancer and Capricorn.

Brazil is the world’s largest coffee producer and created a postage stamp in 2001 that smells like coffee. Now that's scratch-n-sniff.

The method of roasting and brewing determines how much caffeine is in a cup of coffee. While darker roasts seem stronger, they actually have less caffeine than lighter roasts.

Espresso is simply a different way of preparation: espresso machines force high-pressure water through coffee grounds.

Coffee cuppers have identified over 600 unique flavors in coffee - rivaling unique flavors in wine. The flavor of coffee is dependent on type of plant, region, climate, and is affected by the way it is dried, stored and roasted.

Coffee has its own holiday in Ireland celebrates ( September 19) and Japan (October 1st).

Starbuck was the name of the first mate in Melville’s classic Moby Dick.

Adding coffee grounds to soil help plants grow and recover if they are sick.

The roots of the coffee tree can extend 20-25 km in total length and the absorbing surface of a tree ranges from 400 to 500 m2. There are main vertical roots, tap roots, and lateral roots which grow parallel to the ground.

The best for last? According to WebMd, coffee's presumed health benefits include :

• cutting the risk of type 2 diabetes and Alzheimer's
• coffee drinkers are up to 80% less likely to develop Parkinson's
• at least 2 cups daily can translate to a 25% reduced risk of colon cancer, an 80% drop in liver cirrhosis, and a 50% reduced risk of gallstones
• there's evidence that coffee may help manage asthma, stop a headache, boost mood, and even prevent cavities

100% of Singing Rooster's efforts go BACK to Haiti; our goal is to provide direct assistance to rural coffee farming communities through interrelated support for the sake of self-sustainability, dignity and economic autonomy.