Martinique coffee beans witness the whole process of coffee from survival to extinction

Martinique

Cradle of American coffee

Martinique is a small island and the birthplace of Central American coffee, but today it produces very little coffee. The first coffee tree in the Western Hemisphere was planted in the early 1720s by Gabriel.

Mathieu de

Clieu) from France. Deckley, an early naval officer in Martinique, brought home a coffee tree and planted it in Prechear, where it was first harvested in 1726. From Martinique coffee was introduced to Haiti, the Dominican Republic and Guadeloupe. According to records, Martinique coffee trees in 1777 amounted to 18791680.

The coffee trees of Martinique bear witness to the growth and destruction of an industry. Today the island exports bananas, sugar cane and pineapples.