That’s the slogan for Folger’s and I have bought some Folger’s but it seems to take more of it to make a cup that tastes strong enough.
I’ve tried two of their flavors now, one medium and one darkest roast and it’s the same.
So is there any basis to mountain grown being richer?
I think mountain grown means central american, for whatever that’s worth. I don’t think Brazil’s mountains are near the towns.
There are 2 coffee plants that are grown for coffee today, Arabica and Robusta.
Arabica coffee is the higher quality one; it only grows at elevations of 3000 to 6000 feet and above. It is generally recognized as having a stronger and better flavor.
Robusta coffee plants produce lower quality coffee, but they grow sea level up to 2000 feet (thus more land areas where they can be grown). Also they are more resistant to drought, diseases, and produce more coffee cherries per bush.
Most commercial coffee is actually a blend of the higher quality Arabica with the cheaper but more plentiful robusta coffee.
So Folgers claim of “mountain grown” could mean that they are using all Arabica coffee, no dilution with Robusta coffee. Somehow I doubt they could actually do that and still sell it for the price I’ve seen.
Or it could just mean that Folgers is defining “mountain” to be anything above 500 or 1000 feet, so that they can use the cheaper, poorer quality Robusta coffee. (I don’t know that there is a legal definition of the minimum height for a “mountain”.)
Not to hijack, but I’ve always been curious. Could I grow coffee beans myself? Would they have to be in a greenhouse or in the regular garden? And what kind of quality could I expect?
Thanks
Basically, coffee bushes are a rather delicate plant, compared to many others (corn or potatoes, for example).
Coffee bushes will grow only in the tropics, near the equator, and require a warm, moist climate. Traditionally they have to grow in the shade of taller jungle plants, but recent methods/hybrids have been developed to grow them in full sunlight (but they appear to be more susceptible to insects there, and need chemical insecticides). The best coffee grows partially up a mountainside, but cheaper versions can grow lower, even down to sea level nowdays.
You don’t say where you are, duffer, but it’s unlikely you can grow coffee bushes there. If you could artificially create these conditions (say a heated, humidified greenhouse between the 30th & 60th floor of a skyscraper) you might be able to grow coffee bushes.
As to the quality you could expect, that would probably depend more on what quality seed plants you started from than on your growing conditions.
P.S. If youo’re thinking of raising & using your own coffee, there are still a lot of steps remaining after you grow your crop of coffee cherries.
I think it also takes about 10 pounds of coffee cherries to yield one pound of beans.
As hobbies go, it’s probably easier to get started with dried raw beans and experiment with different roasts and additives.
There’s several local roasters in town here that seem to work with equipment about the size of a potbelly stove, only copper.
thanks, t-bon, appreciate the answer. i’m in North Dakota now, so expected a no-go on it. But my wife and I plan to move to the Reno are in the next year. Would the Sierra Nevadas be closer to the right climate, or shoul I just plan on buying my own beans?
Thanks again for the info, and sorry for the hijack.
Everyone knows why Folger’s Coffee is mountain grown; it’s in the Flavor Zone[sup]®[/sup]
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