India is the principal coffee-growing region in the British empire,
and produces about one-fifth of the total supply of the United
Kingdom. There are some 213,000 acres under coffee, mostly in
southern India. The official report states that the production of
coffee is restricted for the most part to a limited area in the elevated
region above the south-western coast, the coffee lands of Mysore,
Coorg, and the Madras districts of Malabar and the Nilgiris, comprising
86% of the whole area under the plant in India. About one-half of
the whole coffee-producing area is in Mysore. In Burma, Assam
and Bombay, coffee is of minor importance. During 1904–1906
there was a reduction of the area under coffee in India by 21,554
acres.
Ceylon.—The history of coffee in Ceylon is practically that of the coffee-leaf disease (see below). The Dutch introduced Arabian coffee in 1720, but abandoned its cultivation later. It was revived by the British, and developed very rapidly between 1836 and 1845, when there was a temporary collapse owing to financial crisis in the United Kingdom. In 1880 the exports of coffee were of the value of about £2,784,163. Ten years later they had fallen to £430,633, owing to the ravages of the coffee-leaf disease. The output continued to decrease, and the value of the crop in 1906 was only £17,258. Liberian coffee, which is hardier and more resistant to disease, was introduced, but met with only partial success.
Dutch East Indies.—Coffee from this source passes under the general name of “Java,” that island producing the greatest amount; Sumatra, Borneo and the Celebes, &c., however, also contribute. The Java plantations are largely owned by the government. Much of the coffee from these islands is of a high quality.
Australasia.—Coffee can be cultivated in the northern territories of Australia, but comparatively little is done with this crop; Queensland produces the largest amount.
Hawaii, &c.—In all the islands of the Hawaiian group coffee is grown, but nine-tenths or more is raised in Hawaii itself, the Kona district being the chief seat of production. The exports go mostly to the United States, and there is also a large local consumption.
Coffee thrives well also in the Philippines and Guam.
The World’s Trade.—The following figures, from the Year-book of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, indicate the relative importance of the coffee-exporting countries.
| Country. | 1904. Exports coffee in ℔. |
1905. Exports coffee in ℔. |
| America— | ||
| Brazil | 1,326,027,795 | 1,431,328,038 |
| Colombia | 130,000,000 | (est.) 70,000,000 |
| Venezuela | 128,000,000 | (est.) 94,370,090 |
| Haiti | 81,407,346 | 45,244,232 |
| Salvador | 75,314,003 | 61,822,223 |
| Guatemala | 71,653,700 | 81,081,600 |
| Mexico | 41,855,368 | 42,456,491 |
| Costa Rica | 27,730,672 | 39,788,002 |
| Nicaragua | 21,661,621 | 18,171,515 |
| Porto Rico | 15,330,590 | |
| Jamaica | 5,781,440 | 9,046,464 |
| Asia— | ||
| Dutch East Indies | 77,168,254 | 72,864,649 |
| British India | 36,920,464 | 40,340,384 |
| Singapore (port of export) | 12,367,156 | 11,935,034 |
| Other countries | 216,891,567 | 220,132,690 |
| —————— | —————— | |
| Total | 2,268,109,976 | 2,238,581,412 |
In 1906 there was an increased total of 2,680,855,878 ℔, due to the Brazil export rising to 1,847,367,771 ℔. The aggregate value of the coffee annually entering the world’s markets is about £40,000,000.
Coffee Consumption.—The United States of America consume nearly one half of all the coffee exported from the producing countries of the world. This might of course be due merely to the States containing more coffee-drinkers than other countries, but the average consumption per head in the country is about 11 to 12 ℔ per annum, an amount equalled or excelled only in Norway, Sweden and Holland. Whilst one great branch of the Anglo-Saxon stock is near the head of the list, it is interesting to note that the United Kingdom and also Canada and Australia are almost at the foot, using only about 1 ℔ of coffee per head each year. Germany, with a consumption of about 6 to 7 ℔ per person per annum uses considerably less than a quarter of the world’s commercial crop. France, about 5 ℔ per head, takes about one eighth; and Austria-Hungary, about 2 ℔, uses some one-sixteenth. Holland consumes approximately as much, but with a much smaller population, the Dutch using more per head than any other people—14 ℔ to 15 ℔ per annum. Their taste is seen also in the relatively high consumption in South Africa. Sweden, Belgium and the United Kingdom, follow next in order of total amount used.
In many tropical countries much coffee is drunk, but as it is often produced locally exact figures are not available. The average consumption in the United Kingdom is about 50,000,000 ℔ per annum; about one-fifth only is produced in the British empire, and of this about nineteen-twentieths come from India and one-twentieth from the British West Indies.
Coffee-leaf Disease.—The coffee industry in Ceylon was ruined by the attack of a fungoid disease (Hemileia vastatrix) known as the Ceylon coffee-leaf disease. This has since extended its ravages into every coffee-producing country in the Old World, and added greatly to the difficulties of successful cultivation. The fungus is a microscopic one, the minute spores of which, carried by the wind, settle and germinate upon the leaves of the plant. The fungal growth spreads through the substance to the leaf, robbing the leaf of its nourishment and causing it to wither and fall. An infected plantation may be cleansed, and the fungus in its nascent state destroyed, by powdering the trees with a mixture of lime and sulphur, but, unless the access of fresh spores brought by the wind can be arrested, the plantations may be readily reinfected when the lime and sulphur are washed off by rain. The separation of plantations by belts of trees to windward is suggested as a check to the spread of the disease.
 | |
| Fig. 2—Coffee-leaf Disease, Hemileia vastatrix. | |
| 1, Part of leaf showing diseased patches. 2, Cluster of uredospores. 3, Transverse section of a diseased patch in the leaf showing the hyphae of the fungus pushing between the leaf-cells and tapping them for nourishment. The hyphae have broken through in the upper face and are forming a cluster of spores. |
4, Ripe uredospores. 5, A teleutospore. 6, A uredospore germinating, the germ- tube is penetrating the leaf. 7, Uredospore germinating. u, Uredospore. t,Teleutospore. 2-7, Highly magnified. |
Microscopic Structure.—Raw coffee seeds are tough and horny in structure, and are devoid of the peculiar aroma and taste which are so characteristic of the roasted seeds. The minute structure of coffee allows it to be readily recognized by means of the microscope, and as roasting does not destroy its distinguishing peculiarities, microscopic examination forms the readiest means of determining the genuineness of any sample. The substance of the seed, according to Dr Hassall, consists “of an assemblage
