Coffee consumption in Uruguay

Coffee consumption in Uruguay relies on imports as there are no coffee plantations in the country. According to information made available by the foreign office of Uruguay, the climate and soil conditions are not tropical enough in the country and hence not conducive to growth of coffee. Coffee was first imported in 1890 and since then has shown varying trends of importation. The average import of coffee during the 12-year period from 1890 to 1901 averaged 950,000 kg/year. Imports since that time have ranged from 980,000 to 1,700,000 kg/year.
Most of the coffee imported is from Brazil, and the quality of the coffee is stated to be moderate. Coffee is imported from Rio de Janeiro in bags of 60 kg while that imported from Santa Catalina comes in 75 kg bags. The high priced coffee varieties consumed are of "grage", washed, Mocha and Puerto Rico coffee.
There are no "sanitary laws" governing coffee. However, when bubonic plague affected Brazil, the coffee imported from that country in bags was sanitized and the bags were discarded.
Apart from fresh ground coffee, instant coffee is also popular in the country. The instant coffee brands popular in Uruguay are Nestlé instant coffee, Café Iguaçu Gourmet from Extrem, Colcafé Premium from Fernando García, Juan Valdez from Orben or Nescafé Gold by Nestlé del Uruguay.
 
< Prev   Next >