Eye On Travel: You for Coffee? Celebrating the World’s favourite beans

Wakey Wakey!

In case you missed it, 29th September was National Coffee Day. According to whoever made that up. We’re talking proper coffee here which comes from all around the world.

So, depending on your issues, go and get a cup of Espresso/Latte/Chocamochabubbletino and see what the producing countries have done to the institution of coffee without which the world would almost certainly cease to function. And if you thought your local coffee shop had weird things on the menu, think again...

Causing a Rift: swapping the sugar with salt

Ethiopia is the fifth biggest coffee producer in the world and much less popular as a tourist destination. Which is exactly why you should go. From the deserts of the Rift Valley to the mountain source of the Blue Nile and legends of the Queen of Sheba and the Ark of the Covenant in-between.

Just beware that when you order a coffee, it is standard practise to add a pinch of salt to reduce the bitterness. Either that or it’s a student prank that’s well out of hand!

GET THERE: Fly direct to Addis Ababa from Heathrow with Ethiopian Airlines or via the Middle East. Dress like Indiana Jones and avoid March-June which is the rainy season.

Señor Whippy: Double Salmon with a 99 por favor

Venezuela is a land of extremes stretching from the Caribbean coast and the Orinoco valley to a lost world wilderness with the world’s highest waterfall, Angel Falls to the high Andes. In mountainous Merida ice cream shop Coromoto serves a world record 863 flavours (tip - avoid the trout.)

As a coffee producer, the local brew is not bad although they also like to mix flavours here with speciality guarapo con queso which is a rather odd mix of black coffee and cheese -Gouda or Edam in case you were wondering.

GET THERE: Fly via Lisbon to Caracas with TAP. Avoid the unstable, nothing to see here capital and head straight out. Bring toilet roll to sell on the black market. Wet season is May-October.

Java: The revered Oracle of software

Indonesia is the fourth largest coffee producer and some of the best is grown on the island of Java, next door to Bali. Despite being home to an astonishing 140m people, Java has many sights away from capital Jakarta including hindu temples, beaches and volcano trekking magnate Mt Bromo.

Cultural city Yogyakarta serves up Kopi Joss which is strong Javanese ground coffee with sugar - and a lump of hot charcoal to eliminate the acidity. Which will be the least of your problems if you down the lot in one.

GET THERE: Jakarta is served daily by Garuda from Heathrow or via Middle East or Asian hubs. Combine with the beaches of Bali or Lombok and get a volcano app alert on your phone.

Purr-colator: Cheap in, Expensive out!

Vietnam is the world’s second biggest coffee producer after Brazil. Travel from modern Ho Chi Minh City in the south to capital Hanoi in the north via Nha Trang’s beaches, Hué's Buddhist temples and Hoi An’s tailors.

It also has the most expensive coffee in the world. At $3,000/kg, Weasel Coffee involves a civet cat eating the beans then returning them to sender to then be made into coffee. If you own a cat, why not try this at home?

GET THERE: Vietnam airlines flies direct daily from Heathrow otherwise change on the way. Spring and Autumn are the best times to visit. Read up on its history before going.

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