Coffee Gourmet http://buyorganiccoffee.org/930/coffee-gourmet/ Are you a coffee gourmet? If so you probably like healthy organic coffee. Are you familiar with Panama mountain grown organic coffee or Colombian organic coffee brands? Do you prefer coffee house coffee on the way to work? If you are a coffee gourmet you have refined tastes for coffee and a passion for higher end varieties of the beverage. You probably insist on Arabica coffees and avoid Robusta at all costs. And, if you aspire to be a coffee gourmet what is the best way to proceed? Choosing Coffee Brands When thinking of the best organic coffee brands think of Colombia and think of the adjacent small country of Panama. Coffee is grown in these countries at high altitude under commonly cloudy skies and with abundant rainfall. Coffee is planted on slopes with excellent drainage. The standards for growing coffee in this region are organic with the practice of sustainable agriculture. As a coffee gourmet you will ask yourself, is this really Colombian coffee? The answer is to look for Juan Valdez. Juan Valdez The Juan Valdez name was invented by the Colombian Coffee Growers Association in the middle of the 20th century. When you see Juan on the label it means you are getting 100% Colombian coffee. There is, in fact, a coffee house chain in Colombia called Juan Valdez as well. The Colombian cafetero is a major coffee producer where growing organic coffee in the shade is tradition and healthy organic coffee is common. Getting Organic Coffee from Colombia A sad fact is that Colombia has been dealing with a civil war for half a century. The government is winning and the rebellion has been driven out of the cities. However, large parts of the Cafetero are mountainous and jungle. Rebel groups that may have started out with a clear motive of improving the lives of Colombians have resorted to running drugs and kidnapping in order to survive. Thus, Colombia is not only a major producer of coffee but also a producer of cocaine. If you fly out of any airport in Colombia please expect to have the armed agents pin prick any bags of coffee that you are carrying and apply a “sniff” test for drugs. No other nation in the world will allow mailed bags of Colombian coffee to enter. So, if you yearn for organic coffee antioxidants from the land of Juan Valdez you need to find another route. And you still need to ask, is it really Colombian coffee, if you are a coffee gourmet.