São Tomé, Monte Café
São Tomé and Príncipe is a small Portuguese-speaking country located off the western equatorial coast of Central Africa consisting of two main islands: São Tomé and Príncipe. The islands were uninhabited until discovered in the 15th century by Portuguese explorers, and subsequently served as a vital commercial trade point for the cultivation of sugar, cocoa, and coffee.
The islands’ volcanic origin is evident in the beautifully striking rock and coral formations, rainforests, and sandy beaches. Ôbo Natural Park, a biodiverse jungle preserve, covers much of São Tomé and is easily distinguished by the iconic ‘Pico Cão Grande’, a magnificent volcanic rock that stands like a rocket in the center of the island.
São Tomé’s rich volcanic soil, tropical forest shade, and a humid equatorial climate create the ideal conditions for growing coffee – the districts name ‘Monte Café’ means ‘Coffee Mountain’ in Portuguese. Local farmers in São Tomé have focused on producing small lots of high-quality beans, making São Tomé coffee quite a rare and exotic origin and also giving the coffee its lovely distinctive characteristics.
These Arabica beans are grown at an altitude of 690 meters and hand-picked by the ‘Cooperativa de Exportacao de Cafe Biologico’, a cooperative of 250 coffee farmers in the district of Trindade Monte Café. Members of the cooperative have worked to boost the coffee sector in São Tomé through revitalizing old plantations on the slopes of Monté Pico and establishing an organic farming certification.
