“The world missed the opportunity to taste this part of our history” – Daniel Roa Farías, one of the co-founders A coffee tribute in Venezuela, he tells me at the beginning of our conversation. “Not many people know that coffee has been the hero of our country long before oil.”
Indeed, long before Venezuela emerged as a global oil power – home to the largest proven oil reserves in the world, over 300 billion barrels – it was a coffee nation, thanks to a crop first introduced in the 18th century by the Spanish. Coffee has become deeply woven into the fabric of the country’s culture and economy. In the 19th century, coffee accounted for over 60% of national exports, sustaining much of the economy and financing urban and port infrastructure. Grown mainly in the Andean regions (a mountain range stretching through South America to Venezuela), Venezuelan coffee has gained international prestige and is among the most desired products in Latin America, alongside the country’s renowned chocolate.
When oil was discovered in Venezuela in the 1920s, coffee quietly left the country’s main scene. For decades it has defined identity and pride in export. But as black gold began to flow, the grains that once formed the backbone of Venezuela’s rural economy were pushed to the wayside. It is this forgotten legacy that Roa Farías, along with his partner Amanda Dudamel and longtime friend Edwin Acosta, are trying to resurrect. In 2023, the trio took off Tributea farm-to-cup coffee project based on the idea that Venezuela can regain its place among the world’s largest coffee sources.
In a recent article for the Sprudge Special Projects Desk, journalist Rafael Tonon reports on a recent coffee company that has helped write a recent chapter in Venezuela’s prosperous coffee history. You may have seen Venezuela on the news lately; this story is another glimpse into what’s happening in the country right now and how coffee can continue to play a role in Venezuela’s future.
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