Venezuela's distinctive manor coffee comes from this oil-rich country.

The distinctive manor coffee comes from this oil-rich country.

Oil was once considered Venezuela's main export. Although coffee trees were introduced from Martinique as early as 1730 and Venezuela, coffee production was almost abandoned during the heyday of the oil industry. Coffee plantations have recently begun to recover, with the old Tipica and Bourbon coffee trees and new plantations laying the groundwork for coffee exports. Currently, most Venezuelan coffee is exported to Russia and Colombia, where it is repackaged. Many newly rebuilt small plantations have also begun exporting coffee on their own.

Coffee is not prominent among the many industries in the country. Venezuela's best coffee-producing region is the southwestern state of Tachira. But the name takira has been indiscriminately applied to coffee beans across the country.

Venezuela's best coffees are Montebello from San Cristóbal de Tachira, Miramar from Rubio de Tachira, Granija from Timote de Merida and Ala Granija from Santa Anna de Tachira. Other premium brands include Maracaibos (the name of the coffee export port), Merida, Trujillo, Santa Filomena and Cucuta.

One of the many plantations in Merida, below the Andes, belongs to the Pablo and Luisa Helena Pulido families, an ancient farm that has been allowed to downsize. Since taking over the farm in the early 1980s, the Pulidos have grown new species while harvesting coffee from existing bourbon trees.

The area around Caracas, also known for coffee, has resumed production. Tipika coffee trees are also grown on Jean and Andres Boulton plantations in Turgua.

Venezuelan coffee tastes different from other Latin American coffees in that it is delicious, light and less sour than traditional coffee, which makes it not only blended but also unique.