It is wintertime and it is cold but nothing that a warm cup of coffee cant cure.

When it comes to flavor and blend, coffee enthusiasts around the world choose the aromatic flavors of coffee beans grown in the Caribbean. Islands like Jamaica, Dominican Republic, Haiti and Puerto Rico are the largest producers of coffee in the Caribbean region.

Those islands are blessed with beautiful mountainous areas where the air is cool, the soil is rich and there is no shortage of water because it rains frequently. That combination is a gift from natures bounty because it is perfect for coffee farmers. And the plants thrive.

Some would argue that there are no differences when it comes to taste and flavor of a nice hot cup of coffee coffee is coffee. This is not so for experienced coffee connoisseurs and seasoned coffee drinkers who can pick the flavor they love from among hundreds of other flavors.

The coffee produced in Jamaicas Blue Mountains, for instance, is monitored by Jamaicas Coffee Industry Board to ensure that the quality of Blue Mountain brand is consistently superior. The Blue Mountains are Jamaicas tallest, with elevations of 7,402 feet. Jamaicas Blue Mountain coffee has a refined and mild taste with a pleasant creamy sweetness yet subtle bitterness.

To demonstrate the wide reach of these coffees, one testimonial to the Blue Mountain Brand came from a soldier stationed in Afghanistan. The devoted coffee drinker said that making a pot of Blue Mountain coffee makes the soldiers lives so much better because it keeps their minds from troubling issues of the day.

In the Dominican Republic, the most popular coffee brand is Santo Domingo, which is grown mostly in the Pico Duarte mountains. Those mountains are the highest in the Caribbean, over 10,000 feet high. Many coffee lovers have described the medium-roasted Santo Domingo coffee beans as having a combination of flavors including a fruity taste that is like combining berries and citrus. Others have described the taste as nut-toned and chocolatey, which explains why the beans natural subtle sweetness yet moderate light acidity earns the label of a full-body taste.

Haitis popular Rebo Coffee also has its own distinctive taste. Many people say it has a chocolatey taste combined with a fruity flavor. The coffee was first cultivated in 1734 in Haiti in a place then known as Santo Domingue.

Yaucono is the main coffee brand of Puerto Rico. Yaucono is said to have a chocolate and caramel flavor. The distinct difference of this coffee is that it has no bitterness. The flavor combination is usually described as smooth. Coffee farms are located all over the island in areas between 2,400 and 2,780 feet in altitude.

Most coffee produced in Jamaica, Haiti and Dominican Republic is packaged for export to the United States and Europe. In the U.S., coffee shops, cafes and convenience stores such as Wawa, McDonalds, Dunkin donuts and Starbucks offer a wide array of coffee options.

Starbucks main focus is coffee. They offer more extensive and sophisticated types of coffees: brewed coffees, clover brewed, cappuccinos, flat whites, lattes, macchiatos and mochas. Wawa offers a lot more than coffee, and their coffees are more basic, such as mild roast, medium roast, bold roast and a limited offering of cappuccinos and lattes. Dunkins main product is doughnuts, complemented by Americano coffees, lattes, mochas and macchiatos.

Today, coffees and all variations of coffee (lattes, macchiatos, hot or iced) are mainstream from the East Coast to the West Coast. Barista (coffee bartender) is the buzz word for a person who creates and serves a concoction requested by patrons. I can recall my grandmother creating her own recipe for a combined cocoa and coffee drink, everything fresh from the tree. It was delicious!

Punxsutawney Phil has seen his shadow and we are in for a lengthy winter, so next time you feel the urge for a cup of coffee, try one of those Caribbean coffees. It may transport you to a warm sunny beach somewhere in the Caribbean.

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Caribbean Currents: Coffee is another favorite flavor of the islands - The Philadelphia Tribune