Where Coffee Began: The Untold Story of Dominican Coffee

By Original Source Collective

Time to read: One cup of coffee

It All Started Here

Before hipster baristas, latte art, or $8 cold brews became the norm, coffee was just a plant growing in the wild.

And one of the first places it ever took root in the Caribbean - The island of Hispaniola, the shared landmass that today includes both Haiti and the Dominican Republic.

Volcanic soil, mountain air, and ancient farming knowledge made this island a perfect cradle for early coffee in the Americas. At Original Source Collective, we like to think of ourselves as coffee time travelers (minus the Tardis), bringing those origins to a larger audience, one cup at a time. Because for us, this isn’t just about the caffeine fix before we hit the virtual meeting or the (unfortunately resurrected) commute.

It’s about honoring where coffee began, and how it really arrived.

A Legacy Written in the Soil

Coffee first reached Hispaniola around 1721–1726, introduced to Saint-Domingue (the French colony that is now Haiti) by Gabriel-Mathieu de Clieu, who carried seeds from the Jardin des Plantes in Paris into the Caribbean. From there, coffee spread across French colonies in the region.

But the Dominican Republic’s coffee story begins later. Coffee arrived in what is now the Dominican Republic in 1805, during the Haitian unification/invasion led by Toussaint L’Ouverture. With him came the Barahona Typica, the first coffee varietal planted on Dominican soil.

That moment is the true origin story of Dominican coffee, and the seed of our Heritage 1805 coffee. Every cup traces back to heritage seeds preserved from those first trees, grown and protected through generations.

So yes, coffee has thrived on this island for nearly 300 years, but Dominican coffee begins in 1805, and we’re proud to tell it accurately.

Conuco Wisdom, Still Alive

You’ll often hear people talk about Taíno-descended farmers shaping Dominican coffee. The truth is more nuanced, and just as powerful.

The Taíno people were tragically decimated within about a century of Columbus’ arrival. But their agricultural genius survived. Spanish settlers documented the Taíno Conuco (or Canuco) system and replicated it, and Dominican farmers continue using it to this day; many of them still call it Conuco, still understand it, and still rely on it because it works.

Conuco farming is a biodiverse, intercropped system where coffee grows alongside fruit trees, cacao, and native plants. It protects water, supports soil health through organic matter, and helps farms resist pests and disease naturally.

In 2023, Florida International University’s Agriculture Department received a grant to study the Conuco system, confirming its benefits for plant and water conservation. While soil conservation isn’t always the perfect term, Conuco is widely regarded as regenerative because of how it renews soil with constant organic inputs, and FIU is now promoting its use in U.S. agriculture.

In other words: this wasn’t a trend. It was Indigenous innovation, and it’s still feeding the future.

Taíno Spirit, Modern Craft

The Taíno believed the earth was alive - sacred, generous, and always listening. They farmed with gratitude, never taking more than the land could give.

That spirit still guides the way these beans are grown today. Conuco-style intercropping lets the land breathe, share nutrients, and stay resilient. Sustainability didn’t start in a boardroom or with “green” products sold to you by celebrities — it started here, on Hispaniola, centuries ago.

And when we roast, source, and blend, we try to honor those first hands that touched the soil — by letting the bean lead.

The Flavor That Started It All

Our Cocoa Canuco Mocha Infusion is a love letter to that legacy.

It’s a medium roast built from Dominican high-altitude Arabica, grown through Conuco traditions and infused with roasted Dominican cacao. A nod to the island’s oldest agricultural rhythms - coffee and cacao thriving together in the same mountain ecosystems.

Master roaster Christian, who roasts through synesthesia, experiencing flavor as color, hand-crafts each batch so the coffee’s nutty depth and the cacao’s soft richness move in perfect balance.

The result is a cup that’s smooth, full-bodied, and quietly unforgettable. Think of it as history you can sip.

Back to the Source

At Original Source Collective, we’re not trying to reinvent coffee. We’re just bringing it back to where it started; the island, the altitude, the traditions that still shape every bean.

Every roast is a bridge between then and now, proof that the best coffee doesn’t need to be the newest blend or the loudest brand. It just needs to be true to its origin.