Coffee Regions

Brazil

World coffee production rankings - 1

Providing around one third of the world’s coffee and one of its most keen coffee drinkers, Brazil is a giant in the world of coffee production. Generally produced using the dry process the Arabica trees of Brazil – which count for 85% of the plantations – yield one of the most sought-after grades: Bourbon Santos.

Coffee arrived in Brazil from French Guiana in the early 18th Century and can trace its heredity back through the Amsterdam botanical garden to a coffee tree in Java in 1706.

Cameroon

World coffee production rankings – 16

The majority of Cameroon’s coffee is grown by small producers and is generally picked and de-pulped by hand. A full-bodied fine, acidic coffee, Cameroon’s coffee harvest is around 85% robusta and its industry is developing technological advances promising to help yield bigger harvests and more efficient production.

It is thought that coffee was introduced to Cameroon in 1905 by the Germans. Coffee production slumped considerably in the late 1980s and didn’t pick up again until some seven years later.

Colombia

World coffee production rankings - 3

Producing around 12% of the world’s coffee, Colombia is second only to Brazil in terms of production in South America and is both the largest exporter of Arabica and wet produces more coffee than any other country. The best known Colombian coffees are Medellin, Armenia, Manizales, Bogota and Bucaramanga.

Coffee came to Colombia via Venezuela, originating from the Caribbean Islands. It is considered to be so important that all cars entering the country are sprayed to protect against harmful bacteria.

Costa Rica

World coffee production rankings - 14

Centred around the capital city of San Jose, the Costa Rican coffee market is extremely important to the country. Boasting one of the best yields in the region due to the application of modern technology, the best known Costa Rican coffees are San Marcos di Tarrazu, Tres Rios, Heredia and Alajuela.

The first coffee seedlings to reach Costa Rica came from Cuba in 1779. Now, only Arabica is produced here as there is a law banning the production of Robusta.

Côte d’Ivoire

World coffee production rankings - 13

Thirteenth in the world coffee producing league, the Côte d’Ivoire is one of the largest African coffee producers. Almost exclusively cultivating Robusta, most of the country’s coffee production ends up in Europe, in particular, France and Italy.

Almost half of the working population makes a living from the production of coffee.

Ecuador

World coffee production rankings - 20

Ecuadorian coffee production is split roughly in two between Arabica and Robusta. The coffee industry only took off in the 1920s when it started to replace cacao and banana as the country’s main crops. The best known coffees from Ecuador include Typica, Bourbon, Catura and Canephora.

Cherry harvesting is split into two distinct seasons in Ecuador – ripe fruit is picked in two harvests between June and August and then the rest is harvested less carefully at the end of the season.

El Salvador

World coffee production rankings - 15

All Salvadorian coffee is produced using the wet process and makes the country the 15th largest producer of coffee in the world. Coffee represents nearly 60% of the country’s exports and employs up to 80% of the population at harvest time (25% at other times) who pick coffees such as Bourbon, Typica and Pacas.

Introduced to the country in 1740 from the Caribbean, the very best Salvadorian coffee is grown at altitude.

Ethiopia

World coffee production rankings - 5

The birthplace of the Arabica tree, Ethiopia is the fifth largest producer in the world. Originally from the province of Kaffa (from which we get the word coffee), Ethiopian Arabica accounts for the most Arabica produced in Africa. Around 12 million people are involved in Ethiopian coffee production.

Much of the country’s coffee is harvested by tribes’ people high in the mountains and Ethiopians drink more coffee than any other nation on the continent.

Guatemala

World coffee production rankings - 10

Coming in at number ten in the world coffee producing rankings, Guatemala is known for its very high quality hard bean coffee (coffee that is grown above 4,500 feet). One quarter of the working population are involved in the industry which accounts for just over 30% of exports.

Coffee was introduced to the country be Jesuits in 1750 and developed by German immigrants in the 19th.

Honduras

World coffee production rankings - 12

The twelfth largest producer of coffee in the world uses wet processing and often finds that its best coffees are diluted in blends with inferior varieties. However, Honduras harbours ambitions to become an even more serious global player in the world Arabica market.

Coffee came to Honduras from Salvador and countries further a field like Brazil, Costa Rica and Ethiopia.

India

World coffee production rankings - 6

India divides its production fairly equally between Arabica and Robusta, although recently there has been a shift towards the latter. The country’s speciality is Monsoon coffee which comes from green beans being exposed to monsoon winds blowing through open warehouses.

India also lays claim to being the birthplace of coffee (with Ethiopia) but this theory is not widely credited.

Indonesia

World coffee production rankings - 4

The fourth largest global producer of coffee, Indonesia is also the world’s largest supplier of Robusta. Until 1877, Arabica was an important part of the country’s coffee production, but all the plantations were destroyed by rust and it now accounts for only 10% of Indonesia’s output.

Introduced to Java by the Dutch in the 17th Century, Arabica is once again being grown on some of the original Dutch estates.

Kenya

World coffee production rankings - 23

Kenya is one of the very few African countries to produce Arabica varieties almost exclusively. Employing the most sophisticated methods in the world, the main growing region extends from Mount Kenya to the capital, Nairobi.

The best Kenyan coffee is called Estate Kenya and is considered to be one of the finest coffees in the world.

Mexico

World coffee production rankings - 7

The seventh largest coffee producer in the world, Mexico produces some fine coffees amongst the varieties grown on the mountains. Most of the beans come from 100,000 small farms in the south of the country and represent around one third of Mexico’s agricultural exports.

Introduced to the country from the Antilles at the end of the 18th Century, coffee did not become a major export until around 100 years later.

Nicaragua

World coffee production rankings – 21 (with Venezuela)

Nicaragua only produces Arabica beans. The best known are produced using the wet process in the Matagalpa and Jinotega regions. One third of the country’s exports are made up of coffee.

Introduced in the middle of the 19th Century, there are over 300 million coffee trees on thousands of small farms across the country. 

Papua New Guinea

World coffee production rankings – 18

Over 70% of Papua New Guinea’s coffee is produced on small family owned farms ranging in size from ten to 600 trees. It is estimated that around 2 million people (around half the nation’s population) derive a benefit from the coffee industry and it is the country’s most valuable agricultural export.

The coffee industry in Papua New Guinea only really took off in the 1950s with the establishment of a policy to actively encourage small village farms.

Peru

World coffee production rankings - 9

Peru devotes around 6% of its total surface to coffee production and is ninth in the world for coffee production. The North of the country is enjoying a growing reputation for the quality of its coffees and overall, coffee is Peru’s most important agricultural export.

The political situation in Peru restricts farmers from maximising the potential of the coffee growing business.

Philippines

World coffee production rankings - 24

Previously a giant in the field of coffee production, the Philippines has, of late, slipped down the word rankings. High land taxes, a lack of infrastructure and the labour-intensive harvesting that a lack of technology requires has deterred many coffee farmers from continuing with their trade.

Introduced to the country in around 1750 by Spanish Friars, the Philippines quickly became one of the world’s top producers – a rank it held until well into the 1980s.

Tanzania

World coffee production rankings – 19

Tanzania concentrates its coffee production on wet produced mild Arabica beans although Robusta is produced around the shores of Lake Victoria. Over 90% of the country’s coffee is grown on small farms and it is exported to countries all over the world.

Introduced to Tanzania in the 1900s, much of the country’s production is still based where it was first introduced – around the slopes of Mount Kilimanjaro.

Thailand

World coffee production rankings - 17

Ranked third in Southeast Asia, Thailand primarily produces Robusta coffee, around 60% of which is imported. In recent years, farmers have been encouraged to grow coffee and the Thai government closely monitors both production and exports in order to maintain a good balance.

Although coffee has been grown in Thailand for several hundred years, the industry was really kick started in the 1960s when the government decided to reverse a huge imbalance – Thailand was importing eight times the amount of coffee it was producing.

Uganda

World coffee production rankings - 11

Number eleven in the world and a big player in the Commonwealth in terms of coffee production, the Robusta bean, which accounts for 75% of the country’s export revenue, provides work for 80% of all rural workers. Arabica accounts for only 5% of production and is all exported to Germany.

Wild Robusta trees were discovered in Uganda in 1860 and much of the UK’s instant coffee comes from here.

Venezuela

World coffee production rankings – 21 (with Nicaragua)

Coffee represents Venezuela’s most important agricultural export but the country ranks only 21 in world coffee production. The highest quality coffee is grown near the Colombian border and is known as Maracaibos. The coffee grown on the other side of the country is called Caracas.

Most Venezuelan coffee found in the UK is produced in the state of Tachira.

Vietnam

World coffee production rankings – 2

Currently number 2 in the world (although still way behind Brazil in terms of quantity), Vietnam’s coffee industry has grown fast. This growth started in the last two decades or so and is set to continue for some time yet. Mostly cultivated in cooperatives and state farms, the main coffee growing region is in Daklak.

Coffee first arrived in Vietnam in the mid-1860s courtesy of French missionaries who settled there.