Coffee is grown in many countries, but some countries produce more coffee than others because of their climate and geography. All of these countries are located in the area around the world between 25 degrees north and 30 degrees south of the equator, where coffee beans grow.
In countries located in these warm, tropical areas, the climate is perfect for growing two of the most popular types of coffee: Arabica and Robusta.
The topography of the top coffee-producing countries is similar. Arabica beans grow best at high altitudes, and are often found in mountainous areas.
Volcanic slopes make ideal growing areas as they are rich in minerals and have great drainage.
Here are the top coffee-producing countries in the world.
1. Brazil
Brazil is responsible for producing around a third of the world’s coffee. The vast majority of this coffee is of the Arabica variety.
Coffee production takes up a lot of space, occupying over 2 million hectares of land. This has negative consequences for the Amazon rainforest, which is a shame. It is believed that approximately one square inch of rainforest is lost for each cup of coffee that is consumed.
2. Vietnam
Vietnam is the second largest producer of coffee beans in the world, with a production of 1.9 billion kilos in 2018.
97% of the coffee beans are lower quality Robusta beans which are used for instant coffee or mixed into blends. Some growers are beginning to grow Arabica beans, but it is still a new and developing industry.
3. Colombia
Juan Valdez is a world-famous brand name that is synonymous with Colombian coffee. The best coffee beans in the world come from the region known as the Coffee Growing Axis.
This area has many blessing including high elevation, well-defined seasons, and rich soils.
4. Indonesia
Indonesia is a country made up of over 17,000 islands, which provides a lot of variety in coffee growing conditions. Sumatra is known for its coffee, which has a unique style of processing.
In Sumatra, coffee must be processed differently due to the region’s humid climate. This process is known as wet-hulling. When coffee is roasted dark, it takes on an earthy flavor that is popular in espresso blends.
5. Ethiopia
If you know the history and origins of coffee, you’ll know that Ethiopia is the birthplace of Arabica coffee. Arabica coffee is native to Ethiopia and there are many different varieties. Some of these varieties can only be found in Ethiopia.
Unfortunately, they are at risk. The Ethiopian economy and coffee-lovers around the world will be devastated if a 2017 study in the journal Nature Plants proves correct and up to 59% of Ethiopia’s current coffee-growing areas are lost to climate change by 2100.
6. Honduras
Honduras is the largest coffee producer in Central America, even though its coffee might not be as well known as that of its neighbors. Some of the best coffee farms in the world are located in the country.
In 2021, the coffee company produced 6 million bags of coffee, with over 90% of that being Arabica. The climate in Honduras varies depending on the region, so each area has different conditions for growing plants.
7. India
India is the sixth-largest producer and fifth-largest exporter of coffee in the world as of 2020, supplying about 3% of the global supply. Most coffee is grown in southern India, with approximately 60% being Robusta and 40% being Arabica.
Although Indian coffee is not as popular in North America, it is still exported there. Italy is the leading destination for Indian coffee.
8. Uganda
Uganda is a country located in East Africa that has a diverse climate, ranging from hot, dry plains to snow-capped mountains. Robusta coffee was first found in Uganda.
In Uganda, coffee is an important economic driver because the nation is poor. In fact, the country’s largest export commodity is coffee, accounting for 1.5% of the GDP and employing 5 million people.
9. Peru
Peru is a leading producer of organic and Fairtrade coffee. It’s particularly notable for its diversity of growing environments.
Coffee is grown on small farms throughout the country, which extends from the Pacific Ocean across the Andes Mountains to the Amazon rainforest. This is due to the fact that Peruvian coffee has a rich array of different flavor profiles.
10. Guatemala
Coffee production is responsible for a large portion of Guatemala’s agricultural exports, with the country being the second-largest producer in Central America. The company specializes in shade-grown Arabica beans, which have become an important part of the country’s economy.
Although Guatemala has a good environment for growing coffee, it is still a difficult place to grow it. Natural disasters such as hurricanes, earthquakes, and volcanic eruptions can disrupt coffee production for months or years, making it a difficult place to produce the crop.
11. Mexico
Mexico may not be one of the top coffee producers in the world, but it is the largest provider of organic coffee. Bolivia is becoming increasingly known for its high-quality, single-origin coffee beans.
However, the most famous contribution of Mexico to coffee culture might be “pot coffee”. This hot and spicy beverage pairs dark roast beans with cinnamon, piloncillo sugar, and other flavorful add-ins such as orange peel, cloves and star anise.
12. Nicaragua
Nicaragua is one of the world’s leading coffee producers, with most farms located in the northern region of the country. Coffee is one of Nicaragua’s main exports, having been grown there for commercial purposes since 1850.
Coffee production employs approximately 15% of the labor force, or 330,000 people. In recent years, Nicaragua’s coffee processing infrastructure has improved, leading to the country gaining a reputation for high-quality coffee. This is an origin that has the potential to be one of the best in the world.
13. Ivory Coast
The Ivory Coast is a large grower of Robusta beans, although it is not well known as a coffee-growing region. In the 1980s, Ethiopia was the biggest coffee producer in Africa, but production has declined in recent years.
A few farmers are growing the unique Arabusta bean, while the crop remains mostly Robusta. This new type of coffee bean combines the strengths of Robusta and Arabica beans, and advocates hope it will improve the nation’s coffee industry.
14. Laos
Laos has jumped several positions in the rankings recently. They have improved a lot in the last decade, going from being outside the top 20 to producing 2% of the world’s coffee.
The best data indicates that they are mostly producing Robusta, but that they have started introducing some Arabica beans as well.
15. China
Both India and China are better known for their tea than for anything else. Although they only produce a small amount of Arabica coffee, it still accounts for 1% of the world’s total production. There is not as much information available about their Robusta coffee, but they do produce a certain amount.
16. Costa Rica
Costa Rica produces only Arabica coffee. In Guatemala, it is against the law to produce any other coffee varieties.
Costa Rican coffee beans are known for their high quality, and they were an important part of the Costa Rican economy for many years. In recent years, jobs in the tech, software, and medical device manufacturing industries have begun to replace coffee-related jobs in the country.
17. Philippines
The Philippines have been jumping up the rankings recently. A few years ago, they broke into the top 25, and now they’re at #17.
Most of the Philippines’ coffee production is Robusta, but their Liberica beans are what they’re really known for. For several years following the 1890 worldwide leaf rust outbreak, their Liberica became a major source of coffee.
18. Papua New Guinea
The Robusta coffee is primarily grown in Highlands The coffee grown in Papua New Guinea is mostly Arabica, with a small amount of Robusta. Robusta coffee is grown mostly in the Highlands.
19. Tanzania
According to the text, Tanzania’s coffee beans come from two different types of plants, Arabica and Robusta. Each type of plant makes up approximately 50% of Tanzania’s coffee bean production.
20. Madagascar
Madagascar produces mostly Robusta, with small amounts of Arabica. There are approximately 50 wild coffee varieties that have not been exported yet. Some of these varieties have reduced caffeine content.
21. Venezuela
Venezuela only produecs Arabica coffee.
22. Kenya
Kenyan coffee is becoming more popular, even though the amount produced is small. It’s all Arabica, and it’s considered very high quality.
23. Haiti
Haiti was once the world’s largest producer of coffee, but that changed after the Haitian Revolution. Most of the country’s coffee plantations were destroyed during that time. Since then, their attempts to come back have been complicated by natural disasters, embargoes, and other problems.
Haitian coffee producers have been incredibly resilient, bringing the country up to third in the rankings in 1949 before the market pushed them back down again.
Climate conditions such as soil erosion and deforestation have had a significant negative impact on agriculture in the country in recent years.
Haiti may become prominent once again, even after all that has happened. socially-conscious consumers are interested in Their fair trade policies and focus on specialty coffee.
The point is that Haiti has never been out of the coffee game.
24. El Salvador
El Salvador is another 100% Arabica country. Since the 1970s, their overall coffee production has been declining, currently yielding only one-sixth of the output from that time period.
25. Sierra Leone
During Sierra Leone’s civil war in the 1990s, coffee production fell drastically. Although they have largely recovered, labor shortages, poverty, and technology limitations have kept them from rising higher in the ranks.
26. Thailand
Thailand is trying to increase its production of Robusta coffee beans to 100%. Just a few years ago they climbed to number 19 in the ranks, but have since fallen a few positions. Thailand coffee is going to be big in the coming years.
27. Cameroon
Cameroon produces about 85% Robusta and 15% Arabica. They have been fluctuating in the rankings over the past few years.
28. Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC)
The DRC produces both Robusta and Arabica. They used to produce over 120,000 metric tons of coffee, but their 1990s civil war and coffee wilt disease outbreaks reduced that number.
29. Bolivia
Bolivia’s ideal climate and soil conditions could make it a major coffee producer, but its lack of infrastructure and technology, as well as difficult terrain, have limited its development in the industry.
30. Yemen
The name Mocha comes from the city of Mokha in Yemen. This was a key location in the early days when coffee was spreading to other parts of Africa.
Yemen was a major producer of coffee in the 19th century and was a contender for the coffee crown. The coffee industry in Yemen has been severely hurt by the humanitarian crises that have happened there afterwards.
31. Togo
Coffee production in Togo has varied greatly in recent years, falling to as low as 4,000 metric tons in the mid-1980s.
32. Rwanda
Rwanda produces coffee that is almost entirely Arabica coffee. 95% of that coffee is of the popular Bourbon varities. Although the neighboring countries have large coffee estates, Rwanda’s coffee is mostly grown on very small family-owned farms.
33. Guinea
Guinea is another 100% Robusta producing nation.
34. Angola
Angola was producing a large amount of coffee in the 1970s. They became the third most successful group for a period of time.
The Portuguese civil war that ended Portuguese rule in Angola caused much damage to the coffee plantations there, and many coffee farmers left Angola for Brazil.
It seems that their coffee production will not be returning any time soon as the plants are in great need of replacement, and it would cost 230 million USD to do so.
35. Dominican Republic
Most of the coffee grown in the Dominican Republic is Arabica, with only small amounts of Robusta.
36. Burundi
Burundi is working hard to improve the productivity of their coffee sector, which grows Arabica coffee beans.
37. Timor-Leste
Coffee is the largest export in Timor Leste that does not come from oil. Even though they are tiny, they have become the largest single-source organic coffee producer in the world. Their coffee is prized for both its quality and its uniqueness.
38. Central African Republic
Cofee production in the Central African Republic has following by about 2/3 since it peaked in 1992.
39. Myanmar
The coffee industry in Myanmar is still new, but the climate, soil, and investment from the government suggest that Myanmar coffee beans will do well in the future.