Where Is Coffee a Popular Crop? (Solved & Explained!)

The top five places in the world that have coffee trees as one of their main focuses for farming and planting are:

  • Brazil.

  • Vietnam.

  • Colombia.

  • Indonesia.

  • Ethiopia.

This article will look at why each of these countries has high production of coffee, which country sells the most coffee, and which country is most famous for its coffee.

How is Coffee a Popular Crop in Brazil?

Over 300,000 coffee farms cover the face of Brazil, contributing to over one-third of the world’s coffee production. It continues to be a powerful force in Brazil’s economy ever since the first plant was created in Brazil in the 18th century by French settlers.

 As coffee continued to rise in popularity through the years, Brazil took top place as the world’s largest coffee producer. In 2020 alone, Brazil produced over 58 million bags of coffee, weighing 60-kilogram.

How is Coffee a Popular Crop in Vietnam?

In the 1980s, the leaders of Vietnam invested in the coffee market, increasing their production by margins of 20 to 30% every year for the next twenty years. They may be newer to the coffee market, but Vietnam caters to the market differently, allowing them to capitalize on high amounts of trade.

Their niche is focusing on the bitter, less-expensive type of coffee bean called Robusta, a bean with twice as much caffeine as compared to Arabica beans, hence the increased bitter flavor. This niche allows Vietnam to be the world’s top producer for robusta coffee, which accounts for over 40% of Robusta coffee in the global market

Their numbers for coffee production are over 32 million bags of coffee, each weighing at 60-kilograms.

How is Coffee a Popular Crop in Columbia?

Despite having several years of low coffee production due to a certain type of coffee leaf disease known as coffee rust, Columbia managed to re-plant all of their coffee farms with a new, disease-resistant crop and has since pushed its production levels back to normal output.

Columbia, known for its quality coffee, produced over 14 million bags of coffee in 2020, weighing at 60-kilograms each. Colombian coffee is well-liked due to its mild, well-balanced flavor.

Juan Valdez, a fictional coffee farmer, became the popular marketing piece to promote Columbia’s brand of coffee, helping the world to see Columbia as an affluent coffee-producing nation.

How is Coffee a Popular Crop in Indonesia?

With a prominent climate and ideal location for coffee farms, Indonesia has used its environment to become the world’s third-largest producer of Robusta coffee beans. Indonesia is a host to over 1.2 hectares of coffee farms, with small farmers contributing to the overall output by owning one or two hectares each.

Combining both Robusta and Arabica, Indonesia contributed 10.7 million bags of coffee to the global market in 2020.

Not only that, but Indonesia is a prominent procurer of specialty coffees, the most unique of them being Kopi Luwak, a bean that is gathered from Asian palm civets (a type of small mammal) after it has passed through the digestive system. After proper preparations, the coffee beans give a unique and distinct flavor.

However, due to the intensive gathering and preparations, this particular type of coffee bean is one of the most expensive.

What Other Types of Speciality Coffee Does Indonesia Offer?

The three other most prominent types of specialty coffee in Indonesia are Sumatra Gayo Coffee, Bali Blue Moon Coffee, and Sumatra Mandheling Coffee.

What is Sumatra Gayo Coffee?

Sumatra is a specialty Indonesian coffee with a medium roast with rich earth and spice notes. It produces a heavy, syrupy type of coffee with a hint of spice.

What is Bali Blue Moon Coffee?

Bali coffee is also a specialty Indonesian coffee with a medium roast and notes of dark chocolate, vanilla, earth, and spice. It is in fact made in the same area as the famous Bali beaches. This specialty coffee offers a full-bodied array of flavors including the subtle hint of spice.

What is Sumatra Mandheling Coffee?

Sumatra Mandheling is a specialty coffee with a medium roast and a rich and complex taste with notes of earth and chocolate. It is considered to be the most well-known Indonesian coffee. Among the notes of earthiness and chocolate is a brown sugar sweetness with low acidity and a smooth finish.

How is Coffee a Popular Crop in Ethiopia?

In all of Africa, Ethiopia is the largest producer of coffee, producing 7.3 million bags of coffee in 2022. They have also regained a place in fifth on the list of top exporters of coffee, meaning their coffee farms are numerous and expanding.

What Country Sells the Most Coffee?

It shouldn’t come as a surprise that Brazil is the top seller of coffee in the world. They do, after all, have two million hectares of farmland devoted to coffee production and harvesting green coffee. And they exported over three million bags of coffee in just a month of December 2016.

Which Country is Most Famous for Coffee?

Besides Brazil, Columbia is also a famous producer of unique coffee, known for its high quality and distinct taste. When visiting Columbia, one of the most popular souvenirs is a bag of coffee to take home.

Where is Coffee Grown Globally?

Coffee, being the third most consumed beverage in the world and one of the most exported goods globally, it’s no surprise to see coffee beans in high demand, meaning the market for exporting coffee is rich and invites participants from all over the world. There are over eighty countries currently exporting coffee.

Over 168 million bags of coffee were made and exported in 2020, worldwide with every country included. Some of the most prominent places for coffee to be grown include areas in South and Central America, Africa, Asia, and the Caribbean.

Arabica and Robusta coffee are the most commercially produced coffee beans, with arabica coffee accounting for 75% of coffee cultivated globally. Arabica beans are mainly grown in Central and East Africa, Latin America, India, and Indonesia.

Robusta coffee is mainly grown throughout South-East Asia, West and Central Africa, and Brazil.