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Top Ten Coffee-Producing Countries
(based on the number of 132-pound [60-kilogram] bags
produced during the 1997-98 crop year, according to
the U.S. National Coffee Association)
Brazil (22.5 million bags)
After arriving from French Guiana in the early 18th
century, coffee quickly spread and thrived in
Brazil. Today Brazil is responsible for about a
third of all coffee production, making it by far the
heavyweight champion of the coffee-producing world.
Though many connoisseurs believe that Brazil’s
emphasis on quantity takes a toll on quality, many
also praise the country’s finer varieties. Brazil is
the only high-volume producer subject to frost. The
devastating 1975 frost, in particular, was a boon to
other coffee-growing countries. Two 1994 frosts
raised prices worldwide. Notable Beans: Bahia,
Bourbon Santos
Colombia (10.5 million bags)
Colombia is the only
South American country with both Atlantic and
Pacific ports—an invaluable aid to shipping. The
crop’s economic importance is such that all cars
entering Colombia are sprayed for harmful bacteria.
Colombia’s coffee grows in the moist, temperate
foothills of the Andes, where the combination of
high altitude and moist climate makes for an
especially mild cup.
Notable Beans: Medellin,
Supremo, Bogotá
Indonesia (6.7 million bags)
The Dutch unwittingly
gave coffee a nickname in the late 17th century,
when they began the first successful European coffee
plantation on their island colony of Java (now part
of Indonesia). Top-grade arabicas are still produced
on Java as well as on Sumatra, Sulawesi, and Flores,
but the Indonesian archipelago is most notable as
the world’s largest producer of robusta beans.
Notable Beans: Java, Sumatra, Sulawesi (Celebes)
Vietnam (5.8 million bags)
French missionaries
first brought coffee to Vietnam in the mid-1860s,
but production remained negligible as late as 1980.
In the 1990s, however, Vietnamese coffee production
has been ratcheted up at a furious pace. At least
one trader worries that the industry is growing too
quickly for its own good. “The crop’s growing so
fast that there’s not an equivalent growth in
processing, so you’re looking at quality problems,”
he said from Daklak, Vietnam’s main coffee-growing
region. Notable Beans: Vietnam specializes in
robusta production.
Mexico (5 million bags)
Coffee came to Mexico
from Antilles at the end of the 18th century, but
was not exported in great quantities until the
1870s. Today approximately 100,000 small farms
generate most Mexican coffee, and most of the beans
come from the south. Mexico is the largest source of
U.S. coffee imports. Notable Beans: Altura,
Liquidambar MS, Pluma Coixtepec
Ethiopia (3.8 million bags)
The natural home of
the arabica tree and the setting for most of
coffee’s
origin legends, Ethiopia is Africa’s top arabica
exporter and leads the continent in domestic
consumption. About 12 million Ethiopians make their
living from coffee, whose name is said to be a
derivation of “Kaffa,” the name of an Ethiopian
province. Notable Beans: Harrar,
Idiom,
Yirgacheffe
India (3.8 million bags)
According to
legend, India is the birthplace of coffee
cultivation east of Arabia. Today coffee production
is under the strict control of the Indian Coffee
Board, which some say reduces economic incentive and
thereby lowers quality.
Notable Beans: Mysore,
Monsooned Malabar
Guatemala (3.5 million bags)
German immigrants
initiated serious coffee cultivation in Guatemala in
the 19th century. Today the country’s high-grown
beans, particularly those grown on the southern
volcanic slopes, are among the world’s best.
Notable Beans: Atitlan, Huehuetenango
Côte d’Ivoire (3.3 million bags)
In the mid-1990s Côte
d’Ivoire was the number five coffee producer and
second largest robusta producer. Why the decline?
Some speculate that an emphasis on volume and a lack
of investment and planning have lowered quality and
per-acre productivity. Today most exports end up as
mass-market coffee in Europe, especially France and
Italy. Notable Bean: Côte d’Ivoire specializes in
robusta
Uganda (3 million bags)
Though Uganda grows
precious little arabica, it is a key producer of
robusta. That humble, hardy bean accounts for 75
percent of the country’s export revenue and provides
employment for 80 percent of all rural workers.
Efforts to diversify aside, Uganda is likely to
remain beholden to the bean for the foreseeable
future. Notable Bean: Bugisu
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