Coffee in the Modern World: Leading Producers of Coffee Today
Today, the world is still split between the two major types of coffees: robusta and arabica, or Coffea canephora and Coffea arabica. Many people prefer the taste of arabica coffee, but robusta coffee – though considered more bitter – is believed to have a fuller “body.” For this reason, both types of coffee are still cultivated worldwide, with different countries cultivating more of one or the other. In some cases, countries will cultivate large amounts of both types of coffee. All types of coffee in their unroasted form are called a term that is known as green coffee.
Green coffee: Term used to refer to coffee beans that are unroasted. In their natural state, coffee beans are actually green, though they turn dark brown and then black when roasted.
In judging which countries cultivate and produce the most amount of coffee, the term “green coffee” is often used.
In the most recent available data (2010), the top producers of green coffee by weight were:
- Brazil: 2.8 million tonnes
- Vietnam: 1.1 million
- Indonesia: 801,000
- Colombia: 514,000
- India: 290,000
- Ethiopia: 270,000
- Peru: 264,000
- Guatemala: 257,000
- Mexico: 253,000
- Honduras: 229,000
As you can see, the top producers of coffee tend to be equatorial (or near-equatorial countries) that have the ideal climate, soil, and altitudes for growing coffee.
