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Brazil
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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
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Colombia
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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, Bogota
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Indonesia
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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)
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Vietnam
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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.
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Mexico
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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
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Ethiopia
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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, Sidamo, Yirgacheffe
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India
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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
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Guatemala
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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
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Cote d’Ivoire
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In the mid-1990s Cote 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: Cote d’Ivoire specializes in robusta production.
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Uganda
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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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