Who doesn’t love sipping on a cup of hot coffee early in the morning? For some, it’s just a morning routine, but for others, its a necessity. If you are a coffee lover, your day cannot properly begin without it. We all like our coffee differently, but the love for coffee is universal.

But do you know where your favorite coffee comes from? Do you know how many people work tirelessly so that you could enjoy your daily cup of coffee? The facts might surprise you. Coffee doesn’t grow on any soil. Proper soil and proper climate are essential for a coffee plant to grow. Mainly, it grows in areas located between the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn. Let’s take a detailed look at the top coffee producing countries arranged in no particular order.

Colombia

Colombian coffee is world-famous. If you are a coffee enthusiast, chances are, you have tasted Colombian coffee already. Colombia used to be the world’s largest producer of coffee, but things have been difficult lately with climate change. During the 2017-2018 period, 864,000 metric tons of coffee were produced by Colombia. Back in 2008 and 2009, Colombia was hit by heavy rains, and a disease known as coffee rust affected the coffee plants.

Production output was affected due to this and decreased by approximately 40%. Despite this disaster, coffee production in Colombia recovered, as new breeds of rust-resistant plants were introduced. The coffee flavor also suffered a change. Currently, Colombia is ranked second worldwide in terms of production of the arabica variety of coffee. Colombian coffee is exported to countries such as Italy, Germany, France, the USA, and Japan.

India

India is one of the largest producers of food and cash crops, coffee being the foremost among them. Coffee in India is mainly grown in the states of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, and Kerala. 98% of the coffee in India comes from small farmers. More than 80% of Indian coffee is exported to foreign countries such as Spain, Russia, the USA, Japan, Greece, Slovenia, Belgium, and others. Robusta and Arabica are the two kinds of coffee grown in India.

Because Indian coffee is often grown along with spices such as cinnamon and cardamom, it has a distinct spicy flavor to it. Sometimes, coffee production in India suffers a hit due to early rains and other unpredictable climate changes.

Brazil

Brazil is the world’s leading producer of coffee since 1840. The country’s economy is largely dependent on coffee. The coffee plant was introduced in Brazil by the French way back in the 18^th century. After that, it quickly became one of the top producers. According to a survey a whopping 3.05 million metric tons of coffee were produced in Brazil during the 2017/2018 year.

About 27,000 sq. km of land in Brazil is reserved for growing coffee. 74% of the coffee produced in Brazil belongs to the Arabica variety, while 26% is of the Robusta variety. Exporting coffee has transformed Brazil’s economy and has played a crucial role in bringing stability to the region.

Vietnam

You may be surprised o hear that Vietnam is one of the largest producers of coffee. This is because they are like the new kid in the block. Vietnam’s coffee production boomed back in the 1980s when the Communist Party of Vietnam decided to drive the country’s economy using coffee. The production rate increased in the 1990s and 2017/2018, Vietnam produced 1.76 million metric tonnes of coffee.

Vietnam concentrates on producing the Robusta variety of coffee. This has more caffeine content than the Arabica variety, giving it a somewhat bitter taste. People who drink coffee for an energy boost or to prevent themselves from falling asleep, prefer Robusta to Arabica. Vietnam quickly became the leading producer of Robusta coffee. In 2017/208, 40% of the world’s Robusta coffee came from Vietnam.

Indonesia

Indonesia is another surprising addition to the list of top coffee-producing countries in the world. The country’s favorable climate allows for the vast production of coffee. In 2017/2018, 636,000 metric tons of coffee were produced by Indonesia. Most of the coffee producers in Indonesia are small farmers, numbering around 1.5 million. However, a few large industries are also present.

Coffee was brought to Indonesia by Dutch settlers. Currently, 85% of Indonesian exports consist only of coffee. Several popular varieties of coffee can be found here, foremost among them being the Kopi Luwak variety of coffee, which is extracted from the excreta of the Asian Palm civet. This rare variety of coffee, with its unique flavor, is expensive and is mostly exported to other countries of the West.

Honduras

This small Central American country is quickly growing into one of the leading producers of coffee. It produced 450,000 metric tons of coffee in the 2017/2018 year. Coffee in Honduras is grown in high altitudes above 3000 feet. In the 2017/2018 year, there was a huge boom in coffee export from Honduras.

Like Columbia, Honduras also suffers from the leaf rust problem. Since most of the coffee in this country is grown by small farmers, they do not have access to money or technology to completely turn this crisis around. As a result, many farmers are in debt, and coffee production has suffered a hit in recent years. Honduras produces roughly the same amount of coffee each year as India.

Uganda

Coffee is Uganda’s largest export currently and it is a growing industry with more and more Ugandans are getting involves in coffee production. Both Robusta and Arabica varieties of coffee are grown in Uganda, mainly in the southern fringes. However, farmers have security concerns, which has resulted in exports suffering a blow. However, they seem to be recovering from it. Coffee production in Uganda during 2016 was 2888,000 metric tonnes.