The Exotic Bean

Top 10 Coffee Producers in the World

The Short List: 10 Countries That Produce the Most Coffee

Top 10 Countries that Produce the Most Coffee

After water and tea, coffee is the third most popularly consumed beverage in the entire world. And as a testament to its financial prowess, coffee is also the world’s second-highest traded commodity. In a phrase, everyone loves coffee – from the die-hard two-pots-a-day American drinkers to the espresso lovers in Italy, coffee drinkers in Ethiopia and those who swear by Turkish coffee.

Further, everyone loves talking about coffee – even if they don’t drink it every day. If you’re a lover of coffee, you may have wondered about the top producing countries – who’s delivering the most beans to market every year? With that in mind, here is the list of countries that are producing the most coffee in the world.

#10 Guatemala: 234,000 metric tons per year

Guatemala’s climate is perfect for coffee production. And despite the country’s small size, the country has really made a name for itself in the coffee producing industry. In fact, until 2011 it was known as the largest coffee producer in Central America.

#9 Honduras: 240,000 metric tons per year

Honduras is the country that stole the title of largest coffee producer in Central America from Guatemala by a mere 5,000 metric tons. Despite the incredible environment for growing coffee, a lacking infrastructure made it difficult to produce and export beans until recent years. Currently, 12% of Hondurans are employed in the coffee industry.

#8 Mexico: 252,000 metric tons per year

Mexico is responsible for the majority of U.S. coffee imports, and most of the coffee is grown near the border with Guatemala. Due to a coffee crisis created by low wages and poor maintenance of farms, production decreased throughout the early 2000s. Although it is on the rise again, the Mexican coffee industry remains unsteady.

#7 Uganda: 288,000 metric tons per year

Coffee is central Africa’s top-earning export, and a large portion of Ugandan workers are employed in the coffee industry. Coffee is normally farmed in southern Uganda, where they are able to cultivate both Arabica and Robusta beans.

Countries That Produce the Most Coffee

#6 India: 348,000 metric tons per year

Indian coffee is often planted next to farms of cardamom and cinnamon, which also utilize the rainy climate of southern India to flourish. This leaves the beans with a spicy, delicious richness. The country is also known as one of the top growers of shade-grown coffee beans.

#5 Ethiopia: 384,000 metric tons per year

Over 15 million Ethiopians are employed in coffee production, which makes sense since coffee makes up over 28% of Ethiopia’s annual exports. Ethiopia is the original home of the Coffee Arabica, and has been producing beans for over 1100 years.

#4 Indonesia: 660,000 metric tons per year

The climate in Indonesia is perfect for coffee growing, and coffee consumes over 85% of their total exports. Despite the large numbers of coffee in production, most growers are small, independent farms that are less than a hectare big.

#3 Colombia: 810,000 metric tons per year

While Colombia has been a coffee-producing icon for decades, the climate and rising temperatures have been slowly affecting production. Despite that, the country still produces the highest amount of Arabica beans in the world.

#2 Vietnam: 1,650,000 metric tons per year

Producing over 1.5 million metric tons per year, the only export from Vietnam that tops coffee is rice. Vietnamese coffee is often brewed as a single serving and paired with sweetened condensed milk for a distinct flavor and taste experience.

#1 Brazil: 2,592,000 metric tons per year

Doubling the production of the second-place country, no one else comes even close to Brazil when it comes to coffee, and they haven’t for some time. Brazil has been the reigning champion of the coffee production list for over 150 years.

Honorable Mention – Thailand:  30,000 metric tons per year

Ranked the third largest coffee producer in Asia, Thailand only began exporting coffee in the 1970s. It has rapidly increased its production, and is experiencing a surge of third-wave coffee popularity. Thailand is a country to watch in terms of coffee culture and production. View our selection of Thai coffee imports here.