Top 10 Coffee producing nations in the World

With a café on nearly every corner in countless cities around the globe, it comes as no surprise that coffee is one of the top commodities worldwide. As the global third most consumed beverage, after water and tea, coffee beans are in high demand everywhere. The top producing nations each produce millions of kilograms of coffee beans that find their way into the hands of eager consumers.
Second only to oil, coffee is the world's second most traded commodity, with about half a trillion cups drank per year. Not only used for brewing a cup of joe, the coffee bean (through decaffeination) provides caffeine for beverages (cola), pharmaceuticals, and cosmetics.
These are the ten nations that the International Coffee Organization named in its 2014 production statistics as the world's top producers of coffee:

10 – Guatemala

Guatemalan Coffee Workers Empty Beans for Sorting – Thinkstock.com

Guatemala produced 210,000 kilograms of coffee beans in 2014, and their production numbers have remained fairly consistent over the past few years. Coffee beans are most abundant in Guatemala in years where the temperature hovers between 16 and 32°C, and at altitudes between 500 and 5,000 metres above sea level.

Guatemala came into the coffee game predominantly to find an export to replace indigo and cochineal, two of their early exports that were rendered useless once chemical dyes were invented in the 1800s. At the time, the government began a policy of support for the industry by offering trade and tax benefits. In the 1960's the government further pushed for greater global demand for Guatemalan coffee through the establishment of Anacafé (Asociación Nacional del Café), a marketing association which, to this day, continues to promote the nation's coffee products worldwide.

9 – Uganda

The Ugandan Virunga Mountains - Thinkstock.com

While Uganda may not come to mind when you think of coffee production, at 240,000,000 kilograms produced in 2014, it is the Central African nation's top-earning export. The nation grows both Robusta beans – a crop native to the Kibale forest area – as well as Arabica beans from nearby Ethiopia.
Coffee is a vital part of the Ugandan economy, with a large portion of the population working in coffee related industries. Coffee production was initially a reasonably unsuccesful state controlled sector, however, after government privatization in 1991, a strong revival of the sector was seen, leading to a 5100% increase in production since 1989. However, the government does still exert control on the industry, with flow out of the country controlled by the Uganda Coffee Development Authority.

8 – Mexico

Ancient Pyramids in Mexico - Thinkstock.com

In 2014, Mexico produced over 240,000,000 kilograms of coffee beans. The nation predominantly produces high quality Arabica beans and is responsible for majority of U.S. coffee imports.
In the 1990s there was a crisis in Mexico's coffee production, as the International Coffee Agreement was dismantled and worldwide coffee prices and export quotas were no longer strictly controlled, leading to an inability for Mexico to compete in the global market. This decline in coffee prices and production led to lost income and social issues throughout the nation of Mexico. While coffee production declined over the 90s and into the 2000s, steady demand from the United States has led to a recovery in the Mexican coffee market, from an all time low of 1.7 million bags (60 kg) in 2005, to 4.0 million in 2014.

7 – Honduras

Green and Red Coffee Berries on Tree, Honduras - Thinkstock.com

Honduras produced 279,000,000 kilograms of coffee in 2014, a marked decrease from 2011's crop of 354,180,000 kilos. Their downfall has been attributed to a lack of national branding – while most people recognize Colombian or Ethiopian coffee, beans from Honduras are mainly used in blends and are therefore less recognizable to the average consumer.

However, coffee remains a vital part of the Honduran economy; it is the largest producer in Central America, the coffee industry continually provides employment and revenue for a large part of the population, and it likely kept the nation's economy afloat during the 2009 political crisis and coup d'état.

6 – India

Cup of Coffee with Cinnamon, Sugar, and Raw Beans - Thinkstock.com

While India may not be the first nation that comes to mind when it comes to coffee production, they produced 344,760,000 kilograms of beans in 2014. Not just any region of the diverse nation is suited for coffee production, the majority of growing is done in the hilly tracts of South Indian states. The beans are grown by small growers in monsoon rainfall conditions, and often planted alongside spices such as cardamom and cinnamon, which gives the coffee a spicy taste and aroma.
As might be expected, coffee isn't the most popular beverage in the country of 1.25 billion people, this title goes to tea. As such, 80% of India's coffee production is bound for export purposes, with the main buyers being Europe and Russia.

5 – Ethiopia

Coffee Roasted in the Traditional Ethiopian Manner - Thinkstock.com

Ethiopia produces large volumes of coffee beans every year, with 397,500,000 kilograms in 2014 alone. Ethiopia is the geographic home of Arabica coffee, the most popular beans worldwide. It is no small part of their economy – over half of Ethiopia's foreign income is a result of coffee – and it is estimated that 15 million citizens are employed in coffee production.

Ethiopia has a very rich coffee culture. For over 1100 years, beans with a stimulating effect have been noted in the nation by unlucky farmers and shepherds whose herds happened to eat them. Since domestication of the plant and the beginning of farming the coffee bean, regional variants of the Arabica bean have been developed, each with their own characteristic name and taste. The Harar, Limu, Sidamo, and Yirgacheffe beans are all trademarked varieties of the Arabica bean, with the rights owned and protected by the government of Ethiopia.

4 – Indonesia

Palm Civets are Producers of the World's Most Expensive Coffee - Thinkstock.com

Though they may not be as internationally known as a top producer, the nation of Indonesiaproduced over 540,000,000 kilograms of coffee beans in 2014. Indonesia has opted for a quantity over quality method, as the climate is better suited for the production of lower-quality Robusta beans (less valued than the Arabica beans that come from nations like Brazil and Colombia).

Coffee production was introduced to Indonesia by Dutch colonists and production continued on after colonization as Indonesia's climate is well suited for the plant. Coffee plantations currently cover over 1 million hectares of Indonesia's territory, with over 90% of the cropland being worked by small-scale producers.

One high quality coffee that Indonesia is famous for is Kopi Luwak, an expensive bean that has a unique production method. The palm civit, a cat like animal which lives in the jungles of South East Asia, eats the raw coffee berries yet cannot process the hard beans on the inside of the berry. The digestive juices of the civit partially break down the bean, and upon defecation the "deposits" are collected, cleaned, and sold as Kopi Luwak beans. Think that's weird? Because only 500kg of the "Cat Poop Coffee" is produced per year, a cup of coffee brewed from these beans can sell for up to $80.

3 – Colombia

Coffee Fields in the Colombian Andes Mountains - Thinkstock.com

Colombian coffee is famous worldwide, perhaps partially due to the well-known advertisements for the National Federation of Coffee Growers of Colombia which featured a character named Juan Valdez. However, climate has recently been playing a negative role in Colombian coffee production. Between 1980 and 2010, temperatures have slowly risen, as has precipitation, both factors that jeopardize the climate requirements necessary to produce the type of bean favored in Colombia. Even with the effect of climate, with an output of 750,000,000 kilograms of coffee beans in 2014, Colombia remains a key player in the international coffee game.

2 – Vietnam

Traditional Vietnamese Coffee - Thinkstock.com

While many are familiar with Vietnamese coffee, a signature drink where the coffee is mixed with sweetened condensed milk, Vietnam is the second largest coffee producing nation in the world – 1,650,000,000 kilograms in 2014 alone. While there was understandably a hiatus during and after the Vietnam war, coffee remained a huge part of the Vietnamese economy, with the only greater export rice being rice.

1 – Brazil

Brazil Tops the Worlds Coffee Producers - Thinkstock.com

While Brazil is perceived as the leading exporter of gorgeous models, they also are the undisputed largest coffee-producing nation in the world. In 2014, Brazil produced a staggering 2,720,520,000 kilograms of coffee beans. It is not a new development, as Brazil has been the highest global producer of coffee beans for over 100 years.
Coffee plantations cover about 27,000 square kilometers of Brazil with the majority located in Minas Gerais, Sao Paulo, and Parana, three southeastern states where the climate and temperature are ideal for coffee production. Brazil also distinguishes itself from other coffee producing nations in that Brazilians process coffee with the dry process (unwashed coffee), where the coffee cherries are dried in the sun rather than washed in a wet process.