Coffee is one of the world’s most beloved beverages, with over 2 billion cups consumed every day. And when it comes to coffee, arabica beans reign supreme. Accounting for 60-80% of global coffee production, arabica is the most popular and widely cultivated coffee species. But where exactly are these delicious beans grown?
A Little Background on Arabica Coffee
Arabica coffee comes from the Coffea arabica plant, which is believed to have originated in the highland forests of southwestern Ethiopia. It was first cultivated for drinking in Arabia, hence the name. Arabica beans have a sweeter, more complex flavor compared to the harsher and more bitter robusta bean. They also contain about half the caffeine of robustas.
Arabica thrives in tropical climates ideally with warm days, cooler nights abundant rainfall and nutrient-rich volcanic soil. It grows as an understory shrub, meaning it prefers some shade. Most arabica coffee is cultivated between 1,300-1,500 meters above sea level, though plants have been found from sea level up to 2,800 meters.
Arabica makes up the majority of specialty and gourmet coffees. Well-known arabica origins prized by coffee connoisseurs include Blue Mountain Jamaican, Colombian Supremo, Ethiopian Yirgacheffe, and Kona from Hawaii.
The Top Arabica Producing Countries
Arabica coffee is grown throughout the tropics, spread across parts of Africa, Asia, Latin America and Oceania. But a few countries dominate production:
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Brazil – The world’s largest arabica producer responsible for nearly 40% of global output. Coffee growing is concentrated in the southeastern states of Minas Gerais, Sao Paolo and Parana.
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Colombia – The third largest producer globally, Colombia accounts for about 10% of world arabica supply. High quality Colombian coffee comes from the Coffee Triangle region.
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Indonesia – The fourth biggest producer, focused on the islands of Sumatra and Java. Indonesian coffee is known for heavy body and low acidity.
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Ethiopia – The birthplace of arabica coffee and fifth largest producer. Highly prized Ethiopian beans come from Sidamo, Yirgacheffe and Harrar.
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Honduras – Central America’s top arabica grower, representing around 5% of world production. The best Honduran coffee hails from Copán.
Other major arabica growers include Vietnam, India, Mexico, Guatemala, Peru and Kenya. The United States also produces some arabica coffee, primarily in Hawaii and California.
Why These Countries Are Ideal for Growing Arabica
So what makes the arabica powerhouse countries so well-suited for cultivating these picky coffee plants? Several key factors:
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Proximity to the equator – Arabica thrives in tropical environments near the equator. Regions like Brazil’s Cerrado, Ethiopian forests and the volcanic terrain of Colombia and Indonesia provide prime growing conditions.
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High elevations – Cooler highland areas with rich volcanic soils create excellent arabica growing environments, like the coffee regions of Colombia and Kenya.
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Ample rainfall – Abundant precipitation, ideally between 1500-2000 mm annually, is critical for robust arabica cultivation. Rainforest areas of Colombia and Indonesia fit the bill perfectly.
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Mountainous topography – Complex terrain provides varying microclimates and pockets ideal for arabica coffee, like the Indonesian islands and Central American mountain ranges.
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Forest settings – Arabica grows wild as an understory shrub, so forested regions of Ethiopia and Central/South America are well-suited for cultivation.
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Previous expertise – Countries with an established history of coffee production, like Brazil and Colombia, have the knowledge and infrastructure to support advanced cultivation.
Growing Regions Within the Top Producer Countries
The major arabica countries contain specific regions and terroirs particularly acclaimed for their exceptional coffee:
- Brazil – Sul de Minas, Cerrado
- Colombia – Coffee Triangle, Cauca, Nariño
- Indonesia – Sumatran Mandheling, Java
- Ethiopia – Yirgacheffe, Sidamo, Harrar
- Honduras – Copán
- Guatemala – Antigua Valley
- Kenya – Nyeri, Kirinyaga, Kiambu
- India – Bababudangiris, Chikmagalur
- United States – Kona district of Hawaii
These premier coffee zones share traits like high elevations, rich volcanic soil, forest shade canopy and consistent rainfall that create ideal conditions for gourmet arabica beans. Even within a single origin, microclimate and terroir impact flavor profiles. That’s why coffees from specific districts or even single estates are so highly valued.
Threats Facing Arabica Coffee Production
Despite thousands of years of cultivation, the future of arabica coffee growing faces some significant threats:
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Climate change – Rising temperatures and altered precipitation patterns threaten arabica, which requires cool, wet conditions. Lower bean yields and quality are expected.
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Deforestation – Since arabica grows naturally as a forest understory plant, deforestation destroys its habitat. Ethiopia has lost over 90% of its forests.
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Pest outbreaks – Coffee leaf rust, berry borer beetles and other pests can wipe out arabica plants and have already caused billions in losses.
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Soil degradation – Poor farming practices can strip the soil of nutrients required by arabica plants.
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Lack of plant diversity – Most arabica plants today come from a tiny gene pool, which raises concerns about disease susceptibility.
Maintaining eco-friendly farming, forest conservation and coffee plant biodiversity will be critical for the future of global arabica coffee production.
The Quest for That Perfect Cup
The journey from seed to cup involves tremendous effort by farmers across the equatorial belt striving to produce the best beans on earth. So the next time you savor a smooth cup of arabica coffee, take a moment to appreciate the farmers who tended the plants, the unique terroir that shaped the flavor, and the care that went into bringing those beans to your morning brew.
Bourbon and Typica Group
A small group of coffee trees brought out of Yemen in the late 1700s are the basis for most Arabica coffee grown today. These trees are part of what we now call the “Bourbon and Typica genetic groups,” which get their name from the famous Bourbon and Typica varieties that they come from. Some seeds were brought from Yemen to India, and then the Dutch took seeds from India to the island of Java in Indonesia. This is how the “Typica” lineage (also called Arabigo or Indio) came to be. During the 18th century, tropical plants were brought to European colonies and then spread across the American continent along colonial trade routes. Seeds were also introduced from Yemen to the island of Bourbon, which gave rise to the “Bourbon” lineage. The first Bourbon plants reached the American continent through Brazil after 1850. Both Typica and Bourbon plants were introduced to Africa in the 19th century through various routes. See History of Bourbon and Typica for a full account of how different types of the Bourbon and Typica gene group came to control coffee production around the world.
These varieties are associated with standard or high cup quality, but are susceptible to the major coffee diseases. Today, a lot of the coffee grown in Latin America comes from cultivars that were developed from Typica and Bourbon varieties. This creates a big genetic bottleneck for C arabica. It Brazil, which accounts for 40% of world production, 97. 55% of coffee cultivars are derived from Typica and Bourbon.
Introgressed varieties are those that possess some genetic traits from another species — mainly, C. canephora (Robusta), but also sometimes C. liberica. (“Introgressed” means “brought over. ”) In the 1920s, a C. arabica and a C. a canephora plant on the island of East Timor was sexually reproduced to make a new coffee that is now known as the Timor Hybrid. This Arabica variety contains Robusta genetic material that allowed the plant to resist coffee leaf rust. Coffee experts saw how useful this disease resistance was and started testing the Timor Hybrid to make new varieties that wouldn’t get leaf rust. They chose a lot of different lines of Timor Hybrid and crossed them with other types of plants, mostly the high-yielding dwarf Arabidopsis varieties Caturra and Villa Sarchi. These crosses (Timor Hybrid x Caturra and Timor Hybrid x Villa Sarchi) created the two main groups of introduced African species: the Catimors and the Sarchimors. It’s important to note that, contrary to common belief, neither Catimors nor Sarchimors are themselves distinct varieties. Instead, they are groups of many different distinct varieties with similar parentage. Other introduced species, like Batian, were made through complicated multiple crosses using the Timor Hybrid. The only introduced African species in this catalog that wasn’t made using the Timor Hybrid is RAB C15, which comes from a controlled cross made by Indian breeders between an Arabusta (a different C arabica x C. robusta cross) and the Arabica Kent variety. Many introgressed varieties are covered in this catalog. In the past, these varieties were thought to have lower cup quality than others, but they have been very important for coffee farmers who are worried about coffee leaf rust and coffee berry disease.
A NOTE ABOUT COFFEE LEAF RUST RESISTANCE
Coffee leaf rust is one of the most important threats to coffee production globally. There is a disease called coffee rust that is spread by the fungus Hemileia vastatrix. It kills flowers and can cause big crop losses.
In the late 20th century, introduced arabica varieties that were resistant to coffee leaf rust helped many coffee producers avoid crop loss for almost 30 years. In the early 2000s, coffee experts in Central America started to notice that some historically rust-resistant varieties were becoming infected with rust. Two examples are Lempira in Honduras and Costa Rica 95 in Costa Rica. Most of the available introgressed varieties got their resistance to rust from a common parent (the Timor Hybrid). This is why most experts think that most of the current rust-resistant varieties will no longer be resistant in the short to medium term.
Data in the catalog about specific varieties rust resistance status is based on validated reports by scientific entities. Unfortunately, it is not always easy to tell when rust is affecting a variety because the coffee industry is still in the early stages of setting up a good global system for researching rust, keeping track of rust outbreaks, and watching for resistance to break down. Also, rust can have different effects on a certain variety in different landscapes and depending on the type of rust (which is hard to tell right now). The problem is made worse by the fact that many farmers aren’t sure what varieties they have. When this happens, reports of rust affecting a historically resistant variety need to be carefully checked to make sure that the plants being affected are actually that variety.
Still, strong anecdotal evidence supports the conclusion that rust resistance is breaking down faster in many parts of the world. World Coffee Research is working closely with research groups in many countries to understand the effects.
World Coffee Research will update the resistance status of a variety in the following circumstances:
- The variety’s breeder has made an official statement announcing the end of resistance.
- World Coffee Research has confirmed that rust has shown up on a historically resistant variety by using DNA fingerprinting and talking to the breeder (if there is one) and local experts.
- If resistance breaks down in one country, that doesn’t mean it breaks down everywhere. Because of this, details will be given about the places where resistance breakdowns have been proven.
Main types of Arabica coffee
Landraces are tamed, locally adapted, traditional types of an animal or plant that have grown over time by adapting to their natural and cultivated environments, such as through farming and raising animals for food, and by being separated from other populations of the same species.
In coffee, most landrace varieties originate from the forests of Ethiopia, where C. arabica evolved, through a process of human-led domestication. They are generally associated with very high cup quality and lower yields.
Coffee Plant Care Guide
FAQ
What is so special about arabica beans?
Where do arabica beans come from?
Where does Starbucks get their arabica beans from?
Where is 100% Arabica coffee from?
Where does Arabica coffee grow?
Nestled within the mountains, Arabica coffee thrives at higher elevations, where the air is crisp, creating optimal conditions for quality beans. The regions with elevated terrains provide Arabica coffee with the perfect environment to flourish, resulting in a superior taste profile.
How long does it take arabica beans to grow?
An Arabica plant is a large bush that features oval leaves that are dark green. It takes 7 to 9 months for the rounded fruits, or cherries to mature. Inside these cherries, you’ll find 2 seeds. These are your coffee beans. For an Arabica plant to be healthy, it needs to grow in climates where temperatures reach 64 to 73 degrees daily.
How do you grow Arabica coffee beans?
Inside these cherries, you’ll find 2 seeds. These are your coffee beans. For an Arabica plant to be healthy, it needs to grow in climates where temperatures reach 64 to 73 degrees daily. They also need to be at elevations of 3,000 to 6,000 feet above sea level for the best taste.