in your kitchen, how much time have you spent thinking of where that coffee bean
came from? Coffee has a rich and colorful past, and is now grown all around the
world. Although it was first grown in what is known today as Ethiopia, coffee
production soon began to be grown in many other parts of the world, on almost
every continent. In fact, coffee is now grown in over 70 countries.To grow great
tasting coffee, you need a region with a combination of long periods of sunshine
and times with heavy rain. Because of this, most coffee beans will only grow in
tropical parts of the world, the most notable of which is South America. South
American coffee growers, in countries such as Brazil and Columbia, now boast the
largest coffee growing areas and with more than 400 billion cups of coffee
consumed every year around the world, the coffee growing business is quite
lucrative.Most people, when they think of coffee growers, immediately remember
Juan Valdez, the fictional coffee grower from Columbia. Yet, Brazil is the
winner in the coffee growing business, with a market share of 28% of the total
coffee harvest. Almost 6 million people in Brazil are involved cultivating and
harvesting coffee beans. Amazing! Other countries, such as Columbia, Indonesia
and Mexico make up the remaining top coffee producing countries. In the United
States, Hawaii leads the way, with its Kona coffee becoming a popular choice
among java drinkers.The terrain is just as important as the climate when growing
coffee. Areas with high altitudes are popular, as the sun will beat down during
the day, and tropical rainstorms will keep the crop moist at night. Each of the
highest coffee-producing countries has uniqueness that, somehow, works to create
a taste that differentiates it from competing Brazil has sprawling plantations.
Columbia and its mountainous landscape serves as the perfect backdrop for
coffee. Indonesia, located in a tropical island paradise, has grown coffee since
the 1800's. Mexican coffee growers plant on small farms, but there are lots of
them! Interestingly, Hawaii's natural volcanic soil provides terrific growing
conditions.Many people think of Africa as an area of high coffee production, and
this part of the world, especially Kenya and the Ivory Coast, is heavy
producers, but do not compare in market share or dollars to the South
American regions.Many people enjoy expresso, which is a relatively new way to
make coffee. The French and Italians have made this type of coffee their
specialty, and expresso machines and makers are now a big business in the United
States and in other parts of the world.Coffee has become an extraordinarily
lucrative business, and coffee connoisseurs the world over have their individual
favourite regions and tastes. But no matter where coffee is grown there is a
market for it!