Where coffee actually grows
Coffee is a tropical understorey tree. Commercially it lives in a band between the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn, where there is no frost and rainfall is seasonal. Inside that band, altitude does the work that latitude does elsewhere: every 300 metres up is worth roughly the same cooling as moving a long way from the equator. Arabica wants the cool end, robusta takes the heat.
Each dot below is one country, placed at the heart of its growing region. Tap any of them.
The three outliers
Three countries on this map sit outside the tropics altogether: Nepal at nearly 28°N, kept viable by the Himalayan rain shadow; Australia at 28.6°S, fully mechanised in subtropical New South Wales and Queensland; and Taiwan, sitting almost exactly on the Tropic of Cancer. They mark the edges of what the plant will tolerate.
The world harvest calendar
Coffee is fresh produce. Green coffee is at its best in the months after harvest, and the two hemispheres are six months apart — which is why a roaster's offer list rotates through the year rather than staying still.
Colours follow the species grown: brown arabica, red robusta, amber both, green liberica-led. Windows are typical main crops and shift with altitude and weather.
The altitude ladder
Altitude slows ripening. Slower ripening means more time to build sugars and acids in the seed, which is why bags carry metres above sea level like a vintage. Below roughly 900 m, arabica loses its edge and robusta takes over.
Country directory
Fifty-six growing countries, from the ones that move the world price to islands producing a few tonnes a year. Search by country, region, variety or flavour.