From its origins in Ethiopia, where the main coffee production is still from wild coffee tree forests, coffee consumption has spread throughout the world. But because of its requirement for ample sunshine and rain, the plants from which beans are produced grow only in tropical or sub-tropical regions.

Though it is enjoyed around the world it is produced only in areas close to the equator. This product is harvested on a grander scale than almost all other products.

Columbia is known for its great coffee. Because of this you might think that they are the majority of all copy produced comes from Columbia. But surprisingly that is not the case. The majority of all coffee in the world comes from Brazil. They produce 28% of all the coffee consumed. Columbia is the second largest producing 16% of the coffee consumed in the world. Next is Indonesia at 7% and then Mexico at 4%.

Part of the coffee trees prejudice is that it prefers areas of high altitude. That being said the tree has been acclimated to produce fairly well in other areas as well.

The harvesting of coffee beans in Brazil creates hundreds of jobs. There are many employees needed to care for the plants as well as harvest the beans. Because Columbia is a poorer country much of the harvesting done there is still quite primitive.

While Colombia has the tree-lined mountains, Hawaiian producers plant on the slopes of the Mauna Loa volcano. The black volcanic ash is rocky, but perfect for the plants where the intense afternoon sun is softened by tropical clouds. Frequent island showers provide the ample rain needed.

The islands of Sumatra, Java and Sulawesi in Indonesia produce a great deal of the world’s coffee and have for many, many years. Like Columbia, their methods are primitive, but this does not hinder the growth of hundreds of acres of coffee trees or their production.

Veracruz, Oaxaca and Chiapas in southern Mexico are also contenders in the coffee harvest. The high altitudes there make them a perfect home for the coffee tree, especially the Altura bean which feeds on conditions in high altitudes.

Vietnam, once at almost a stand still in its harvesting of coffee is once again becoming a contender rivaling Indonesia for third place. Arabica trees, one of the two principle kinds of coffee plants, grow very well and are very common in this area of the world.

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