Coffee is one of the most drunk beverages on the planet, and for many of us, it is an addiction. There are so many ways to appreciate coffee, whether it is an espresso for a shot of caffeine in the morning, a latte or a cappuccino for a smooth break in the afternoon, or a café-crème outside a French bar. So where do the millions of kilos of coffee that goes into our daily consumption?
Coffee beans come in two major types, Robusta and Arabica and are counted per bags of 6o kilos. In 2010-2011, the top 5 producers of coffee are from three different continents, which illustrates the variety that coffee offers. It could come as a surprise that they are not all from South America since coffee is usually associated with Colombia. But Colombia only comes third (with 9,500,000 bags) behind Vietnam (18,725,000 bags) and Brazil which tops the list with an impressive 54,500,000 bags, about 25% of the world's coffee! In fact Brazil has been the top coffee producer for more than 150 years. Indonesia and India complete the top 5.
Brazil not only tops the overall coffee beans productions, it is also the biggest producer of Arabica beans, and the second of Robusta beans. The popularity of the brazilian coffee is specially due to its low acidity, the lowest of all.
But if you are a coffee lover, don't stop at the top 5 producers and taste as many coffee beans as possible. Peruvian, Jamaican, Costa-Rican, Guatemalan, Hawaiian, Kenyan... there are many flavours, roasts and styles to discover with coffee! Drink it or even cook it...