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  As legend tells, coffee beans were originally found by goats. An Ethiopian goatherder named Kaldi was tending to his goats and noticed them eating a red berry. After eating this berry, the goats became hyper, dancing around and unable to sleep. Eventually the berries were used to make a drink and word began to spread.

Fast forward to today, coffee is the second most traded commodity in the world. Many of the countries that produce coffee rely heavily on their export to sustain their country. Here are the top 5 coffee producing countries in the world according to World Atlas.

• 1.Brazil

The world’s largest producer is Brazil producing around 5.7 billion pounds per year. Most of the beans produced here are arabica (the most popular variety), followed by the more earthy Robusta bean.

• 2.Vietnam

Vietnam takes #2 producing 3.6 billion pounds per year. The Robusta bean is the variety of choice grown here. Robusta has more of an earthy/bitter flavor but packs a punch with each cup, delivering around 265mg of caffeine for every 8oz.

• 3.Colombia

Colombia produces 1.7 billion pounds of coffee per year. This country used to rank number 2 but has recently fell behind due to the increased production of Vietnam and climate change. Coffee plants need a certain environment to grow in as do most plants and in the past 40 years Colombia has seen a rise in temperatures and precipitation, effecting the harvest of the berries.

• 4.Indonesia

The 4^th spot goes to Indonesia producing 1.4 billion pounds per year. This country is not as widely recognized due to the climate supporting the growth of lower-quality Robusta beans.

• 5.Ethiopia

Ethiopia produces 800 million pounds of coffee annually. Since this country is where the coffee plant was originally discovered many arabica bean variants have been developed here and are now owned by the government of Ethiopia.

Sources:

1. The History of Coffee (ncausa.org)

2. Top Coffee Producing Countries - WorldAtlas

3. Adobe Stock/thayra3-stock.adobe.com