Coffee Origins
Ever wondered where that coffee you are drinking came from?
Place has long been held as virtually as significant an element of winemaking as grape variety and processing: When we think of Burgundy, say, or Champagne, we think as much of the land itself as we do the famed liquid that come from there. The two are virtually inseparable.
Can the same be true for coffee? Or can we make generalizations about how coffee from different parts of the world will taste for the most part, based on experience, practices, and local or regional conventions.
A NOTE ON COFFEE DESCRIPTIONS
Coffee flavor can change dramatically from region to region and farm to farm within a single country. We gathered the most common information about an origin from our own experience as roasters and from the collective coffee community at all. Variations can (and often do) occur from region to region and even farm to farm.
Global Coffee Origins
Select a point on the map to learn more about each origin
Region, origin, single-origin, microlot, wtf?
Everything from the variety of the plant, the chemistry of the soil, the weather, the amount of rainfall and sunshine, and even the precise altitude at which the coffee grows can affect the taste of a coffee.
Coffee Region: Think of a coffee region as a specific area where coffee grows. Asia, Africa, Central America, North America and South America or global regions. While Copán, Opalaca, Montecillos, Comayugua, El Paraiso, and Agalta are coffee regions of Honduras.
Single Origin: These are coffees from a particular geographic area. A single origin could refer to coffee beans from a region, state, or in some cases, a coffee cooperative or mill that represents several small villages. Single origins often have specific flavors like fruit or nuts.
“The most important thing about single origin is its traceability, the fact that you know exactly where your coffee is from and that it’s a specific coffee, not a blend. Usually of a higher quality, it’s the acknowledgment that the coffee is from a particular farm located in a unique setting, whilst its flavor depicts its origin, possessing characteristics of that specific area where the particular coffee was grown.” — Speciality Coffee Association, Andra Vlaicu
Single Farm or Estate: Means that the coffee is sourced from one farm, mill, or co-operative.
Micro-Lot: typically ten bags (each weighing 60 or 69 kg/132 or 152lb) or fewer of a particular selection from a single farm or producer group. Often a micro-lot could be a specific variety on the farm, or a specific row or paddock of trees on the farm.
Which countries export the most coffee?
Observatory of Economic Complexity 2018 – Total Exports of Green Coffee ($18.9B)
TOP EXPORTERS (2018)
Top exporters of green coffee were Brazil ($4.44B), Vietnam ($2.95B), Colombia ($2.28B), Honduras ($991M) and Indonesia ($850M).
TOP IMPORTERS (2018)
Top importers of green coffee were United States ($4.11B), Germany ($2.5B), Italy ($1.43B), Japan ($1.1B) and Belgium-Luxembourg ($1.05B).
How does the industry measure coffee quality?
Associations like the Specialty Coffee Association (SCA) working on the industry behalf to create high-quality recommendations by a standards committee. It is a quantifiable and qualifiable measure, based upon scientific testing, which set values and/or ranges of values for coffee. Currently, the SCA has standards for water, green coffee, and cupping coffee.
There are other systems and competitions such as the Cup of Excellence and Coffee Quality Institute Q.
The Cup of Excellence competition, which acknowledges the quality and care in production of specialized, rare lots, is considered the highest form of recognition in the specialty industry.
The Coffee Quality Institute Q system adheres to SCA’s standards and evaluates, at the producer and farm level.