The 7 Emerging Coffee Regions Every Enthusiast Should Explore

In America’s not-so-distant past, making coffee at home typically involved big round tins of Maxwell House, Folgers, and a handful of other supermarket-style brands. The beans almost always came pre-ground, with little variations, options, or details about growing regions or coffee characteristics. Fast forward a few decades, and coffee rivals wine in its nuances, tasting notes, roast levels, and wide range of production methods. But at its very core, the intricacies of coffee come down to one primary thing: The origins of the beans. 

It’s a big, wide world out there, and the beans brewing in countless home kitchens likely crossed oceans and continents to fill our cups. Seven primary coffee-growing regions cultivate coffee characteristics based on things like geography, soil composition, climate, altitude, sunshine, and seasonal rainfall, collectively comprising the overall terroir in which coffee beans thrive. All of that, plus unique farming and processing techniques, influences the flavor and coffee profiles we’ve grown to love.

Coffee-bean ecospheres range wildly from jungles to deserts, tropical islands, remote mountains, volcano slopes, and more. They span an estimated 70 coffee-growing countries clustering within what’s known as the Bean Belt, sometimes referred to as the Coffee Belt. This global wonder-world of java cradles almost 25 million acres situated between the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn, between 25 degrees north and 30 degrees south of the equator – all with ideal climates and conditions for growing coffee. For anyone in pursuit of brew perfection, here’s a deep-dive into those regions — and how they affect “what’s up in the cup.” 

There’s no picking favorites when it comes to coffee farmers; they all have our culinary gratitude and devotion. But Central America unquestionably delivers some of the most approachable beans for a wide range of palettes. Coffee farms here inhabit the upper end of the  Bean Belt within the Americas, cradling a cornucopia of coffee beans from contributing countries, most notably Costa Rica but also significantly from Honduras, Guatemala, El Salvador, Panama, and Nicaragua. 

Beans emerging from Central American farms are known for being aromatic and well-balanced with medium-range acidity. Unlike full-bodied coffee beans with deep, earthy qualities, these are bright-flavored beans with a mild or medium body. Those characteristics provide a universal appeal for coffee shop brewing. Costa Rican coffees in particular stand out for unmatched coffee profiles based on nourishment from rich volcanic soils.

That’s not to say that all Central American coffees are the same; They can exhibit identifying characteristics based on geography as well as farming practices. For example, Guatemala is another volcanic country, but many of the coffees there reflect qualities born from microclimates and customs such as shade-grown crops and natural fertilizers. These are just some of the things that make Guatemala coffee so special. In general, you’ll find full-bodied beans with extra complexity, but certain parts of the country bring even more distinguishable traits. Guatemala Antigua coffees are beloved for their chocolatey, nutty flavors with spicy, smoky notes, which are perfect for dark-roast blends in espresso, cappuccino, and macchiato drinks. 

Moving further down the Bean Belt into South America brings you to the coffee growers in Colombia and Brazil as well as Bolivia and Ecuador. This part of the Americas holds a much smaller number of actual countries and territories than Central America, but it claims about an eighth of the world’s total land space. It also holds major sway on the global coffee scene, with four primary producer countries: Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, and Bolivia. Coffee from this region is generally considered to have a creamy mouthfeel, with a mild body and hints of chocolate. 

One of these countries holds a production record far above any other in the entire global Bean Belt. That would be Brazil, which produces the highest share of the world’s coffee beans by a long shot, with coffee plantations covering an estimated 10,000 square miles of space. It grows an estimated 40% of coffee beans consumed across the globe, mostly the highly valued Arabica beans, plus a lower but still considerable amount of Robusta beans. 

Also renowned for prolific output and desirable South American coffee is Colombia, which shares similar high elevations as Brazil for producing Arabica beans. It also harbors an eclectic community of coffee farmers whose talents bring diversity and personalized touches to the beans, often predicated by other geographic inputs such as humidity, rainforest environments, and varying microclimates. Colombian coffees can vary, but they often bring attributes such as fruity, sweet, and nutty flavors, with average acidity and bright citric aromas. 

North America doesn’t always come to mind as a major source of coffee, but it does cradle a thriving community of coffee farms. That’s especially true if you count Caribbean islands in the North American geographic sphere. That’s where we get the java-sipping pleasures deriving from Puerto Rico, Jamaica, the Dominican Republic, Haiti, and Antigua. Production may be comparatively small, but the medium- to full-bodied structure and defining flavors are memorable, ranging from sweet and smooth to earthy and spicy. Perhaps the most famous of all Caribbean coffees is Jamaican Blue Mountain, described as smooth, refined, mild, and almost creamy — with bright acidity and bold aromas.  

Elsewhere in North America, coffee digs deep into Hawaiian culture. It reportedly came to the islands by way of Brazil as far back as the 1800s. About 1,000 coffee farms, mostly small, independent, or family operations, populate five of the Hawaiian islands, most prolifically in the higher altitudes of Kona on the “Big Island” of Hawaii. The coveted 100% Kona Coffee is renowned for mild, smooth, aromatic beans with notes of citrus, floral, and berries. Most of these coffee beans get harvested by hand, then “washed” and dried outdoors for up to three weeks. 

Though not always realized as such, Mexico is geographically part of North America, and it grows a lot of good coffee beans. They’re mostly Arabicas from Southern Mexico, generally presenting with a light or medium body, nutty or floral flavors, and very smooth finishes. Highly sought-after beans hail from Chiapas and Veracruz. 

Southeast Asia may not have the name-fame of larger coffee-producing regions, but it largely compensates by delivering interesting coffees with local nuances. Overall, the region grows primarily robusta beans, distributing the largest quantity of this type of bean into the world market. Four countries with a notable presence in coffee production include Laos, the Philippines, Papua New Guinea, and Vietnam, which is actually second only to Brazil in worldwide coffee exports. A fifth one, the island nation of Indonesia, grows some of the most recognizable beans from this region.  

Each country puts its own mark on coffee growing, cultivation, and processing, but an overarching commonality among beans from Southeast Asia tends to be rich, bold, full-bodied coffees with earthy, herbal notes, low acidity, and a long finish, or aftertaste. Indonesia, however, distinguishes itself further by producing island-centric beans with global reputations: Sumatra, Java, Bali, and Sulawesi, and lesser-known coffees from Papua and Timor. 

Some beans from Indonesia carry intriguing peculiarities, such as Kopi Luwak, also known as Civet Coffee. The beans have first been digested by a mammal called the Asian palm civet, then expelled whole in its excrement. Some surmise that the taste of the beans — hailed as the most exotic and rarest coffee in the world – is affected by either the animal’s berry-centric diet or by acid in its stomach altering the bean’s composition.

Middle Eastern coffee largely comes down to beans grown in Yemen. The country carves out a sliver of space within the global Bean Belt, just before the belt dips down into Africa. In fact, it’s widely believed that Ethiopians brought Arabica coffee beans across the Red Sea and up to Yemen as early as the 1400s. Similar to beans grown in some parts of Ethiopia, Yemeni coffee farmers tend to plant at very high elevations, often on terraced slopes looming thousands of feet above sea level.

Along with altitude, the laborious picking, drying, and splitting practices of Yemeni farmers inform the flavors eventually landing in your morning cup of Joe. Due to hands-on cultivation unique to each farmer, plus arid conditions requiring dry instead of wet processing, Yemeni coffees tend to be intriguing and unpredictable compared to huge commercial plantations. But all these things are collectively what makes Yemen coffee so special – along with the taste, of course.

Aside from individuality per farmer, some common flavor traits arise in beans from this Middle Eastern coffee country. Yemeni coffee in general brings rich, complex, earthy flavors with a full body that lends well to medium or dark roasting. Expect to experience seductive hints of chocolate, exotic fruits, and spices such as cinnamon and cardamom. When shopping for coffee from Yemen, you’ll often find references to the word “Al-Makha” with various spellings. This refers to the famous Yemeni port city through which the coffee trade historically thrived, not to today’s chocolatey mocha coffee drink.

That brings us down to Africa, long known for its deep connections to the origin of coffee. Ethiopia shares similar timelines to Yemen as far as coffee production, but it’s widely considered the genuine birthplace of coffee. According to lore and legend, a shepherd discovered a coffee bush after his sheep became frisky, buzzing with energy after feeding in open spaces. The country has since become synonymous with the bright cherry-red fruits and the beans tucked within. 

You may recognize coffees from Ethiopia by the regions in which they grow, namely Sidamo, Kaffa, and Harer. However, it’s an especially rare treat to find Ethiopian Yirgacheffe beans, which grow wild in tropical climates, exhibiting distinctly fruity tones such as blueberry, blackberry, and lemon. If you get the chance to dig deeper with coffee tastings or detailed buying options, keep an eye out for longberry beans, which are the ultimate high-quality Arabica beans from Ethiopia. 

Despite the affectionate history tied to Ethiopian coffee, its neighboring country of Kenya actually produces more African coffee beans, most of it growing on the slopes of Mount Kenya. Tanzania is also a top producer, joined by a stream of smaller players such as Rwanda, Burundi, and Uganda, all with wildly different coffee profiles ranging from spicy to fruity, citrusy, chocolatey, creamy, nutty, and highly fragrant. Most are considered smooth, medium- or full-bodied coffees with slightly different levels of complexity. Bean-specific notes of brown sugar, vanilla, caramel, and so much more appear across these regional members of the African Bean Belt. 

Then there’s India, an anomaly in the world of coffee due to its exclusion on many, though not all, charts of the famous Bean Belt. It’s part of the widely configured Asia/Pacific coffee growing region, and as such, is a highly respected grower, producer, and exporter of coffee beans throughout the globe. The vast majority of Indian coffee comes from the Western Ghats mountain range, with crops clustering in Tamil Nadu, Kerala, and Karnataka. By some accounts, this region ranks No. 5 in global coffee exports. 

Most coffee beans grown in India are either robusta or arabica, all of which are shade-grown in a two-tier system of evergreen leguminous trees on sloping terrain. This prevents soil erosion and allows the beans to thrive in nutrient-rich layers of earth and foliage. Coffees from this region typically present with low acidity and mild, full-bodied flavor, but can vary depending on terrain. Coffee farms in India are spread across slopes, mountains, and rainforests, most of them with high elevations. 

No guide on the world’s coffee-growing regions would be complete without mentioning India’s Monsooned Malabar coffee. You’ve likely heard of “washed” coffee bean processing — well, this is a super-strength version of that. It utilizes India’s natural monsoon season on the west coast, which runs from June through September, to transform coffee beans through the moist monsoon winds. The taste is known to be unlike any other coffee beans, harboring grassy, woody, earthy flavors and nutty notes of chocolate and sugar. It brings bright, full-bodied beans to the global coffee scene.