The topic of which country produces the best coffee can lead to a barista boxing match. Surely the answer depends on your own particular taste, although some countries are certainly renowned for the flavour of their beans. Drinking too much coffee one evening, I decided to investigate a little further and see who they were. In no particular order:
Ethiopia
Ethiopia is known as the birthplace of coffee, where the Coffee Arabica bean was first harvested before being introduced to the world through Arab traders. Here, coffee consumption is an important part of social and cultural traditions, enjoyed after a ceremony that denotes acceptance, respect and friendship. Over a period of hours, beans are slowly roasted on a flat pan over a charcoal fire, offering a rich, intoxicating scent that fuses with incense. Once blackened, the beans are ground by pestle, mixed in a traditional pot, strained several times, and the thick elixir is poured from above into small cups. While you can buy Ethiopian coffee at most markets, you’re closer to enjoying the real thing at a good Ethiopian restaurant.
Brazil
The largest country in South America is the world’s biggest coffee producer, contributing up to 35% of the world’s coffee. No surprise then that its commercial coffee industry is somewhat frowned upon by true coffee connoisseurs, who shy away from coffee largely produced for price and market share. That being said, there is no shortage of blends and beans that transcend such criticism with typical Brazilian pride. Brazil Bourbon Santos gets particularly glowing reviews. Brazilians are fiercely protective of their coffee, since they drink coffee the way others might drink water.
Colombia
Second to Brazil, Colombia produces around 12% of the world’s coffee, and is known for its overall quality. Different regions produce a variety of different blends and tastes. Medellin, named after the city it is marketed through, has a heavy body and rich flavour. Bogota is less acidy, but just as flavourful. Colombian coffee is known for its soft terroir, a French word used to describe the fortunate natural conditions that impact the taste of something like wine, or coffee. Light on the palate but with full flavour, it remains a global favourite.
Jamaica
Coffee grown at more than 3000 feet, on the foothills of the Blue Mountains, is regarded as amongst the world’s finest. Certainly a coffee cup of Blue Mountain in Kingston stains my memory as the best cup of coffee I’ve ever had, but that might have to do with the fact that I was awfully hung over and desperately thirsty. Such is demand for Blue Mountain, there’s even a controversy in its classification, for below 3000 ft you’ll find Jamaican Mountain Coffee, of lesser quality, and down in the valley, well, that stuff stays down in the valley.
Guatemala / Mexico
Guatemalan coffee is distinctive, known for its spicier or smokier flavour, adding a nice compliment to its natural increase in acidity. Grown in the central highlands, the highest grade coffees come from the highest altitudes, above 4500ft. Mexico is one of the major coffee producers, and while it offers a wide variety of beans and tastes, it is known for producing a moderate acidity and slight tang. As with most of the coffee producing nations, fair trade has become a vital movement here to ensure farmers get paid a fair price for their product.
Costa Rica
Gourmet Costa Rican coffee has heart and a robust flavour. It’s full bodied with a taste that blankets your taste buds. According to polls I found online, it stands atop the outstanding coffee produced by other Central American countries like El Salvador, Panama and Nicaragua, but remains distinctive from Guatemala to the north.
Indonesia
You might argue it’s not the world’s best, but it certainly is the most expensive, and easily the most bizarre. Kopi Luak sells between $100 and $600 a pound, mostly in the US and Japan, or around $50 a cup should you find it on the menu. The reason is that supplies are limited, because there’s only so much crap a poor civet can take. Kopi Luak are the coffee beans that have passed through the digestive tract of a civet, a weasel-like creature that consumes the beans along with berries, but the beans pass through, removing its bitterness and gaining a distinctive flavour in the process. From Java, Sumatra, Bali and elsewhere in Indonesia, it makes its way to the finest coffee houses in the world. So if you’re paying way too much for a cup of coffee that tastes like turd, either enjoy the luxury, or order a cup of Java instead.
Turkey
The word coffee itself was invented in Turkey, adopted from an Arabic word for “wine of the bean.” Turkish and Arabic coffee is legendary for its thick, goopy texture, rich in flavour, with smoked chocolate undertones. Bean residue settles on the bottom. Psychically astute drinkers in Mediterranean countries have been known to read their cups and tell fortunes, simply by the patterns formed at the bottom and sides of the cup. If one of them ever tells you you’ve just had a great cup of coffee, they’re probably right.
Quick facts: The world’s top 10 coffee growing nations: Brazil, Vietnam, Colombia, Indonesia, India, Mexico, Ethiopia, Guatemala, Ivory Coast and Uganda. More than 500 billion cups of coffee are served every year, and the country with the most drinkers? Finland, where the average person drinks four cups of coffee a day!
Columnist Robin Esrock is the co-host of the OLN/CityTV series Word Travels and a renowned global adventurer. He takes cream and one sugar, and only goes for fair-trade producers.