Coffee world: history, origins and culture
Coffee is more than a machine on the counter. It is a 500-year story that runs from Sufi monasteries in Yemen to Ottoman coffeehouses, Dutch colonial gardens, Italian espresso bars and the kitchen in your home.
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History
The history of coffee: from Yemen to your kitchen
How coffee went from a drink of Yemeni Sufis to the world's favourite stimulant: Mecca's ban, the first coffeehouses in Istanbul, Venice, Oxford and Vienna, and the plantations that followed.
Geography
Where coffee grows: a tour of the coffee belt
A world map of coffee: the coffee belt between the tropics, the largest producers (Brazil, Vietnam, Colombia, Ethiopia, Indonesia), arabica versus robusta, and what that means for the beans you buy.
History
Who invented espresso? From Turin in 1884 to your counter
The story of the espresso machine: Angelo Moriondo's 1884 patent in Turin, Bezzera and Pavoni in Milan, Achille Gaggia's lever and crema, and the pump-driven Faema E61 that shaped today's machines.
Coffee culture
South Indian filter coffee: seven beans, one steel filter
The story and the method of South Indian filter coffee: Baba Budan's seven beans, the two-part steel filter, the chicory blend, and the tumbler and dabarah used to pour it frothy.
Where coffee grows: the coffee belt
| Country | Million 60 kg bags | Share of world |
|---|---|---|
| Brazil | 71.9 | 38% |
| Vietnam | 32.5 | 17% |
| Colombia | 13.4 | 7% |
| Ethiopia | 12.1 | 6% |
| Indonesia | 11.4 | 6% |
| Uganda | 7.2 | 4% |
| India | 6.1 | 3% |
| Honduras | 6.0 | 3% |
| Peru | 4.8 | 3% |
Source: USDA FAS, Coffee: World Markets and Trade (July 2026)
World production for 2026/27 is forecast at 189.7 million bags of 60 kg. Brazil alone grows more than a third of the world's coffee, and Vietnam, almost all of it robusta, is a clear second.