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Coffee Growing Regions of the World

Every famous coffee is really a place: a specific combination of altitude, soil, climate, and farming tradition. These guides cover the regions behind the names on coffee bags — what grows there, when it's harvested, and what it tastes like — from Ethiopia's birthplace forests to our own volcanic home on the Bolaven Plateau in Laos.

Laos coffee regions

Bolaven Plateau

Volcanic-soil Arabica and Asia's leading washed Fine Robusta.

800–1,350 m · October – February

Vietnam coffee regions

Đắk Lắk

The capital of world Robusta — Buôn Ma Thuột's vast smallholder belt.

400–800 m · October – January

Lâm Đồng (Da Lat)

Vietnam's Arabica highlands around Da Lat and Cau Dat.

800–1,600 m · October – January

Sơn La

Vietnam's northwest Arabica frontier — Catimor highlands with rising specialty ambition.

900–1,300 m · October – January

Indonesia coffee regions

Gayo Highlands (Aceh)

Sumatra's premier wet-hulled Arabica — earthy depth with unusual cleanliness.

1,100–1,600 m · Main: October – January; secondary: March – June

Toraja (Sulawesi)

High-mountain Sulawesi coffee of syrupy depth and spice.

1,200–1,800 m · May – November

Kintamani (Bali)

Volcanic Bali highlands producing washed, citrus-toned island coffee.

1,200–1,600 m · May – October

Flores (Bajawa)

Volcanic island coffee of floral sweetness and heavy body.

1,200–1,700 m · May – September

Java (Ijen Plateau)

The original 'cup of Java' — estate coffee from volcanic East Java.

900–1,500 m · June – October

Lintong (North Sumatra)

The classic 'Mandheling' heartland south of Lake Toba — deep, herbal wet-hulled cups.

1,200–1,500 m · Year-round, peaks October – January and April – June

Kerinci (Jambi)

Sumatra's clean-processing renaissance on a volcano's shoulders.

1,200–1,700 m · Year-round, peak June – September

India coffee regions

Coorg (Kodagu)

India's coffee garden — shaded estates of Arabica and celebrated Robusta.

1,000–1,500 m · November – March

Chikmagalur

The birthplace of Indian coffee, beneath the Baba Budan hills.

1,000–1,600 m · November – March

Araku Valley

Tribal-grown biodynamic coffee from Andhra's Eastern Ghats.

900–1,400 m · November – February

Yemen coffee regions

Haraz Mountains

Ancient terraced coffee at the edge of cultivation — the historic mocha taste.

1,800–2,400 m · October – December

Ethiopia coffee regions

Yirgacheffe

Floral, tea-like washed coffees that define the Ethiopian style.

1,700–2,200 m · October – January

Sidamo (Sidama)

Sweet, balanced washed and natural coffees from Ethiopia's largest specialty zone.

1,500–2,200 m · October – January

Guji

Explosive fruit-forward naturals from coffee's newest famous zone.

1,800–2,300 m · October – January

Harrar

Ancient sun-dried naturals with wild blueberry and wine notes.

1,500–2,100 m · October – February

Limu

Balanced, spice-tinged washed coffees from Ethiopia's southwest.

1,400–2,000 m · November – January

Jimma

Ethiopia's volume heartland near Arabica's wild birthplace, rising fast in quality.

1,400–2,100 m · October – January

West Arsi (Nensebo)

Very high forest-garden coffee bridging Sidama and Guji character.

1,900–2,300 m · October – January

Bensa (Sidama Highlands)

Sidama's extreme-altitude district behind many recent record-priced Ethiopian lots.

2,000–2,300 m · October – January

Kenya coffee regions

Nyeri

The pinnacle of the Kenyan auction — blackcurrant-and-berry SL cups.

1,700–2,100 m · Main: October – December; fly: June – August

Kirinyaga

Mount Kenya's southern slopes — Nyeri's equal in intensity, often its superior in sweetness.

1,600–2,000 m · Main: October – December; fly: June – August

Embu

Mount Kenya's eastern slopes — classic SL brightness at accessible prices.

1,500–1,900 m · Main: October – December; fly: June – August

Murang'a

Aberdare-foothill societies producing deep, winey Kenyan cups.

1,500–1,950 m · Main: October – December; fly: June – August

Machakos & Eastern Kenya

Ukambani hills producing underrated SL cups east of the famous counties.

1,400–1,900 m · Main: October – December; fly: June – August

Uganda coffee regions

Mount Elgon (Bugisu)

Uganda's Arabica flagship — Bugisu washed coffee from a giant volcano's slopes.

1,600–2,200 m · October – March

Rwenzori Mountains

The 'Mountains of the Moon' — Uganda's natural-process Arabica frontier.

1,400–2,100 m · Two crops: April – July, October – January

Rwanda coffee regions

Huye & Southern Province

The cradle of Rwanda's specialty revolution — silky Red Bourbon washed lots.

1,600–2,000 m · March – July

Lake Kivu Shores

Terraced lakeside hills producing Rwanda's most vivid cups.

1,500–2,000 m · March – July

Burundi coffee regions

Kayanza

Burundi's quality capital — intensely sweet Bourbon from northern highlands.

1,700–2,000 m · March – July

Ngozi

Dense hills of Bourbon smallholdings feeding Burundi's award-winning stations.

1,650–1,950 m · March – July

Gitega (Central Plateau)

Burundi's central plateau — classic washed Bourbon around the political capital.

1,600–1,850 m · March – July

Tanzania coffee regions

Mbeya (Southern Highlands)

Tanzania's rising south — fruit-driven smallholder lots from the Songwe highlands.

1,400–2,000 m · June – October

Kilimanjaro & Arusha

Historic volcanic-slope estates and Chagga smallholder coffee.

1,200–1,800 m · July – December

Brazil coffee regions

Cerrado Mineiro

Brazil's first Denomination of Origin — consistent, technified estate naturals.

800–1,300 m · May – September

Sul de Minas

Brazil's classic smallholder heartland — sweet, balanced naturals and pulped naturals.

850–1,350 m · May – September

Mogiana

Old red-soil coffee country on the São Paulo–Minas border with deep sweetness.

900–1,300 m · May – September

Matas de Minas

Forest-zone family farms producing fruit-forward naturals and rising specialty stars.

700–1,200 m · May – September

Espírito Santo

The world's premier fine Conilon (Robusta) region alongside mountain Arabica.

600–1,200 m · April – September

Chapada Diamantina (Bahia)

Bahia's highland frontier — bright, atypical Brazilian cups from mesa country.

1,000–1,350 m · June – October

Norte Pioneiro do Paraná

Brazil's historic southern frontier reborn as a sweet, frost-forged specialty origin.

600–1,000 m · May – September

Colombia coffee regions

Huila

Colombia's specialty powerhouse — sweet, complex coffees from the Magdalena headwaters.

1,200–2,000 m · Main: October – February; mitaca: April – June

Nariño

Extreme-altitude coffees of intense sweetness and acidity near the Ecuadorian border.

1,500–2,300 m · April – August

Antioquia

The historic heart of Colombian coffee culture and volume.

1,300–2,150 m · Main: September – December; mitaca: April – June

Cauca

High-altitude sweetness from Colombia's indigenous smallholder heartland.

1,500–2,100 m · Main: October – December; mitaca: March – June

Tolima

Once-hidden southern valleys now producing standout sweet, fruited washed lots.

1,300–2,000 m · Main: October – December; mitaca: April – June

Quindío

The heart of Colombia's Coffee Cultural Landscape — balanced cups and coffee tourism.

1,400–1,900 m · Main: October – December; mitaca: April – June

Santander

Colombia's organic and shade-grown pioneer with distinctive sweet, low-acid cups.

1,200–1,800 m · September – December

Sierra Nevada (Magdalena)

Indigenous-grown organic coffee on the world's highest coastal mountain.

900–1,600 m · September – December

Guatemala coffee regions

Antigua

Guatemala's flagship valley — smoky-sweet volcanic coffee under three volcanoes.

1,500–1,700 m · January – March

Huehuetenango

Remote highland valleys producing Guatemala's fruitiest, most vivid cups.

1,500–2,000 m · January – April

Atitlán

Lakeshore volcanic coffee farmed by Maya communities.

1,500–1,700 m · December – March

Cobán

Rainforest coffee from Guatemala's cloud-soaked north.

1,300–1,500 m · December – March

San Marcos

Guatemala's warmest, wettest coffee — early-harvest florals from the Pacific slope.

1,300–1,800 m · December – March

Fraijanes Plateau

Pumice-soil coffee ringing Guatemala City beneath the active Pacaya volcano.

1,400–1,800 m · December – February

Honduras coffee regions

Marcala (La Paz)

Honduras's first denomination of origin — organic-leaning highland sweetness.

1,300–1,700 m · December – March

Santa Bárbara

Mountain micro-lots of shocking fruit intensity — Honduras's quality vanguard.

1,400–1,750 m · January – April

Copán

Chocolate-toned western highlands around the Maya ruins.

1,200–1,500 m · December – March

Intibucá & La Paz Highlands

Honduras's highest coffee — late-harvest Lenca highland lots with mounting reputation.

1,400–1,900 m · January – April

Nicaragua coffee regions

Jinotega

Nicaragua's production heart — highland lakes, cloud forest, and caturra sweetness.

1,100–1,700 m · December – March

Nueva Segovia

Border highlands around Dipilto — Nicaragua's Cup of Excellence dynasty.

1,100–1,650 m · December – March

Matagalpa

Cloud-forest estates and cooperatives in Nicaragua's historic coffee capital.

1,000–1,500 m · December – March

Costa Rica coffee regions

Tarrazú

Costa Rica's premier appellation and the cradle of the honey-process revolution.

1,200–1,900 m · December – March

West Valley

Cup of Excellence dominance from the towns of Naranjo, Palmares, and Grecia.

1,200–1,700 m · November – February

Panama coffee regions

Boquete

The home of Geisha — the most expensive coffees ever auctioned.

1,200–1,900 m · December – March

Volcán & Tierras Altas

Barú's western face — Geisha excellence beyond Boquete's fame.

1,300–2,000 m · December – March

Peru coffee regions

Cajamarca (Jaén & San Ignacio)

Peru's northern quality engine — high-altitude organic smallholder lots.

1,600–2,100 m · May – September

Cusco (La Convención)

Historic valleys below Machu Picchu growing sweet, full-bodied Typica.

1,400–2,000 m · April – August

Amazonas (Rodríguez de Mendoza)

Cloud-forest valleys producing florally, honeyed cooperative lots.

1,500–2,000 m · May – September

San Martín (Alto Mayo)

High-jungle cooperatives that turned Peru's north into an organic powerhouse.

1,100–1,800 m · April – August

Mexico coffee regions

Chiapas

Mexico's coffee giant — Soconusco highlands and organic smallholder cooperatives.

1,000–1,750 m · December – March

Veracruz

Mexico's historic Gulf-slope origin — cloud-forest coffee around Coatepec.

1,100–1,700 m · December – March

Oaxaca

Indigenous sierra communities growing heritage-variety coffee.

900–1,700 m · December – March