If you ask this question of a coffee grower in any country in the world you will likely be told that their country grows the best coffee. Since we cannot go that route to get an answer to our question, how do we proceed? As a rule Arabica coffee has superior flavor and aroma when compared to Robusta coffee. So, we will start by removing countries that only grow Robusta from our list. Thus, remove Vietnam, the world’s biggest Robusta producer, from our list along with Indonesia, and India. That leaves us with countries that may grow some Robusta but primarily grow Arabia coffee. That list includes virtually all coffee growing countries in the Americas as well as Africa.

Arabica Coffee Growing Countries in the Americas

In South America we have Brazil and Colombia as well as Peru, Ecuador, Bolivia, and Venezuela) Central American Arabica growers include Mexico, Honduras, Guatemala, El Salvador, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, and Panama) In the Caribbean there are Jamaica, Puerto Rico, Cuba, and the Dominican Republic. In North America the only Arabica producer is the USA although Hawaii is the only coffee growing state and it is in the middle of the Pacific Ocean!

Coffee Growing Countries in Africa

African coffee growers include Ethiopia where coffee was born, Kenya, Burundi, and Uganda, all of which are Arabica producers. Uganda is primarily a Robusta producer.

As a rule if you like a fruity, bright coffee with floral notes you will prefer one of the Africa coffees. If you preference goes to sweet, chocolate and nutty flavors you will prefer a Latin American coffee. Beware the processing as well as the specific location where a coffee was grown as well as seasonal considerations also come into play when it comes to coffee quality. Within Africa, Kenya, Tanzania, and Ethiopia are all famous for exceptional coffees.

Arabica Coffee Growing Countries in Latin America

Within Latin America, Colombia stands out as a grower of exceptional Arabica coffees in large quantities year after year after year. Without other nations such as Ecuador, Guatemala, Mexico, Costa Rica and the rest there are great gourmet coffees but you generally have to look for them and the quantity available does not compare to Arabica from the Colombian coffee growing Axis, the Eje Cafetero.