Categorizing Coffee

With 21 coffee producing countries and hundreds of regions within these countries, several different kinds of arabica coffee are available. Coffees from one country are known as varietals. Examples of some common varietals are Colombian, Costa Rican, Mexican, and Kenyan.

For further description, many varietals include the name of the region where the coffee was grown. An example of this is Sumatra Mandheling.

Sometimes the grade of the bean is added into the varietal name. Kenya AA is a prime example.

Another addition to the name could be the growing conditions of the coffee. An illustration of this is Mexican Altura, which refers to the fact that the coffee was grown at high altitude.

Coffee Growing Regions of the World

Coffee is grown around the world, generally between the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn. By buying from every region, Alakef Coffee Roasters guarantees you a taste to suit your palate. In each region, we select estates that meet our specific quality criteria.

A list of coffee producing countries is found below. The type of coffee bean grown and harvest time is found next to each country.

South America

Bolivia arabica
April-August
Brazil arabica and robusta
April-September
Colombia arabica
October-March
Costa Rica arabica
September-February
Cuba arabica
July-February
Dominican Republic arabica
September-February
Ecuador arabica and robusta
June-October
El Salvador arabica
November-March
Guatemala Arabica
August-March
Haiti arabica
August-March
Honduras arabica
October-March
Jamaica arabica
August-September
Mexico arabica
October-March
Nicaragua arabica
November-February
Panama Arabica
October-December
Paraguay Arabica
June-September
Peru arabica
April-October
Puerto Rico arabica
September-November
Trinidad and Tobago robusta
November-February
Venezuela arabica
October-January

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North America

Hawaii arabica
September-November

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Africa

Angola arabica and robusta
Arabica=April-June; robusta=May-September
Benin robusta
November-February
Burundi arabica
April-September
Cameroon arabica and robusta
Arabica=October-December; robusta=November-January
Central African Republic robusta
November-March
Congo robusta
September-October
Ethiopia Arabica
October-December
Gabon robusta
May-September
Ghana robusta
October-March
Guinea robusta
November-March
Ivory Coast robusta
November-April
Kenya Arabica
October-March
Liberia robusta
November-March
Madagascar arabica and robusta
arabica=June-September; robusta=May-October
Malawi arabica and robusta
December-February
Nigeria robusta
November-March
Rwanda arabica
March-August
Sierra Leone robusta
December-February
Tanzania arabica and robusta
arabica=October-February; robusta=June-December
Togo robusta
November-February
Uganda arabica and robusta
arabica=October-January; robusta=all year, peak is November-February
Zaire arabica and robusta
all year: arabica peak is December-May; robusta peak is October-March
Zambia arabica
May-July
Zimbabwe arabica and robusta
July-October
Yemen arabica
June-December

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Asia

Borneo arabica and robusta
arabica=June- December; robusta=May-December
India arabica and robusta
arabica=October-February; robusta=November-march
Java arabica and robusta
arabica=June-December; robusta=May-December
Papua New Guinea Arabica
April-September
Philippines arabica and robusta
December-March
Sri Lanka arabica and robusta
August
Sumatra arabica and robusta
arabica=June-December; robusta=May-December
Sulawesi arabica and robusta
arabica=June-December; robusta=May-December
Thailand arabica and robusta
October-March
Timor arabica and robusta
arabica=June-December; robusta=May-December
Vietnam arabica and robusta
arabica=December-January; robusta=January-March

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