A Turkish saying describes coffee in the following words, - black as hell, strong as death, sweet as love - which is found on a narrow zone near the equator from 23 Degrees North to 25 Degrees South. As a product coffee which comes from beans grown in more than 70 countries runs a close second to oil in terms of dollar volume.

By far Brazil is the largest producer of coffee beans making an output of 28% of the total on an average. World famous Columbia falls far behind as a second producing 16%, with Indonesias output standing at just 7%. The fourth largest producer still reduces to half at 4% output.

Coffee trees produce the best beans at higher altitudes but can also adjust to different kinds of regions before making it back to our coffee grinders. .

In Brazil, coffee plantations stretch across huge areas where hundreds of people look after the plants. In Columbia, the uneven mountains and limited economic facilities render transportation to processing centers by Jeep or mules.

While in Columbia what we see is mountains lined by trees, in Hawaii coffee trees are planted on Mauna Loa volcanos slopes. The dark ash of the volcano is rugged but ideal for the plants thriving under the scorching afternoon sun shaded at times by tropical clouds. Periodic island downpour provide plenty of required rainfall.

Indonesia is made up of thousands of islands where coffee has been produced since the 17 century when it was introduced by the Dutch colonists. Many other countries may have access to the best technology, but no can compete with the great warmth of the sun and damp micro climates that is found here. In the largest islands of Sumatra, Java and Sulawesi countless one or two acre farms make Indonesia come third in the production of coffee all over the world.

Contrary to Brazil, plantations in Mexico are mainly small farms but with over 100,000 of them the total still stands strong enough to make the country an immensely contributing factor. The majority of them are placed in the south, like, Veracruz, Oaxaca and Chiapas, with the significant Altura beans named after their place of origin at high levels of altitude.

Though small producers, Africa, Kenya and Ivory Coast, are famous all over the world for the large, dark beans grown here. In the foothills of Mount Kenya are found some of the biggest beans which are used for making a very famous fruity coffee. The Ivory Coast specifically is important as the highest producer of robusta, frequently used in espresso coffee.

Coffee is ubiquitously found throughout the world and is extremely well-liked no matter if it the Indian Monsoon Malabar, the Tanzanian Peaberry, the Brazilian Liberdade or the Costa Rican La Fuente.