Quick answer
Coffee comes from the seeds of a tropical shrub. The plant's fruit, the coffee cherry, holds two seeds, and those seeds, dried and roasted, are coffee beans. The main species, arabica, is native to Ethiopia. Today coffee grows in a band around the equator, and Brazil grows more than any other country.
| Question | Short answer | Source |
|---|---|---|
| What is it? | The seed of the coffee cherry, from shrubs of the genus Coffea | Wikipedia, Coffee |
| Where did it start? | Arabica: the forests of southwestern Ethiopia. Robusta: central and western sub-Saharan Africa | World Coffee Research |
| When did people start drinking it? | Coffee drinking was well established among Sufi communities in Yemen by the late 15th century | Wikipedia, Coffee |
| Where does it grow now? | Between the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn, in more than 40 countries by the NCA's count and over 70 by Wikipedia's | NCA; Wikipedia |
| Who grows the most? | Brazil, with 31% of the world's green coffee in 2023, then Vietnam | Wikipedia, Coffee |
The plant: two species do almost all the work
Two species supply the coffee people drink. Arabica is native to Ethiopia, where World Coffee Research says the species' major genetic diversity is found. Robusta, the trade name for Coffea canephora, originated in central and western sub-Saharan Africa and grows naturally in humid forest understory from 50 to 1,500 meters above sea level, per World Coffee Research.
Each cherry usually holds two seeds. Wikipedia's coffee article says 5 to 10 percent of cherries hold only one, and those single seeds are called peaberries. After picking, the fruit is stripped away, the seeds are dried, and what leaves the farm is green coffee: hard, pale and unroasted.
How coffee spread around the world
The National Coffee Association (NCA) tells the old legend of Kaldi, an Ethiopian goat herder said to have found coffee. The history on firmer ground starts across the Red Sea. World Coffee Research says historians believe coffee seeds were first taken from the forests of southwestern Ethiopia to Yemen and cultivated there. The NCA says coffee was grown in Yemen by the 15th century and had spread to what is now Iran, Egypt, Syria and Turkey by the 16th.
From there the NCA gives a set of dated steps:
- 1615: coffee reached Venice, where local clergy condemned it.
- By the mid 17th century: London had more than 300 coffee houses.
- 1714: the Mayor of Amsterdam gave a young coffee tree to King Louis XIV of France.
- 1723: Gabriel de Clieu carried a seedling from the king's tree to Martinique.
- Later: Francisco de Mello Palheta, a Portuguese officer, brought the seeds that started Brazil's coffee industry.
- 1773: the tea tax that led to the Boston Tea Party, which the NCA says turned Americans toward coffee.
Where coffee grows today
Coffee grows in the tropics. Wikipedia's coffee bean article calls the zone between the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn the bean belt, and the NCA says coffee trees need rich soil, mild temperatures, regular seasonal rain and shade. Arabica does best between 15 and 24 °C (59 and 75 °F) and cannot take frost, per Wikipedia.
Wikipedia puts world production of green coffee at 11 million tonnes in 2023, with Brazil growing 31% of it and Vietnam next. The NCA names Colombia third. The United States grows coffee in two places, the NCA says: Hawaii, including Kona and Ka'u, and Puerto Rico, where it grows at 1,800 to 3,500 feet under shade.
Montana is not on that list. Arabica cannot take frost, and a Montana winter brings plenty of it. Every bean a Montana roaster sells arrives green, from somewhere in the bean belt.
Where Montana's coffee comes from
Montana roasters buy from a long list of growing countries. These are the single origin countries on the lists of roasters we write up, read on their own pages on September 27, 2026:
| Growing country | Montana roasters that listed a coffee from it |
|---|---|
| Ethiopia | Ghost Town, Rockford, Drum, Revel, RamsHead, Hunter Bay, Fire Tower |
| Costa Rica | Florence, Ghost Town, Drum, Rock Creek, Revel, RamsHead, Hunter Bay |
| Colombia | Ghost Town, Rock Creek, Revel, RamsHead, Philipsburg |
| Guatemala | Rockford, Drum, Hunter Bay, Big Creek |
| Mexico | Drum, Rock Creek, Yellowstone, Fire Tower |
| Rwanda | Ghost Town, Drum, RamsHead |
| Brazil | Rock Creek, Red Bird |
| Nicaragua | Rockford, RamsHead |
| Indonesia (Sumatra) | Florence, Rock Creek |
| Kenya | RamsHead |
| Uganda | Hunter Bay |
| Peru | Drum |
| El Salvador | Ghost Town |
| Papua New Guinea | Rockford |
| Bolivia | Montana Coffee Traders |
Some of these roasters also say how they buy. Hunter Bay buys from small independent farms, with its leaders traveling to origin. Red Bird says it pays farmers at least fair trade prices. Drum's sourcing blog profiles Rwanda's Sholi cooperative and its women producers, and Yellowstone's Mexico Chiapas comes from women producers too.
So the farm is far away, but the roasting, the blending and the paychecks are here. Buying from a Montana roaster keeps that part of the chain in the state, which is the idea behind our support local page.
Taste the answer
The clearest way to learn where coffee comes from is to drink one origin at a time. Our single origin subscription sends a 12 oz bag from one growing place, roasted by a different independent Montana roaster in each box, and the packing slip names the roaster and what to taste for. The first bag is free and you pay $7.99 shipping on that first box, then $16.99 a bag.
Coffee origin questions
Is a coffee bean a bean?
No. It is the seed of the coffee cherry, the fruit of the coffee plant.
Which country grows the most coffee?
Brazil. Wikipedia says Brazil grew 31% of the world's green coffee in 2023, followed by Vietnam, and the NCA puts Colombia third.
Is any coffee grown in the United States?
Yes, in Hawaii and Puerto Rico, the NCA says. Hawaii's include Kona and Ka'u, and Puerto Rico grows its coffee at 1,800 to 3,500 feet under shade.
Sources
- National Coffee Association: History of coffee and Coffee regions of the world
- World Coffee Research: Arabica and Robusta
- Wikipedia: Coffee, Coffee bean and Coffea arabica
- Montana roaster origins: our roaster profiles, written from each roaster's public pages, read September 27, 2026