History and Production

The coffee tree is believed to be native to Ethiopia. It was first cultivated in Arabia, possibly before the 10th century. The beverage first became popular in the Muslim world. It was introduced into western Europe from Turkey in the early 17th century. In the late 17th century, the French planted coffee trees in their Caribbean colonies and the Dutch planted them in Java. Coffee trees were taken from French Guiana to Brazil in 1727. The beverage, which was introduced to North America by the Dutch around 1670, became popular in the United States in the 1860's. Today, Brazil produces about one-third of the world's coffee, and about half of the world's production is consumed in the United States.

Only three of the many species of the genus Coffea are commercially important. These are C. arabica, C. liberica, and C. canephora (also known as C. robusta). Coffee is of the family Rubiaceae.