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Origins

Coffee origins on record

Countries, regions and appellations, with the grading, harvest and pricing structures each one actually uses — rather than the flattened version that lets them all fit one table.

Where coffee grows, how each country grades it for export, and when it comes off the tree. A dash means nobody has published that figure — not that we left it out.
Origin Altitude Main harvest Export standard Price quoted as Source
Brazil 700 m – 1,350 m May to September Type 2-8 by defect count, plus screen size and a separate cup term C market Secondary
Colombia 1,200 m – 2,000 m September to December in most of the country Excelso Farmgate COP per 125 kg carga Primary
Costa Rica 1,200 m – 1,950 m November to March SHB / HB by altitude Auction USD per pound Secondary
Ethiopia 1,500 m – 2,300 m October to January, varying by zone ECX grades 1-9, plus specialty channels Auction Secondary
Guatemala 1,300 m – 2,000 m December to April SHB / HB / EPW and below, by altitude not published Secondary
Honduras 1,000 m – 1,700 m November to April SHG / HG by altitude Auction USD per pound Secondary
Kenya 1,400 m – 2,100 m October to December (main crop) AA, AB, PB, C, E, TT, T by screen size Auction USD per 50 kg bag Secondary
Yemen 1,500 m – 2,400 m October to December — not published Secondary
Boquete, Panama region 1,200 m – 1,900 m December to March — Auction USD per pound Secondary
Sumatra, Indonesia region 900 m – 1,600 m October to March in Aceh and North Sumatra Grade 1-6 by defect count not published Secondary

  • Brazil

    700 m – 1,350 m Secondary source 4/6 key fields on record

    The origin that moves the benchmark - and whose most famous name on a bag is a shipping port.

  • Colombia

    1,200 m – 2,000 m Primary source 6/6 key fields on record

    The origin whose published price is not in the unit, the state, or the currency most people assume - and whose grade names describe a hierarchy that does not exist.

  • Costa Rica

    1,200 m – 1,950 m Secondary source 5/6 key fields on record

    Where the 2026 auction average rose 48% in a year - and where the best-known grade mark measures altitude rather than quality.

  • Ethiopia

    1,500 m – 2,300 m Secondary source 4/6 key fields on record

    The genetic home of arabica, and the origin where the word printed on the bag most often means "we did not identify this".

  • Guatemala

    1,300 m – 2,000 m Secondary source 3/6 key fields on record

    Eight named regions, an altitude ladder with seven rungs, and a naming system that is a framework rather than an appellation.

  • Honduras

    1,000 m – 1,700 m Secondary source 5/6 key fields on record

    A top competition lot at $28.40 a pound - nine times the C market, and a seventh of what the same season paid in Costa Rica.

  • Kenya

    1,400 m – 2,100 m Secondary source 5/6 key fields on record

    Where AA means a bean size and nothing else - and where the two most famous selections may not have the lineage their story gives them.

  • Yemen

    1,500 m – 2,400 m Secondary source 2/6 key fields on record

    Where cultivated coffee was first traded - and the source of the most thoroughly detached name in the drink.

  • Boquete, Panama

    1,200 m – 1,900 m Secondary source 4/6 key fields on record

    Where Gesha became the most expensive name in coffee in 2004 - and where the name and the genetics started to come apart.

  • Sumatra, Indonesia

    900 m – 1,600 m Secondary source 3/6 key fields on record

    Where the famous flavour comes from the processing rather than the place - and where the famous name is not a place at all.