Coffee plantations grow coffee beans for sale, with over 90% located in developing countries. The crop is labor-intensive and has a history of forced labor and slavery. Environmental sustainability is also an issue due to water usage and growing practices. Brazil has the most plantations, with Arabica grown in Latin America, East Africa, Arabia, and Asia, and Robusta in West and Central Africa, Southeast Asia, and parts of Brazil. Regional differences in soil and processing affect the taste of coffee.
A coffee plantation is a farm where coffee bean plants are grown and the beans harvested for sale. Coffee is a high-value crop with significant economic value. It is consistently listed as one of the top three legal exports worldwide each year. Because of its importance as a commodity, growing and processing coffee beans on plantations has had a tumultuous history with regards to workers’ human rights and the environment. More than 90% of the world’s coffee plantations are located in developing countries, highlighting – and in some cases exacerbating – many economic inequalities because industrialized nations are the main consumers of the product.
Coffee can be grown from seeds or seedlings. A coffee plantation will typically use one or the other and partner the coffee with other food crops, such as beans, corn or rice, until the crop matures. Coffee bean plants produce Arabica beans or Robusta beans. Arabica is considered the most refined crop and comprises about two-thirds of world production in plantations. Robusta is the most bitter bean and has a higher caffeine content, but it is the hardier plant. It costs less to maintain a Robusta crop, and those savings are passed down the economic chain, making Robusta the cost-effective choice that is used in bulk environments.
Growing coffee is more labor intensive than other major food crop types. The beans must be harvested, processed, dried and roasted on a coffee plantation, an activity that does not lend itself well to automated solutions. This is one reason why coffee plantations have been a historic site of forced labor and slavery. While forced labor is technically no longer a problem in the modern agricultural world, most plantations are located in developing countries where there are extreme disparities between what farm workers earn for a living and what people earn they consume coffee for a living.
The coffee plantation is also a hotbed of environmental sustainability issues. Many plantations are located in countries where people don’t have enough fresh water to drink, but coffee production uses a very large amount of water. There are also significant issues with the way coffee is grown, with the more sustainable but expensive practice of growing the plants in the shade. Environmental groups consider coffee plantations to be at the forefront of the fight for sustainable farming practices, because coffee is one of the world’s most significant crops.
Brazil is home to the largest number of coffee plantations, followed by Vietnam, Indonesia and Colombia. Arabica coffee is produced on plantations in Latin America, East Africa, Arabia and Asia. Robusta is grown in West and Central Africa, Southeast Asia and parts of Brazil. In addition to the distinction in the type of bean plant grown on these plantations, there are regional differences in soil and processing that affect the taste of the coffee. These differences are reflected in coffee varieties, such as Java, Kona and Columbian.
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