While coffee trees thrive in all the coffee regions of the world, each region produces coffee with a unique flavor, fragrance, and appearance. These variations are the result of a complex combination of factors, including the coffee plant variety, the local terroir (chemistry of the soil, microclimates, and sunlight), and even the precise altitude of the farm or plantation. Even elements as specific as fog can influence the final flavor profile and characteristics of each bean.

Coffee is grown in more than 40 countries across the world in a narrow climactic zone along the Equator, between the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn. Each coffee region has the right growing conditions for the choosy coffee tree to thrive – but they all still produce distinct, unique coffees due to a combination of local factors such as the soil, rainfall, altitude, and amount of sunlight, also known as the terroir.

In most coffee-growing regions, there is one major harvest each year. In countries like Colombia, where there are two flowerings annually, there is a main crop and secondary crop.When it’s time, how is coffee harvested? It varies. In most countries, the crop is picked by hand, which is a difficult, time-consuming process. In places like Brazil, where there are immense, relatively flat coffee fields, the larger farms may use mechanized processes.

Who discovered coffee trees? Who invented coffee as we enjoy it now? Well, coffee is centuries old—the earliest origin-legends date back to the 9th century—and the story has evolved over time, so we don’t have official answers to everything. But we can paint a vivid picture of coffee’s history and its rise to popularity across the globe.

Coffee makes quite a journey to get to your cup each day. Everything about the way it looks, tastes, and smells in your cup is influenced by the steps in its lifecycle, from planting seeds to recycling coffee grounds and everything in between (growing, harvesting, processing, and roasting; possibly being made into decaf or a blend).