If Your Coffee’s Going Downhill, Blame Climate Change

Coffee leader Brazil is turning to stronger and more bitter robusta beans, which are hardier in the heat than the delicate arabica, in a sign of how climate change is affecting global markets – and shaping our favourite flavours.

Brazil is the world’s biggest producer of arabica, yet its production has stayed largely flat over the last five years.

In terms of arabica output, Brazilian farmers are being increasingly held back by extreme weather like the recent freak frost that devastated an estimated 11% of the country’s arabica growing areas.

Over the past four years, arabica output in Brazil, which has a biennial crop cycle, has risen just 6% in its two “off season” crops, while remaining flat in its two “on seasons”, USDA data shows.

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