
Average prices for Arabica and robusta coffee worldwide from 2014 to 2024
Coffee production
Coffee originally comes from Ethiopia, where a significant portion of coffee production continues to take place. The more popular bean, Arabica, takes its name from the Arabian Empire, when coffee consumption spread throughout the Middle East. After overcoming its ban by the Catholic Church, who saw coffee as in intoxicant from the Muslim world, coffee sales per capita are highest in European countries.
Major players
Starbucks has shaped the modern coffee culture, capitalizing on the Seattle coffee shop scene. This opened gourmet coffee to a wider market, shifting the global demand from cheaper robusta to better-tasting Arabica varieties. This shift has influenced the world coffee market, prompting companies such as McDonalds to open McCafé stores to cater to the evolving tastes of global consumers.