The world’s sixth largest coffee growing nation, India, grows roughly equal arabica and robusta crops, although robusta production is seen to be increasing.

Among its more well-known specialty coffees is Monsooned Malabar (green beans exposed to monsoon winds in open warehouses). But India has a wide variety of flavorful and unique coffees, and more are being ‘discovered’ all the time. Strong branding has seen Indian coffee gaining in popularity with international roasters.

The potential for coffee production in India is estimated to be around 300,000 tons whereas domestic consumption is about 80,000 tons. This means that the balance of around 220,000 tons is targeting the export market. The existing market opportunity is about US$500 million and the expected growth is 10% per annum.

Among others competing with Ethiopia for the kudos, some claim India is the birthplace of coffee. Regardless, the country has a well-established and ancient tradition of drinking coffee.

Recent years have seen tremendous growth in domestic coffee consumption and an accompanying explosion of coffee shops, including Café Coffee Day (CCD), India’s leading coffee retail chain with 400+ domestic outlets. It is also present in Austria and Pakistan. CCD is a fully integrated coffee company, with 6,000 acres of coffee estates.

Barista Coffee Company has over 156 domestic outlets and is also present in Sri Lanka and Dubai. It was bought by Lavazza in March, 2007, a clear indication of the potential international coffee roasters see for India both as a growing consumer market as well as a producer of world-class coffees.

Secondary chains in the country include: Costa, Qwiky’s, Javagreen, Coffee World, Café Mocha, Kalmane Koffee and other emerging brands. Gloria Jeans and Starbucks are both present in India as well, and Illycaffe has established strong ties with coffee growers.

Coffee was introduced to Sri Lanka (formerly Ceylon) by Dutch colonists in the 1700s. When the British took over in the mid-1800s, they planted more coffee, and by 1870 coffee exports had reached 100 million pounds annually.

But coffee blight, or coffee rust (the fungus Hemileia vastatrix), appeared in 1867, and it devastated the crop. The British then replaced coffee with tea, and Sri Lanka now produces only very small amounts of coffee and remains primarily a tea drinking nation. However, a small amount of Sri Lankan coffee does find its way into the specialty market.

Coffee was introduced to China by a French priest in Yunnan at end of 19th century. It did not attract many growers in this tea-drinking nation until the mid-1960s when the government planted 4,000 ha of arabica. But quality issues saw the acreage reduced to 280ha by the mid-1970s. In 1988 the government and UNDP in cooperation with Nestle replanted in Yunnan and by 1995 there was once again 4,000ha of coffee grown in Yunnan, doubling to over 8,000 ha in 1998.

Yunnan Coffee Industrial Corporation (YCIC) has worked with 10 plantations since 1996 and is now the sole purchaser of the output of over 100 plantations throughout the province.

Production numbers are somewhat unreliable, but it is generally accepted that by 1997 there were 3,573 tons of coffee beans being produced, rising to 13,000 tons in 2001. The 2007 crop is estimated to be around 17,000 tons

China is estimated to have over 1.5 billion tea drinkers – but coffee is slowly making inroads. Until Starbucks arrived, the commonly used word for coffee was Nescafe, and this serves to underscore the pioneering work Nestle put in (and continues to put in) supporting domestic coffee production and consumption. Even now, instant coffee accounts for over 90% of all coffee consumed in the country.

Investors in China’s nascent domestic coffee shops admit there may still be several years to go "before critical mass is achieved", but the signs are that coffee consumption is likely to continue to increase as more Chinese embrace this western habit. The first Starbucks opened in China in 1998, and today China is seen as the largest potential growth market for coffee by industry analysts, and increasing affluence and aspiration to western ideals, particularly in coastal cities, has seen the coffee shop culture explode. There are now over 2,000 coffee shops in Shanghai alone. Total sales volume of coffee grew to 6,504.5 tons, almost 90%, between 1998 and 2003, and the demand for coffee more than doubled between 2001 and 2006 and is currently estimated to be growing by 10% a year, according to the ICO.

Japan does not produce much coffee, but despite an enduring tea culture, Japan is the highest per capita coffee consumer in Asia (1.4 kg annually) and is the world’s third largest coffee importer.

Sales are continuing to increase, with over 7 million bags consumed annually. Japan is a sophisticated market: while Japanese coffee drinkers are more than willing to try new blends and exclusive gourmet coffees, they also demands high quality in all aspects of the product. The coffee shop culture is well entrenched, with the older generation preferring more traditional espressos and cappuccinos while young consumers prefer coffee blends and RTD coffees. However, today’s sweet, milky coffee drink consumers are likely to mature into tomorrow’s espresso connoisseurs, and analysts believe that the market looks set to continue growing slowly.

Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries produce – and avidly consume – an astonishing variety of coffees. Between them Vietnam, Indonesia, Thailand and the Philippines produce about 18% of the world’s coffee, accounting for about 22% of global coffee exports. Malaysia, Laos and Myanmar produce some highly acclaimed arabica beans favored by experts and connoisseurs, while Singapore has become a coffee exporting hub and, thanks to its wide ethnic diversity, hosts pretty much every coffee culture and bean type you can think of in its many teeming, fragrant coffee shops.

Coffee was originally introduced to much of the region by European colonizers. The French brought it to Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia, the Dutch to Indonesia, the Spanish to the Philippines and the British to Malaysia and Myanmar. In all these instances, it appears that early colonizers originally planted coffee plants for personal use, a hobby that quickly grew into a major international trade rivaling that of tea in its day. A parallel domestic trade flourished alongside the success of the regional coffee plantations as more and more local cultures adopted the fragrant beans into their own lives as it became available.

Vietnam and Indonesia (12.6% and 4.59% of global production respectively) are the two largest coffee producers in ASEAN, followed by Thailand and the Philippines (0.65% and 0.55%). Malaysia, Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar also produce unique coffees, some of which are exported.

Coffee was first introduced by French missionaries in the mid-1860s. Despite being a major tea drinking nation, coffee consumption caught on quickly. But it was only comparatively recently, since the 1990’s, that Vietnam’s coffee production started growing rapidly. It is now the second largest coffee producer and exporter in the world after Brazil. Most coffee is cultivated in cooperatives and state farms, many of these in the main coffee growing region of Dak Lak. Vietnam has been blamed for causing a near-catastrophic crash in global coffee prices when its robusta flooded the market in the late-1990’s and early 2000’s. The government is now trying to increase arabica production and quality overall, recognizing that coffee is a very important crop for the economy.

Coffee was introduced to the island of Java by Dutch colonists in the 17th century. Coffee bushes flourished throughout the islands and Indonesia is now the world’s fifth largest global producer of coffee and the world’s largest supplier of robusta. Arabica used to be a major crop until a coffee rust outbreak in 1887. It now accounts for only 10% of output, although signs are that production is starting to increase, driven by global demand for single-origin and specialty coffees. Quality and reliability of supply remain issues for buyers of Indonesian coffee. Development is often hampered by a lack of infrastructure, government support and technology, but some efforts being made in various areas to address these concerns.

Indonesians consume a lot of coffee, although the majority is of poorer quality (the best is exported). Recently, the country has been forced to import coffee to make up for shortfalls in domestic stocks to satisfy the growing demand.

Coffee is traditionally consumed by placing ground roasted beans into a glass and adding hot water and often condensed milk. Competing with the traditional coffee habits, coffee shop chains, both domestic and multi-national, are seeing growth, mostly in the cities, though not at the pace or scale seen in most other Southeast Asian countries.

Thailand is ranked as the third-largest coffee producer in Southeast Asia. Coffee has grown in Thailand for several hundred years, but it was not until the 1960’s that coffee production was significantly ramped up when it was discovered that Thailand was importing eight times more coffee than it was producing.

Today, the kingdom produces robusta coffee in south of the country, much of which is used domestically in the form of instant coffee. In the northern highlands, some arabica is cultivated, and some of it is of reasonably high standard – certainly it finds favor in local coffee shop chains that are blooming across the nation. Coffee production and export is closely monitored by the Thai government to maintain a good balance. However, trade barriers (tariffs) introduced to protect Thai coffee farmers have provided little incentive for farmers to improve the quality of the coffee as whatever they grow they can sell, much of it to instant coffee manufacturers. The tariffs are soon to disappear, however, and some experts believe (or hope!) that this should galvanize growers into producing more competitive crops.

Certainly there is every reason to be optimistic as, despite the now-shrinking chasm between the cost of imported and domestic coffees, coffee shop chains are growing fast in Thailand and coffee consumption is increasing.

Coffee was introduced to the 7,107 islands of the Philippines in 1740 by Spanish friars. The country was one of the world’s top producers until well into the 1980’s but now produces less than half of what it consumes annually. High land taxes, a lack of government support and infrastructure and labor-intensive harvesting has seen a decline in production. The majority of coffee grown is produced by smallholders and bought for instant coffee production.

The rich, volcanic soils of the coffee growing regions in the Cordillera Mountains, Batangas and Mindanao produce several unique varieties such as Baraka. These coffees have niche markets domestically and overseas, primarily in the Middle East. Coffee Alamid (civet cat coffee, also known as Kopi Luwak) production is increasing rapidly. Japan is a major importer of this variety, reportedly buying over two tons in 2007.

Coffee has been well-accepted in society for many years. Despite the enduring popularity of instant coffee, the coffee shop culture is booming. The likes of Starbucks and Gloria Jeans vie for trade with local companies such as Figaro and Coffee Beanery that serve exotic coffee varieties to ever-increasing numbers of discerning coffee lovers.

Coffee was introduced to Laos between 1913-1917 by French colonists who planted arabica, robusta and liberica on the fertile Boloven Plateau. By 1930, coffee production reached 500 tons, but in 1950 orange leaf rust and a rare frost wiped out nearly all of the arabica. During the American Indochina conflict, production dropped from 7,000 tons to less than 3,000 tons per year. Today, government and foreign support has seen production grow to around 20,000 tons and coffee is now landlocked Laos’ fifth largest export, among which are some highly-regarded arabicas.

The French colonists roasted their coffee on open pan-type roasters with added flavoring, particularly brandy, and Laotians, as with the Vietnamese, prefer their coffee flavored in the roasting process, preferably served in a glass with condensed milk at the bottom, chased by green tea.

Malaysia has a long history of coffee production and consumption. Arabica first was introduced by British colonists in the late 18th century and now covers about 25,000 hectares in Malaysia’s northern frontier with Thailand, and on the northernmost tip of the Borneo. Malaysia produces less than 10,000 tons of coffee annually.

Of unique interest is the fact that robusta and arabica comprise only 5% of the total crop. Liberica (introduced in 1875) accounts for 95% of the total local production. To put this into perspective, liberica accounts for less than 2% of total world production.

Malaysia exports very little coffee, most of what it grows is consumed locally. Malaysia’s passion for coffee is nowhere more evident than in countless kopi shops, where coffee beans are roasted in open pans and brewed coffee is served thick and sweet. While coffee shop chains are gaining ground, growth here is not as rapid as in most other Southeast Asian countries due to the entrenched kopi and tea cultures.

Myanmar grows somewhere around 0.05% of the world’s coffee production, split about 60/40 between arabica and robusta. Some very fine arabica is being produced by growers, the majority of whom are smallholders using very basic techniques. Myanmar remains predominantly a tea-drinking culture, although coffee is starting to make inroads, and much of the coffee produced is exported to neighboring countries.

India and China are seen as the fastest-growing markets for coffee consumption in the region while Japan is likely to remain the leading per capita consumer of coffee products in the region, despite a relatively static market. When Thailand relaxes its trade barriers, non-instant coffee products may well experience a growth spurt – particularly if affordable coffee making machines become more widely available.

Malaysia, Indonesia and Vietnam are stable consuming countries with strong domestic markets. Vietnam is attempting to improve the quality of its coffee overall and to increase its arabica output. Myanmar and Laos (and China for that matter) have yet to achieve full potential production of fine coffees, and have so far not garnered appropriate recognition for their existing specialty and gourmet coffees.

Coffee connoisseurs the world over already have much to thank Asia’s coffee farmers for, and there can be no doubt that many of the fantastic coffees from the region will continue to gain in quality, popularity and recognition as global consumers increasingly learn to appreciate a great cup of coffee.