The world grows about 179 million bags of coffee a year
The world produces a massive 178.8 million bags of coffee a year, according to the latest estimate reported by the International Coffee Organization. Each bag holds 60 kilograms of green, unroasted beans, so that is about 10.7 million tonnes of coffee, or almost six bags every second1.
Even so, supply has struggled to keep up. The world drank more coffee than it grew in three of the four seasons up to 2024/25, and coffee stocks held in Europe roughly halved in under three years1.
The carbon footprint of a cup of coffee
Coffee is a surprisingly heavy crop for the climate. Producing a kilogram of coffee releases about 28.5 kilograms of greenhouse gases on average, according to a large study of food production published in the journal Science. That is almost three times as much as a kilogram of chicken, though far less than beef, at around 99 kilograms2.
That's how much a kilogram of coffee causes on average, from the farm to the shop
A single cup uses only a few grams of coffee, so its own footprint is small. But the kilograms add up across 10.7 million tonnes a year, and each kilogram of coffee also takes about 21.6 square metres of land to grow3.
From shade to sun, and from forest to farm
Coffee was traditionally grown in the shade of taller trees, keeping much of the forest canopy standing. Growing it in full sun raises yields, but means clearing those trees, and coffee grown on newly cleared land adds to deforestation.
The European Union has responded with a law on deforestation-free products. It covers coffee along with cocoa, soy, palm oil, cattle, rubber and wood, and requires companies to prove that what they sell in the EU did not come from land deforested after 20205.
The world’s forests being cut down or burned, some of it for crops like coffee.
Climate change is coming for coffee
Coffee is also one of the crops most threatened by climate change. It grows well only in a narrow range of temperatures, mostly in tropical highlands. A study published in the journal Climatic Change found that climate change could cut the area suitable for growing coffee by about half by 20504.
The losses are not evenly spread. Brazil and Southeast Asia face the biggest declines for Arabica, the world’s most popular variety, and the land where it grows well will move more than 300 metres higher up the mountains by 20504. Farmers who cannot move uphill may have to switch crops, while new coffee land at higher altitudes could mean clearing more forest.
Where coffee is heading
Coffee is caught between two pressures. Demand keeps growing as more people around the world drink it, but the land where it grows well is shrinking as the climate warms. If both trends continue, prices are likely to stay high and volatile, and the pressure to plant coffee in new places, some of them forested, is likely to grow.
There are ways to soften the squeeze. Shade-grown coffee protects forests and can make farms more resilient to heat. Breeding new varieties that tolerate higher temperatures is another hope. And rules like the EU’s deforestation law may push the industry to grow more coffee on existing farmland rather than on newly cleared forest. How well these work will decide what the world’s morning cup costs, and what it costs the forests.
The rest of what the world raises and eats is in the food section.
