Later, as American soldiers forged into battle in the Mexican War and the Civil War, they protected their coffee beans as their most precious rations. The world's largest coffee producer is Brazil with over 3,970 million coffee trees. Colombia comes in second with around two thirds of Brazil's production. Hard bean means the coffee was grown at an altitude above 5000 feet. Arabica and Robusta trees can produce crops for 20 to 30 years under proper conditions and care.
Most coffee is transported by ships.
Currently there are approximately 2,200 ships involved in transporting the beans each year. The popular trend towards flavored coffees originated in the United States during the 1970's. October 1st is the official Coffee Day in Japan. The first coffee tree in the Western Hemisphere was brought from France to the Island of Martinique in the 1720's. Read about the Dancing Goats .