How coffee is grown, and Bangladesh's prospects as a producer

Stand on a hillside in Bandarban today and you may see a shrub that was almost unknown there a generation ago: glossy dark leaves, clusters of small berries along the branches, green when young and bright red when ripe. It is the coffee plant. The drink without which hundreds of millions of people cannot start their day comes from the two seeds inside that red fruit. Coffee is a slow, demanding crop that depends on a particular climate and particular soil, and in Bangladesh it has recently begun to take hold. This report follows a coffee seed from the nursery to the cup, looks at the countries that lead the world in growing it, and asks how far the crop can go in the hills of Bangladesh.

Coffee is a fussy plant. Temperature, shade, soil and altitude all have to be right; if they are not, the tree may survive but it will not crop well.

A temperature of 18 to 24 °C is considered ideal. Coffee likes cool, shaded places. Strong sun and heat scorch the leaves and make the flowers drop, and the Arabica type in particular prefers cooler conditions.

The soil should be fertile loam or sandy loam that does not waterlog. Coffee roots cannot stand wet feet; if water stands at the base of the plant in the monsoon, the roots rot. Soil pH should be between 5.5 and 6.5, which means slightly acidic. Hill slopes suit the crop because rain runs off them.

An altitude of 600 to 1,200 metres above sea level is considered suitable. Higher up, nights are cooler and the fruit ripens slowly, and slowly ripened beans have deeper flavour and aroma. That is why so much of the world's best-known coffee comes from mountains.

Almost all the world's coffee comes from two types, Arabica and Robusta. Arabica is milder and more aromatic and fetches a higher price, but it needs cool, high ground and is more vulnerable to disease. Robusta, as the name suggests, is tougher: it tolerates heat, grows at lower altitudes, suffers less from pests and disease, and its beans carry more caffeine, which gives a stronger, more bitter cup. Instant coffee and many blends rely on Robusta.

For Bangladesh the difference matters. The country's hills are not very high and the summers are hot, so the choice of type for each area has to follow its altitude and temperature. Growers here now plant both.

Coffee growing starts with good seed, taken from ripe fruit of healthy, high-quality plants. Soaking the seed in water for 24 hours before sowing helps it germinate.

Then comes the nursery. A crumbly mix of loam, compost and sand goes into beds or polybags, and the seed is sown about 2 centimetres deep. The nursery needs enough water and shade, because young seedlings cannot take direct sun. Coffee is slow to germinate and slower still to become sturdy enough for the field; patience is the first lesson of the crop.

While the seedlings grow, the land is prepared. Weeds are cleared, the soil is loosened and organic manure is worked in. Pits are dug about 2 metres apart, so that grown plants do not steal each other's light and air. On a hillside, digging the pits in rows across the slope reduces the soil washed away by rain.

At 8 to 12 months old, seedlings are ready for the field. One seedling goes into each pit and the soil around it is firmed well so that no air pockets remain around the roots. Planting at the start of the monsoon helps the roots establish quickly.

Then come years of waiting and tending. The plants need regular watering, especially in the dry season, when hill soils dry out fast. Excess branches are pruned to shape the plant; pruning lets in light and air, encourages new fruiting wood and makes picking easier.

Coffee needs some shade, so other trees around it have to provide it. In many countries coffee is grown under tall forest or fruit trees, a system known as shade-grown coffee. It keeps the soil moist, gives a home to birds and useful insects, and can give the farmer a second source of income.

The usual advice on feeding is organic manure twice a year plus chemical fertiliser as required. Fertilising according to a soil test saves money and gives the plant what it actually needs.

Coffee in flower is a sight worth seeing. After the dry season, the first good rain brings white blossoms out all at once along the branches, with a scent often compared to jasmine. The flowers last only a few days before they drop and small green berries form, which is why water and weather at flowering time matter so much for the crop.

The two types also differ in pollination. Arabica can set fruit with its own pollen, so even a single plant bears. Robusta needs pollen from another plant, carried by wind and by insects such as bees, so planting seedlings from different sources side by side improves fruit set, and bees near the plantation are a real help. Spraying insecticide while the plants are in flower is best avoided, because it kills the very insects that do the pollinating.

Coffee's most notorious enemy is coffee leaf rust, a fungal disease that leaves orange-yellow powdery spots on the underside of the leaves; the leaves then drop and the plant weakens. History has a stark example of what it can do: in the nineteenth century the disease wiped out the coffee estates of Ceylon, today's Sri Lanka, which were then replaced by tea. Blight also damages coffee. Approved fungicides are used against these diseases, and a clean plantation, with infected leaves removed, slows their spread.

Among pests, leaf pests and berry pests are the main concern. Insects that bore into the berry and destroy the bean can wreck the value of a harvest. Insecticide is used where necessary, but on the advice of an agriculture officer and at the labelled dose.

The reward for patience usually comes three to four years after planting, when the plants begin to fruit. Coffee berries, often called cherries, do not ripen all at once; green, yellow and red fruit sit side by side on the same branch. The ripe red cherries are therefore picked selectively by hand, and machines are used on large estates. Hand-picked coffee is usually better, because unripe and overripe fruit is left out.

After picking, the beans are separated from the fruit and dried in the sun. There are two common ways to process coffee. In one, the whole cherry is spread in the sun to dry and the dried husk is then removed to free the bean; this is the dry or natural method, and it gives a sweet, fruity cup. In the other, the skin and pulp of fresh cherries are stripped off by machine, the beans are washed in water and then dried; this is the wet or washed method, and it gives a clean, bright taste. Either way the essential condition is the same: the beans must dry properly and must not go mouldy. Beans left wet or soaked by rain develop off-flavours, and all the earlier work is wasted. The dried bean is green coffee, which is later roasted and ground. The degree of roasting sets the colour, flavour and aroma of the cup, which means the quality of coffee continues to be made or lost at every step after the harvest.

The crop's journey round the globe is a remarkable one. The plant was born in Ethiopia's forests, but the first clear historical record of a drink made from its seeds comes from across the Red Sea in Yemen, in the fifteenth century, where historians note that Sufi devotees drank it to stay awake through night-long prayers. Through the Yemeni port of Mocha coffee reached cities across the Muslim world and later Europe, and the name Mocha is still tied to coffee.

The Dutch later carried coffee to their colony of Java, and "java" became another word for coffee. In the eighteenth century it reached Latin America, where Brazil eventually became the largest producer on earth. Most of the countries famous for coffee today received the plant from somewhere else. Coffee's arrival in the hills of Bangladesh is a new chapter in that long journey.

Coffee is one of the world's most popular drinks, part of daily life for hundreds of millions of people. It is grown mainly in the tropics, in a belt on either side of the equator, and a handful of countries dominate the market.

Brazil is the world's largest producer, growing roughly 30 to 40 per cent of the world's coffee. It is skilled with both Arabica and Robusta, and its best-known growing regions are Minas Gerais, São Paulo and Paraná. Brazilian coffee is known worldwide for its mild taste and balanced aroma.

Vietnam is the second-largest producer and the leader in Robusta, grown extensively in the country's south-central region. Low prices and high productivity give Vietnamese coffee a big role in world exports.

Colombia is the third-largest producer, famous for Arabica. Coffee grown on the slopes of the Andes is prized worldwide for its aroma and smooth taste.

Indonesia is fourth. The coffees of Sumatra, Java and Bali each have their own character. The country is strong in Robusta, and kopi luwak, a coffee made by a special process, has spread its name.

Ethiopia is called the birthplace of coffee. A popular legend tells of a goatherd who noticed his goats becoming unusually lively after eating the red berries of a certain shrub. Whatever the truth of the tale, Arabica coffee originates in Ethiopia's highland forests, and coffee from Harar, Sidamo and Yirgacheffe is especially prized for its aroma and natural flavour.

Guatemala grows Arabica in its highlands, where volcanic soil raises the quality; its coffee is known for a distinctive taste and deep aroma.

In neighbouring India, coffee is grown in the southern states of Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu. India is skilled in both Robusta and Arabica, and is known for Monsooned Malabar, a specially processed coffee whose beans are exposed to the humid monsoon air to develop their character.

Kenyan coffee is famous for its bright acidity and fruity flavour, among the most flavourful in Africa. Costa Rica is known for environmentally friendly production and high-quality Arabica. Mexico specialises in Arabica and is an important exporter to the United States.

One thing stands out from this list: the taste and quality of coffee depend on local climate, soil and growing methods. The same variety gives a different coffee in two different countries. If Bangladesh wants a place in coffee, it will have to find its own identity in the character of its own hills.

Coffee growing in Bangladesh is still at an early stage, but it has emerged as a promising sector. It has taken root in Bandarban, Rangamati and Khagrachhari in the Chittagong Hill Tracts, and the country's warm, humid climate and hill soils are considered suitable.

Its history is not entirely new. According to a report in The Daily Star, coffee was first planted at Lama in Bandarban in the 1950s, with Arabica brought from Mizoram in India and Robusta later from Tripura. Organised cultivation began in 2001 at the Khagrachhari Agricultural Research Station, and large-scale expansion started in 2021. In between, in 2016, 116 hill farmers each received 200 Arabica seedlings, one of the first efforts to put coffee on farmers' own land. Bandarban, where it all began, still leads: by the same report, the district alone produced about 16 tonnes in 2025.

Behind that expansion is the agriculture ministry's Tk 211 crore Cashew Nut and Coffee Research, Development and Extension Project. The Department of Agricultural Extension leads it, with the Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute as partner. The project is taking coffee beyond the hill districts to 45 upazilas in 19 districts, including Sylhet, Rangpur, Nilphamari, the Madhupur tract of Tangail, and Sherpur.

The results are visible. By the figures cited in The Daily Star, the country produced 35 tonnes of coffee on 120 hectares in 2021 and about 95 tonnes on around 2,000 hectares in 2025. The government aims to raise output to 1,500 tonnes by 2030. Even so, the same report says domestic production meets only about 5 per cent of demand. The home market is still large and almost entirely supplied by imports.

Three things matter most. First, improved seed and seedlings suited to the altitude and temperature of Bangladesh's hills. Second, modern technology, especially in processing after harvest, because good cherries can be ruined by poor drying or roasting. Third, training for local farmers. A new crop needs new skills: when to prune, when to feed, which cherries to pick. These have to be learned in the field.

There are warnings too. The environmental news service Mongabay reported in 2024 that some conservationists are worried about how fast coffee is spreading in the Chittagong Hill Tracts. They fear that monoculture could deplete the soil, encourage disease and increase the use of fertiliser and pesticide, and they recommend native trees such as chapalish, garjan and civit as shade. Coffee's own nature points to a solution: a plant that wants shade can be grown together with the forest rather than in place of it.

Prices show why processing matters so much. The Daily Star report says raw coffee sells in Bangladesh for about Tk 350 to 400 a kilogram, while processed beans fetch Tk 1,200 to 2,000 a kilogram. Whoever does the drying, hulling and roasting well keeps most of the value. If hill farmers can organise processing together, in groups or cooperatives, they will be less forced to sell raw fruit cheaply.

Coffee is a high-value cash crop, in strong demand at home and abroad. In Bangladesh its popularity among young urban people is growing fast, and new coffee shops keep opening. Higher local production could meet part of that demand at home and cut the import bill, and if quality holds, it could open export opportunities.

Coffee has a further advantage in the hills. As a perennial it holds the soil on slopes and helps prevent erosion, because the ground does not have to be dug every year. Once a plantation is established it yields for many years, giving more secure long-term income than many other crops.

• Coffee is a high-value cash crop.
• Demand is strong at home and abroad.
• On hill land, coffee helps prevent soil erosion.
• An established plantation earns for many years.

Across the world, the variety and quality of coffee depend on local climate, soil and farming methods. Expanding coffee in Bangladesh could raise the incomes of hill farmers and open new possibilities for the economy. With sound planning, care and modern methods, coffee can become a profitable farm enterprise, especially in the hills. But it is not a crop for the impatient: from seed to first harvest takes years. The farmer planting a seedling today is investing in a cup of coffee several mornings, and several years, away.

Photo: Robusta coffee cherries (Coffea canephora), Jeevan Jose, Kerala, India / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)