Geography and distribution
Coffea arabica is native to northeast Tropical Africa (Southern Ethiopia, South Sudan (Boma Plateau); and possibly East Tropical Africa (Kenya, Mt Marsabit). It is sometimes naturalised in tropical areas. Arabica coffee grows at 950 m to 1,950 m above sea level.
In total, there are 125 coffee species, which occur naturally in Africa, the Indian Ocean Islands, (Madagascar, Comoros, and the Mascarenes), southern Asia, south east Asia and Australia. Arabica and Robusta coffee are the main beverage species, with a small percentage of Liberica coffee (Coffea liberica) grown for commercial purposes. Other species in East Africa and Madagascar are sometimes used locally to make coffee on a very small scale.