Women are no longer confined to the roles assigned during decades gone by—they are taking charge as café owners, mobile coffee and cart operators, roasters, and coffee business leaders. Across the U.S., women are starting their own coffee businesses, transforming local communities while prioritizing sustainability and ethical sourcing.

• Brazil: As the world’s largest coffee exporter, Brazil is the backbone of the global coffee industry, producing roughly one-third of all coffee consumed. However, the country’s coffee sector is under severe threat from climate change. Prolonged droughts, like the devastating one in 2020, have disrupted flowering stages and reduced yields, while unseasonal frosts, such as those in 2021, damaged thousands of acres of coffee plants, forcing farmers to replant and delaying recovery by years.
  Rising temperatures are also pushing coffee production to higher altitudes, but limited land and high costs make this transition challenging. These climate impacts not only affect Brazil’s ability to produce high-quality Arabica coffee but also disrupt global coffee supply chains, leading to price volatility and forcing importers and roasters to seek alternative sources. Brazil’s challenges highlight the vulnerability of a global industry reliant on a single dominant supplier, emphasizing the need for sustainable practices, research into climate-resilient varieties, and greater diversification in the global coffee trade.
• Vietnam: As the largest producer of Robusta coffee, Vietnam faces increasing challenges from unpredictable rainfall and extreme weather. The country’s reliance on irrigation makes it vulnerable to water shortages and rising temperatures, which could affect its dominant position in global coffee markets.
• Ethiopia: Ethiopia, the birthplace of coffee, is grappling with rising temperatures and irregular rainfall that have shortened growing seasons and disrupted cherry development. Heat stress and the spread of pests like coffee leaf rust and coffee berry disease have further devastated crops. Many smallholder farmers are abandoning traditional coffee regions or switching to less flavorful but hardier varieties, putting Ethiopia’s prized heirloom coffees and its position in the global market at risk. With over 30% of its export earnings tied to coffee, Ethiopia’s efforts to adapt through shade-grown coffee, agroforestry, and climate-resilient varieties offer hope, but preserving its coffee heritage requires significant support.