Where was most of the world’s coffee grown before the end of the 17th century?

Created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.

Before the end of the 17th century, the world’s limited supply of coffee was obtained almost entirely from the province of Yemen in southern Arabia.12

While wild coffee plants are thought to be native to Ethiopia, the cultivation of the plant as a beverage source began in Yemen around the 15th century. The port town of Mokha served as the primary center for the coffee trade, maintaining a monopoly on the supply until the plant was eventually smuggled out and transplanted to other regions, such as Java and the Americas, in the following centuries.1234