A history as the biggest producer on earth
Brazil cemented its position in the 19th century. The starting point is traditionally the seedlings Francisco de Melo Palheta brought back from French Guiana in 1727; by the late 1800s Brazil had grown to 70% of world production. The vast plateaus (cerrado) of São Paulo, Minas Gerais and Paraná suit large-scale mechanized farming, and Brazil holds the #1 spot to this day. The flip side: with mostly flat terrain, growing altitudes are lower than elsewhere in Latin America, so the flavor leads with nut, chocolate and caramel sweetness and body rather than bright acidity.