Why the world’s top coffee producer is switching up its beans

In the coming years, coffee from Brazil might start to taste a bit different.

The South American country is the world’s biggest producer of arabica, a mild variety of coffee bean. But as climate change makes it harder to grow those beans, some farmers are investing in robusta, which produces a more bitter bean but can tolerate higher temperatures and is more resistant to diseases.

Brazil’s traditional coffee growing regions, which largely produce arabica, have been beset by more intense and frequent droughts, and hotter temperatures. Arabica is still the country’s main coffee export, but robusta production is now growing at a faster rate: by over 81% over the past 10 years, according to the United States Department of Agriculture, which tracks global coffee production.

For Brazil, robus