“In Brazil the middle class has grown and has more money nowadays. Consumers are becoming more sophisticated and want more quality, they want differentiation.  In 2000 you could not find gourmet coffee on supermarket shelves, now we have 104 different brands that are certified as gourmet coffees in the program in the stores.”-Nathan Herszkowicz, ABIC

Right now Brazil is the number one producer of coffee, and according to Brazil’s coffee industry association ABIC, Brazil is about to become the number one consumer as well.

According to officials with ABIC, the coffee consumption rate, in Brazil, is increasing by 4% every year.

While increased coffee consumption is a sign of good economic times for Brazilians, it could be bad news for everyone else: Coffee farmers in Brazil are now focusing on growing for domestic sales, rather than exporting their drinkable beans. That could increase prices for the rest of us.

By the way, the ranking of biggest coffee consumer is based on a country’s consumption of 60 kilogram (132 pounds) bags of coffee.  If you look at per capita (per person) consumption of coffee, then Finland is number one!