Coffee is tied up in the history of European colonialism in Southeast Asia and Indonesia. In particular, the Dutch were interested in cultivating coffee along with tea and spices in Batavia (Jakarta) Indonesia. 

Arabica coffee spread to other parts of Indonesia, but it’s cultivation in other SE Asian nations came later. Oftentimes Robusta types of coffee plants were favored since they were well adapted to the more humid climes of nations like Vietnam, Thailand and Philippines. Liberica coffee was also cultivated in many of these regions. Arabica was restricted to higher altitudes.

These coffee-producing nations do not share many traits in common in terms of coffee characteristics or cultivation. But they are emerging coffee cultures that also produce coffee as a crop. This leads to exciting new possibilities as coffee roasters can collaborate with local farmers, something not possible in the coffee consuming nations of the global north.