Mostly hand-picked, naturally processed robusta from tropical lowlands, plus some highland arabica. Home to dozens of wild coffee species.
Madagascar ranked as the world's 23rd-largest coffee producer in 2023, at 49,344 tonnes, and produces mainly robusta (about 90 percent) with arabica around 10 percent. Robusta grows at roughly 100-300 m, while arabica is planted at higher altitudes in the central highlands and near Lake Alaotra. Most coffee is hand-picked and naturally processed, and the main harvest begins in June and July. Coffee arrived from Réunion in the 1800s, Madagascar was Africa's main coffee exporter in 1930, and a serious crisis hit in the late 1990s when prices crashed. The island is home to about 65 coffee species.
History
Coffee arrived from Réunion in the mid-to-late 1800s and became central to the economy by the 1930s, when Madagascar was Africa's main coffee exporter. Large farms were nationalised in the late 1970s, and production topped 1.1 million 60kg bags in the late 1980s. A price crash devastated the sector in the late 1990s.
Field notes
- i
Madagascar was the main exporter of African coffee in 1930.
- ii
Coffee was introduced from Réunion in the mid-to-late 1800s.
- iii
In 2021 a Kew Bulletin paper described six new coffee species from the forests of northern Madagascar, taking the known world total to 130.
- iv
Madagascar's wild coffees are thought to descend from a single species that crossed from Africa about 500,000 years ago, and some wild plants carry no caffeine.
- v
A 2019 study found 72 percent of Madagascar's wild coffee species threatened, against at least 60 percent worldwide.
Where it growsIsland tropics. Robusta in lowlands and arabica in the central highlands.
In the cup, according to guides
- BodyMoreQ graders described the 2019/20 Malagasy arabica harvest as clean and full-bodied.
- CleanCupMoreThe same Q grader description calls the arabica clean, scoring it 83-84.
Regions of Madagascar
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Northwest lowland robusta zone around Ambanja and the Sambirano River, at roughly 100-300 m and mostly naturally processed.
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Northeast Madagascar region (Sambava, Antalaha, Vohemar, Andapa), better known for vanilla, with lowland east-coast robusta, mostly naturally processed.
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Central region west of the capital, once planted with arabica by Réunionese settlers and known locally as coffee grown by the old people.
Varietals grown here
How it is usually processed
Species
Sources · 4 Every sentence here was checked against a source we read. Taste notes are what guides describe, not promises about your bag. Last revised 2026-11-10. Some details here are less settled than others.
- Coffee Production in Madagascar · Wikipedia
- A guide to coffee production in Madagascar · Perfect Daily Grind
- Six New Coffee Species Identified in Madagascar · Daily Coffee News
- Coffee culture in Madagascar · Bradt Guides