Coffee Harvest Seasons by Country

Why coffee harvest seasons differ

Coffee harvesting follows the development of the fruit, usually called the cherry, rather than a fixed date on a calendar. Rain following a dry period can stimulate flowering; the fruit then develops and ripens over the following months. Different rainfall patterns therefore produce different picking seasons.

As a broad orientation, many northern hemisphere origins harvest around October to March, while southern origins such as Brazil and Peru concentrate much of their picking around May to September. These are useful starting points, not rules that apply throughout either hemisphere.

Near the equator, rainfall patterns and local geography become especially important. Some growing areas have distinct main and secondary harvests, while others have a longer, less concentrated season. Our explanation of the bean belt sets out the geographical background.

Altitude also changes the calendar within a country. Guatemala’s agriculture ministry describes later harvesting in high areas than in lower-growing districts. Costa Rica’s coffee institute publishes different windows for individual regions, which is more useful than treating the country as one uniform season.

For the wider regional picture, start with coffee growing regions. The calendar below focuses specifically on when picking happens.

Coffee harvest seasons by country

These are indicative picking windows, not shipment dates or promises of current availability. Months crossing December continue into the following calendar year. The source column identifies the basis for each entry; full references appear under Sources.

The table deliberately preserves differences between sources rather than making every country fit an identical format. A broad national window, a regional schedule and a forecast for one particular season are different kinds of information.

Costa Rica illustrates the problem particularly well. ICAFE’s regional schedule starts Turrialba in July and ends several later regions in March. That does not mean an individual Costa Rican farm harvests continuously throughout that whole period.

Likewise, Indonesia’s entry should not be read as one schedule shared by every island. Ask for the producing area and the lot’s actual picking period before drawing conclusions about its age.

Main crops, fly crops and the Colombian mitaca

A main crop is the principal harvest in the local production cycle. A secondary crop is another distinct picking period, often described as a fly crop. The names tell you about harvest timing, not a quality grade.

Colombia: the regional distinction matters

USDA’s Colombian report identifies national peaks in October to December and April to June, calling the latter the mitaca and locating it predominantly in the central coffee region.

However, a national summary does not describe every Colombian district. Mercanta notes that southern areas, including Huila and Nariño, can have their principal harvest when central areas are collecting their secondary crop. Cenicafé’s agronomic work also documents substantial differences in the distribution of production between regions.

Consequently, “Colombian spring harvest” is incomplete information. Ask which region produced the coffee and whether the seller means its local main harvest, its mitaca or simply the national reporting period.

Kenya: why calendars give different months

Kenya’s Agriculture and Food Authority lists the main harvest as September to December and the fly crop as May to July. The International Coffee Organization’s country profile gives broader harvest periods of April to June and October to December.

Those summaries overlap but do not have identical boundaries. They are country-level descriptions from different documents, not precise forecasts for a particular estate or washing station. This guide follows the Kenyan authority for the crop names and headline months, while retaining the ICO comparison.

For buying purposes, request the crop name and picking months. “Fly crop” alone does not tell you when the coffee arrived, how it was stored or how it tastes now.

From harvest to UK arrival

Picking is only the beginning of the journey. Coffee needs processing and drying, followed by preparation for export, transport and handling at its destination. The exact sequence depends on the processing method and supply chain.

Keep these stages separate:

1. Harvest: the period when ripe cherries were picked.
2. Processing and drying: preparation of the harvested fruit and seed.
3. Export preparation: milling, sorting, sampling and the arrangements needed for shipment.
4. Shipment: departure from the exporting country.
5. Arrival: landing at the destination port, followed by release and onward delivery.
6. Roasting: the separate date when green coffee becomes the roasted product you buy.

How long does shipping take?

There is no dependable single shipping time for all UK coffee imports. Mercanta gives examples of about a month at sea for Colombia and one to two months for Peru. These are indicative sea journeys, not total harvest-to-roastery lead times.

Sucafina identifies weather, blocked roads, dry-mill logistics and differences between locations and processing methods as reasons arrival dates move. A coffee can therefore be harvested on schedule but reach the buyer later than expected.

Ask whether an expected arrival means port arrival, warehouse availability or delivery to the roaster. Those are different milestones.

When should UK buyers look for new crops?

The following importer-published destination-arrival windows are useful prompts for checking UK roasters’ releases. They are not a live UK stock calendar, and individual shipments can fall outside them.

Use these windows to ask questions rather than to reject coffee automatically. For a specific purchase, a confirmed UK warehouse arrival is more useful than a general international arrival calendar.

Harvest year, roast date and freshness

A harvest label and a roast date answer different questions. The former describes the agricultural season; the latter tells you when roasting happened.

A label such as “2025/26” can describe a season crossing calendar years or a reporting period. It does not establish the picking month. The ICO’s statistical coffee year runs from 1 October to 30 September, which should not be mistaken for a universal harvest season.

There are also two different kinds of freshness to consider:

• Green-coffee condition: how the unroasted coffee has changed since processing.
• Roasted-coffee freshness: how the coffee has changed since roasting.

SCA’s explanation of fresh-crop coffee describes fading aroma and flavour during green storage, but also substantial variation in how quickly different coffees age. Its discussion of roasted freshness explains the separate processes of gas release and oxidation after roasting.

The practical implication is straightforward: a recent roast date does not prove a recent harvest, and a recent harvest does not guarantee excellent storage. Neither date replaces tasting.

A practical buying checklist

When choosing a seasonal coffee, ask:

1. Where exactly was it grown? Request a region or producer, not only a country.
2. When was it picked? Ask for months and year, with main or secondary crop identified where relevant.
3. Has it actually arrived? Distinguish a projected shipment from coffee available in the UK.
4. How was the green coffee protected? Ask about packaging and storage if comparing older and newer lots.
5. When was it roasted? Follow the roaster’s guidance for the particular coffee rather than imposing one universal resting period.

For an office supply, request notification before a seasonal lot changes and taste the replacement before committing to it. Treat coffee harvest seasons by country as a way to understand the supply, not as a substitute for checking the coffee in front of you.