The Republic of Guinea is a coastal country in West Africa. In 1900, Arabica coffee was first introduced to the country, but cultivation was relatively unsuccessful. Coffee is grown in 15 regions across Guinea, mostly Robusta, with some farms also growing Arabica, but only on a small scale. In 2019, Guinea was the 34th largest coffee producer in the world. The majority of Guinea's coffee is exported raw, with Algeria, Morocco and Senegal the largest export markets, with the Netherlands, Germany, France, Belgium and Italy also buying smaller volumes. After years of political instability and a devastating Ebola outbreak, Guinea's coffee industry continues to struggle. While there is certainly potential for it to grow higher volumes of quality coffee (including Arabica), the Republic of Guinea's coffee industry is in dire need of more support from the government and global coffee organizations.
Some of the popular ways of enjoying coffee in Guinea are as follows: Kawa Kawa, where the coffee beans are roasted and ground into a fine powder, then boiled in water, the resulting coffee has a thick and rich taste; Meri Kopra, which is a traditional coffee-making process that is more of a ritual than a coffee-making technique and is often performed during important events, such as weddings and festivals; Jiwi Kopra, which is another traditional coffee-making technique popular in Guinea, involves boiling the coffee beans in water and leaving them to soak overnight, after which the coffee is filtered and served hot.