Coffee Harvest Seasons: A Month-by-Month Calendar

Coffee Harvest Calendar by Origin

Compare reported picking windows, not expected retail stock. A long band can combine different localities; it does not mean one farm harvests for that entire period. Kenya's row describes central-region suppliers, India's two species are separate, and the two southern Sumatra rows have different elevation and evidence scopes.

Source Notes and Regional Exceptions

Read each note before applying a row to a bag. Sources range from country authorities and dated government reports to importer references. The F cells for higher-elevation southern Sumatra preserve a forecast made in May 2026; they do not confirm what subsequently happened. A current farm or lot record takes priority over this broad calendar.

A source's publication year and the date its reference was reviewed are different. Undated importer calendars describe recurring patterns; an older report remains a dated baseline. Neither becomes evidence for a new crop simply because this page was updated. For origins outside this set, use the coffee-producing countries directory, then check the relevant authority or supplier's lot documentation.

The Six Clocks Behind Fresh Coffee

Coffee moves through six dates or periods that answer different questions:

1. Harvest records when cherries for the lot were picked.
2. Processing and drying cover fruit removal, fermentation where used, drying and stabilization.
3. Shipment or export records when prepared green coffee left origin.
4. Importer arrival belongs to a named destination and warehouse, not to a country-wide formula.
5. Green-coffee age and storage describe time and conditions before roasting.
6. Roast date starts the faster clock for the coffee a consumer will brew.

A recent harvest can have an old roast date. An earlier crop can also remain sound when it began with good quality and was stored carefully. No one clock substitutes for the others.

Crop Year Is Not a Picking Date

The International Coffee Organization describes a crop year as the 12-month period from one harvest to the next. Country crop years do not all begin in the same month. The ICO also uses a common coffee year beginning 1 October for global market analysis.

Those statistical frames help compare supply; they are not lot-level picking records. A "2025/26 crop" label identifies a commercial production cycle, while a farm or mill record can state the actual cherry dates.

A fly crop or mitaca is a smaller secondary crop outside an origin's dominant period. The label and its importance vary by place. Name the region and dates instead of forcing every origin into the same vocabulary.

Why Harvest Windows Move

Flowering and fruit development respond to local rain and dry periods. Elevation, aspect, shade, temperature and variety can stagger ripening within one region. Labor, selective picking passes and unusual weather can change one season without permanently rewriting the national calendar.

That is why a farm's current harvest update is stronger evidence than a timeless month graphic. The coffee microclimates guide explains the plot-scale conditions behind those shifts.

Why Arrival Cannot Be Predicted from Harvest

After picking, coffee can pass through fruit removal, fermentation, drying, conditioning, dry milling, grading, sample approval, contracting, inland transport, export documents, vessel booking, customs and warehouse intake. The order and duration vary by process and trade route.

Cafe Imports describes its arrival chart as an estimate for its own North American offices. Royal Coffee shows why arrival can relate as much to approval and purchasing as to harvest. A useful green-coffee record names the supplier, destination warehouse and observed arrival; this page therefore does not add a generic number of months to every origin.

Use the processing methods guide for method mechanics and processing traditions by origin for geographic label context.

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How to Judge Freshness

For a roasted bag, read the evidence in this order:

1. Roast date and package condition for the coffee you will brew.
2. Named origin and lot so a calendar entry has a real referent.
3. Harvest or crop reference, including region where cycles overlap.
4. Process and storage transparency, not "fresh crop" alone.
5. Taste and brew response; a calendar cannot overrule the cup.

For green coffee, ask for actual harvest or collection period, process and drying completion where available, shipment, named-warehouse arrival, storage and a current sample. A 12-month study of Arabica stored in hermetic big bags under modified and controlled atmospheres shows why storage conditions matter alongside age.

The coffee origin-label guide defines the useful fields, while how to read a coffee bag turns them into a purchase sequence.

How This Calendar Is Maintained

The grid and source notes use the same month records. Each reference identifies whether it describes a country, region, species or particular crop; report years and review dates remain visible. Government and producing-country sources provide the baseline where available, while importer records add month-level or lot-specific context. When timing differs, the geographic and crop scope matters more than an average of the dates.

This is a sourced reference, not a live crop tracker. Read the note's evidence date and use a newer local report or actual lot record when available.

Common Questions Before You Buy

Sources and Further Reading