The Global Journey of Coffee: Reading Answers & Explanations
IELTS Reading practice test · 14 questionsAcademicmedium
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About this passage
The passage opens: “Few commodities have travelled as far, or shaped as many economies, as coffee. Grown in a broad band of tropical countries and consumed in enormous quantities across the world, it is today one of the most widely traded agricultural products.”
- Passage length: about 870 words
- Questions: 14
- Question types: True / False / Not Given, Yes / No / Not Given, Multiple Choice, Short Answer
“The Global Journey of Coffee” is an original IELTS-style practice passage written by IELTS-Bank. It is not taken from an official IELTS or Cambridge test, so these answers only apply to our version.
Answer key at a glance
The Global Journey of Coffee answers with explanations
Questions 1–5: True / False / Not Given
Do the following statements agree with the information given in the passage? Write TRUE, FALSE or NOT GIVEN.
- 1
Coffee is thought to have originated in the highlands of present-day Ethiopia.
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Answer: TRUE
Why: This sentence confirms the statement, so the answer is TRUE.
Evidence · Paragraph 2 “Coffee is generally believed to have originated in the highlands of what is now Ethiopia, where the plant grew wild long before it was cultivated.”
- 2
The first coffee houses appeared in the cities of Europe.
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Answer: FALSE
Why: This sentence directly contradicts the statement, so the answer is FALSE.
Evidence · Paragraph 2 “From there its use spread across the Arabian Peninsula, where it was brewed as a drink and where the first coffee houses appeared.”
- 3
Robusta contains more caffeine than Arabica.
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Answer: TRUE
Why: This sentence confirms the statement, so the answer is TRUE.
Evidence · Paragraph 4 “Robusta, as its name suggests, is hardier and higher in caffeine, and it is often used in instant coffee and in blends where a stronger, more bitter character is acceptable.”
- 4
Coffee is the most valuable agricultural export of every country that grows it.
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Answer: NOT GIVEN
Why: The statement claims coffee is the most valuable agricultural export of every country that grows it, but the passage does not confirm or deny this, only mentioning coffee as a widely traded agricultural product.
Closest related text · Paragraph 1 “Grown in a broad band of tropical countries and consumed in enormous quantities across the world, it is today one of the most widely traded agricultural products.”
- 5
Growers can rapidly increase their output when coffee prices rise.
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Answer: FALSE
Why: This sentence directly contradicts the statement, so the answer is FALSE.
Evidence · Paragraph 4 “Because coffee bushes take several years to mature, growers cannot quickly adjust their output when prices change, which contributes to the sharp swings that have long characterised the market.”
Questions 6–8: Yes / No / Not Given
Do the following statements agree with the claims of the writer in the passage? Write YES, NO or NOT GIVEN.
- 6
The writer believes the unequal division of value along the supply chain is the central injustice of the coffee trade.
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Answer: YES
Why: The writer's view here agrees with the statement, so the answer is YES.
Evidence · Paragraph 5 “In my view, this imbalance is the central injustice of the coffee trade, and any account that celebrates the drink without acknowledging it is incomplete.”
- 7
The writer claims that certification programmes have definitely solved the problem of low prices for growers.
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Answer: NO
Why: The writer's view here contradicts the statement, so the answer is NO.
Evidence · Paragraph 5 “Various schemes, including certification programmes that promise better terms for growers, have tried to address the problem, though opinions differ on how much difference they truly make.”
- 8
The writer argues that drinking coffee is rarely only about the beverage itself.
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Answer: YES
Why: The writer's view here agrees with the statement, so the answer is YES.
Evidence · Paragraph 6 “Whatever form it takes, the act of drinking coffee is rarely only about the beverage itself; it is also about pause, sociability and routine.”
Question 9: Multiple Choice
Choose the correct letter, A, B, C or D.
- A. on the farms where the beans are grown
- B. after the beans leave the producing country
- C. during the transport of beans between colonies
- D. before the coffee bushes reach maturity
- 9
According to the passage, much of the value of coffee is added
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Answer: B — after the beans leave the producing country
Why: This is the part of the passage that supports B — after the beans leave the producing country.
Evidence · Paragraph 5 “A great deal of the value of coffee is added after it leaves the country where it is grown, through roasting, branding and retailing, activities that are largely concentrated in wealthier importing nations.”
Question 10: Multiple Choice
Choose the correct letter, A, B, C or D.
- A. hardier and higher in caffeine than Robusta
- B. mainly used in instant coffee
- C. more delicate in flavour and vulnerable to disease
- D. grown chiefly at low altitudes
- 10
Arabica is described in the passage as
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Answer: C — more delicate in flavour and vulnerable to disease
Why: This is the part of the passage that supports C — more delicate in flavour and vulnerable to disease.
Evidence · Paragraph 4 “Arabica, prized for its more delicate and varied flavour, tends to grow at higher altitudes and is more vulnerable to disease and to shifts in weather.”
Question 11: Multiple Choice
Choose the correct letter, A, B, C or D.
- A. it reduces the world's demand for the drink
- B. it makes roasting and branding more expensive
- C. it endangers the cooler, higher land on which fine Arabica depends
- D. it lowers the caffeine content of the beans
- 11
The passage suggests that climate change is a threat to coffee because
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Answer: C — it endangers the cooler, higher land on which fine Arabica depends
Why: This is the part of the passage that supports C — it endangers the cooler, higher land on which fine Arabica depends.
Evidence · Paragraph 7 “Changing climate threatens the cooler, higher land on which the finest Arabica depends, and pests and diseases can devastate harvests.”
Questions 12–14: Short Answer
Answer the questions below. Choose NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS from the passage for each answer.
- 12
Across which region did the use of coffee spread after leaving its place of origin?(max 3 words)
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Answer: the Arabian Peninsula (also accepted: Arabian Peninsula / Arabian peninsula)
Why: The answer “the Arabian Peninsula” is taken from this sentence — copy the word(s) exactly as they appear. It fits the 3-word limit.
Evidence · Paragraph 2 “From there its use spread across the Arabian Peninsula, where it was brewed as a drink and where the first coffee houses appeared.”
- 13
Which two species are said to dominate modern coffee production, besides Robusta?(max 2 words)
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Answer: Arabica (also accepted: arabica)
Why: The answer “Arabica” is taken from this sentence — copy the word(s) exactly as they appear. It fits the 2-word limit.
Evidence · Paragraph 4 “Arabica, prized for its more delicate and varied flavour, tends to grow at higher altitudes and is more vulnerable to disease and to shifts in weather.”
- 14
Much of the labour on early coffee plantations is described as having been what?(max 2 words)
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Answer: coerced (also accepted: coerced labour)
Why: The answer “coerced” is taken from this sentence — copy the word(s) exactly as they appear. It fits the 2-word limit.
Evidence · Paragraph 3 “This expansion had a profound and frequently harsh human dimension, because much of the labour on early plantations was coerced.”
Estimated band score for this test
Your raw score out of 14 scaled to the 40-question IELTS Reading (Academic) conversion table. This is the same estimate the practice page shows after you submit. A single passage is a small sample, so treat it as a guide.
| Correct answers | Estimated band |
|---|---|
| 14 / 14 | 9.0 |
| 13 / 14 | 8.5 |
| 12 / 14 | 7.5 |
| 11 / 14 | 7.0 |
| 10 / 14 | 6.5 |
| 8–9 / 14 | 6.0 |
| 7 / 14 | 5.5 |
| 6 / 14 | 5.0 |
| 5 / 14 | 4.5 |
| 4 / 14 | 4.0 |
| 3 / 14 | 3.5 |
| 2 / 14 | 3.0 |
| 1 / 14 | 2.0 |
| 0 / 14 | 0.0 |
Full-test score? Use the IELTS band calculator.
Tips for the question types in this test
True / False / Not Given
- Read the statement first and underline the key idea, especially any qualifiers like "all", "only", "never", "always", "more than" or dates and numbers.
- Because the questions follow the order of the passage, scan for the paragraph that deals with the same topic rather than re-reading everything.
Common trap: Confusing "False" with "Not Given": choose False only when the passage actively contradicts the statement; if the passage is silent, it is Not Given.
Full True / False / Not Given strategyYes / No / Not Given
- Identify the claim in the statement and, crucially, whose opinion it represents — these passages often quote several people, so track who is speaking.
- Scan the passage for opinion signals: verbs like "argues", "believes", "suggests", "claims", and phrases such as "in the author’s view".
Common trap: Treating a reported opinion (someone else’s view mentioned by the writer) as the writer’s own conclusion.
Full Yes / No / Not Given strategyMultiple Choice
- Read the question stem carefully before the options so you know exactly what is being asked.
- Because multiple-choice questions follow passage order, locate the relevant section and read it in full — the answer usually depends on more than one sentence.
Common trap: Distractors that use exact words from the passage but distort the meaning.
Full Multiple Choice strategyShort Answer
- Read the instructions and note the exact word limit; going over it means zero marks even if the meaning is right.
- Turn each question into a set of keywords and predict what kind of answer it needs (a person, a date, a place, a noun).
Common trap: Exceeding the word limit (writing four words when only three are allowed).
Full Short Answer strategyPractise “The Global Journey of Coffee” under exam conditions
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