Coffee In Ethiopia

The importance of coffee in Ethiopia today: Some 400 000 hectares of land to the West, South and East of Addis Ababa above 3600 feet are planted with arabica coffee.  About 80% of Ethiopia's exports are natural (sundried) arabica coffees, the remainder is washed.  The only coffee plantations in Ethiopia exist in Limu, Bebeka and Teppi.  All other coffee (over 95%) is grown by small garden farmers, or wild in forests.  Farmers inter-crop with other product in order to ensure their coffee is shade grown, and to provide them with financial security if coffee prices are low. 

Coffee accounts for some 65% of Ethiopia's foreign exchange earnings, and from cherry-F.O.B it probably employs near to 10% of the population.  As a result coffee must certainly rank as Ethiopia's most important export!  Ethiopia aims to export some 2.5 million bags of coffee per year.  However our total production is estimated at 4 million bags, which shows Ethiopia is a strong consumer as well as producer.

Coffee is central to the lives of all Ethiopians.  In the countryside where some people live a day's walk from a main road coffee is often the only beverage of choice.  In addition it is also still roasted, ground, mixed with butter, and made into balls to be eaten for sustenance during the working day.  In the cities, as well as in the countryside, coffee is drunk with friends, family, on special occasions, or simply out of choice.  Coffee is everywhere!

The Ethiopian coffee ceremony practiced by the woman of the family is an historic tradition with much religious symbolism.  3 cups are poured for each guest, incense wafts around the room, flax covers the floor, and usually peanuts or cooked barley are offered by way of accompaniment.  From birth in Ethiopia one becomes aware of the omnipresence of coffee.  It truly seems to run through the veins of our country!

The Traditional Ethiopian Coffee Ceremony


'Coffee' is Ethiopia's Gift to the World ...


The word 'coffee': It is thought hat the term coffee derives from Kaffa (a region in South-West Ethiopia) where the flower was first discovered blossoming.  The name Kafa is inherited from the hieroglyphic nouns KA and AFA into Oromfia and Kaficho.  KA is the name of God.  AFA is the name of earth and of all plants that grow on earth.  SO the word KOFFEE or COFFEE means 'the land or plant of God'.  Today most Ethiopian languages use the word bunn (bunna) to describe coffee, however in Sidama it is called tukke.

Ethiopia is the homeland of arabica coffee: Various legends have been adopted to explain the origins of coffee.  They all have in common the fact that Ethiopia is heralded as that place where coffee was first discovered.  The most popular legend goes back to the 3rd century.  Here it is said that a young goat herder, named Kaldi in oriental literature, noticed to his amazement that after chewing the bright red berries from a tree his goats pranced in an unusually frisky manner.  Kaldi tried the berries and enjoyed their stimulating effect.  A monk noticed Kaldi and decided to try the berries with his friars.  They all felt alert during their night prayers.  As news of the stimulating effect of the berry spread, people began chewing the berry before prayer, boiling it down to drink of 'white coffee', and later roasting it to drink black coffee or to mix with butter to create a stimulating food.

Coffee spreads throughout Ethiopia: With ideal growing conditions in the East, South and Western areas of the country, coffee developed rapidly.  Altitude, ample rainfall, suitable temperature, and fertile soil all assist Ethiopia to continue providing the world with wonderful arabica coffees.  It is natural that Ethiopia, the home of coffee, should illustrate its success.  Varieties of washed and sundried/natural coffees are available to satisfy the varied tastes of consumers at home and throughout the world. 

It can be said that 90% of this coffee is organic and efforts are being made to have this properly certified.  Ethiopia has wild forest coffee, traditional garden coffee (small holdings), and developments are being made to improve shade and contour planting through our research centres.  A small number of plantations in Limu, Teppi and Bebeka also exist.  With extensive local demand, coffee production is not easy to calculate.  Estimates are at 4 million bags, with capacity to increase upon this achievable not necessarily though additional planting, but by simply improving yields.

Coffee spreads throughout the World: Apart from trading coffee, it is thought that coffee was transplanted from the Ethiopian highlands to the Yemeni mountains during the spice trade between East Africa and the Arabian Peninsula.  From Yemen coffee spread to South East Asia, South American, and finally back to Africa.  Constantinople served as the bridge into Europe for the dissemination of coffee.  The first coffee bars were opened in London and Marseille in XVII.



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