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Coffee is Ethiopia’s Gift to the World

Coffee arabica L. is indigenous to Ethiopia. Traditional tales provide a number of versions about discovery. One well-known legend is that coffee is discovered by a young Ethiopian goat-herd named Kaldi (which apparently means “hot” in ancient Arabic), who noticed his goats behaving frentically after eating red berries from a nearby bush.  Curious and hoping to energize himself, Kaldi tried some. To his delight, his tiredness quickly faded into a fresh burst of energy, and he began dancing about excitedly with his goats. A monk from a local monastery noticed the daily habit that Kaldi soon developed.  The monk tried the fruits himself, noticed the effect, and came upon the idea of boiling the berries to make a drink to help the monks stay awake during long religious services. The monks that first brewed coffee were the forerunners of the present inhabitants of the Ethiopian monasteries.

Coffee arabica grows best in the cool, shady environment of the forests of the Ethiopian highlands. The potential for coffee plantation in Ethiopia is very high due to the presence of suitable altitude, ample rainfall, optimum temperatures and soil fertility.

A     In Ethiopia coffee grows at various altitudes, ranging from 550 to 2,750 m above se level (m.a.s.l). However, the bulk of Coffee arabica is produced in the eastern, southern and western parts of the country, which have altitudes ranging from 1,300 to 1,800 m.a.s.l.

A     Annual rainfall in the coffee growing regions of the country varies from 1,500-2,500 mm. It is not only the total rainfall, which is important for good production but also its eight-month distribution.

A     The ideal temperature for Coffee arabica is considered to be 15-25 ^oC.  This temperature prevails in most of the country’s coffee growing areas.

A     All the coffee growing regions have fertile, friable, loamy soils, with a depth of at least 1.5 m. The topsoil is dominantly dark-brown or brownish in color, with a pH ranging mostly from 5.0-6.8 (water extract). One outstanding characteristics of the soil is that its fertility is maintained by organic recycling. Most coffee buyers know that the bulk of coffee produced in Ethiopia qualifies as organically grown.

Ethiopian highland grown coffee is distinctive and valued by its unique characteristics such as rich in acidity and body, aromatic and sweet-flavoured, with a winey, spicy, flora or mocha taste. Ethiopian coffee is thus among the best in the world and offers a wide choice to the world’s coffee roasters, who may select coffee of rich acidity and body, or coffee of low acidity with good body, or a balanced and flavourful coffee.These different flavour profiles represent the unique potential of Ethiopian coffee production, which has not yet been fully exploited. Some of the coffees originating in Ethiopia, which are unique in the world, are the following: Harar coffee, Wollega coffee, Limu coffee, Sidamo coffee and Yirgacheffee coffee.

Coffee is the major export crop of the country, and accounts for over 60% of the export earnings. It also plays an important role in employment generation. About 25% of the population is directly or indirectly engaged in the production, processing and marketing of coffee.

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