Coffee
Coffee production in Ethiopia is a longstanding tradition which dates back dozens of centuries. Ethiopia is where Coffea arabica, the coffee plant, originates.[1] The plant is now grown in various parts of the world; Ethiopia itself accounts for around 17% of the global coffee market. Coffee is important to the economy of Ethiopia; around 30-35% of foreign income comes from coffee, with an estimated 15 million of the population relying on some aspect of coffee production for their livelihood.[1] In 2013, coffee exports brought in $300 million,[2] equivalent to 24% of that year’s total exports.
Coffee History
The coffee plant originates in Kaffa Ethiopia. According to legend, the 9th-century goat herder Kaldi in the region of Kaffa discovered the coffee plant after noticing the energizing effect the plant had on his flock, but the story did not appear in writing until 1671. After originating in Ethiopia, coffee was consumed as a beverage in Yemen, possibly around the 6th century, even though the origin of coffee drinking is obscure. [4] From Yemen, coffee spread into Istanbul, Cairo, and Damascus. Ethiopian Christians refrained from drinking coffee due to its perceived association with Muslims until the 19th century.[5] The first coffee houses in Europe opened in Venice in 1645. The first coffee house in the United States began in Boston in 1689. Demand for coffee increased drastically in the 1960s, leading to opening of the first Starbucks store in Seattle in 1971.
Regional Varieties
Ethiopian coffee beans that are grown in either the Harar, Yirgacheffe, Limu, Jimma or Kaffa regions are kept apart and marketed under their regional name.[12][18] These regional varieties are trademarked names with the rights owned by Ethiopia.
Sidamo
Sidamo coffee is well-balanced with cupping notes exhibiting berries and citrus with complex acidity. The coffee hails from the province of Sidamo in the Ethiopian highlands at elevations from 1,500 up to 2,200 meters above sea level.
Genika
“Ethiopia Genika” is a type of Arabica coffee of single origin grown exclusively in the Bench Maji Zone of Ethiopia. Like most African coffees, Ethiopia Guraferda features a small and greyish bean, yet is valued for its deep, spice and wine or chocolate-like taste and floral aroma.
Harar
Harar is in the Eastern highlands of Ethiopia. It is one of the oldest coffee beans still produced and is known for its distinctive fruity, wine flavour. Harar is a dry processed coffee bean with sorting and processing done almost entirely by hand.
Kaffa
Kaffa coffee is named after the region it comes from, Kaffa, located in south-west Ethiopia. It is also the birthplace of the Arabica plant, mother to all other Arabica coffee plants. Not cultivated nor maintained, the coffee grows wild in the middle of deep forests, between 1,400 to 2,100 meters above sea level. Kaffa is thus a forest coffee but can also be found as a semi-forest coffee.