Origins
ETHIOPIA
ABOUT THE REGION
PRODUCING REGIONS
Kaffa, Sidamo, Yirgachaffe, Limu, Harrar, Nekempti
HARVEST
September to January
Ethiopia is acknowledged as the birthplace of Arabica coffee and over the centuries has retained a revered place in the social, cultural and economic heart of the country. Today, the country is the world’s 5th largest exporter. Coffee in Ethiopia is predominantly a highland crop growing at elevations between 1100 - 2300 MASL. About 90% of Ethiopian coffee is produced by small holder farmers and remaining 10% by commercial, government and private estates. This can be broken down as:
Over half of all production is consumed domestically, Ethiopians being the largest coffee consumers in Sub-Saharan Africa. We are lucky enough to have a sister company based in Addis Ababa for over 20 years who assist, taste and guide us on our coffees from this magnificent and historical origin.
As a rule, only Grade 1 and Grade 2 coffees are washed, Grade 3, 4 and 5 are naturals. Ethiopian beans are often referred to by their bean shape, Longberry and shortberry; based on size as the name suggests and Mocha which are peaberries.
There are key coffee growing areas in Ethiopia that are associated with coffees. The region names we hear most often are:
BEANS FROM HERE
ORIGIN PROFILE
- CapitalAddis Ababa
- Area1,230,000 square kilometers
- PopulationOver 100 million
- LanguageAmharic
- CurrencyBirr
- Annual
Production390,500 tonnes
- Coffee Producing
AreaNot fully verified - Producing
RegionsKaffa, Sidamo, Yirgachaffe, Limu, Harrar, Nekempti - Coffee VarietalsHeirloom
- TerrainMountainous highlands and plateaus
- Altitude1475 – 2300 MASL
- SoilPredominantly volcanic and sedimentary
- ProcessingWashed and natural