Ethiopian Coffee Information

Ethiopian Coffee Information

Ethiopian Coffee is more than tasty; it is a major agricultural crop for Ethiopia.Ethiopia holds the distinction of being the oldest coffee exporter in the entire world.

Coffee is responsible for more than 60% of Ethiopia’s foreign exchange earnings.

While coffee is grown at various altitudes in Ethiopia, it is primarily grown in three regions between 1,300 and 1,800 meters above sea level.These areas are the eastern, southern and western portions of the country.

Each area grows its own distinctive coffees… much like the same wine grapes will have subtle differences in flavor when grown in different areas.Approximately 95% of the coffee grown in Ethiopia can be described as organic.

There are four different production types used in Ethiopia when growing coffee: forest coffee, semi-forest coffee, garden coffee and plantation coffee.Forest coffee is grown in the south and the southwestern areas of Ethiopia.

These coffee plants are self-sown, and spend their lives growing in the shade of other trees.Ten percent of Ethiopia’s total coffee crop is grown in this manner.

Semi-forest coffee is grown in this same region, and accounts for 35% of Ethiopia’s coffee.These coffee plants are grown in an area of thinned forestation, to ensure both shade and sun.

Garden coffee is grown in the southern and eastern regions of the country.Garden coffee is grown amongst other crops at the same time near the farmer’s homes.Another 35% of Ethiopia’s coffee is grown in this manner.

Plantation coffee is grown on state-owned plantations and on some smallholder farms.State-owned plantations use commercial fertilizers.Approximately 5% is grown on state-owned plantations, and 15% is grown on smallholder farms.

Ethiopia’s coffee is processed in one of two ways before exporting… wet or dry.

Sun-drying is the preferred method for most of the coffee beans harvested in Ethiopia. 80-85% of Ethiopia’s harvest is sun-dried.Sun-drying takes about 3-4 weeks to dry the beans.Once the coffee cherries are at about 11% moisture, they are taken to be hulled.

The sun-dried coffee from the eastern portion of Ethiopia is called Harrar Coffee, and is known for its strong flavor, fruit-like acidity, rich aroma and heavy body.It is used frequently in espresso blends.

Ethiopian Yirgacheffee Coffee Beans

Wet processing is done with about 15-20% of Ethiopia’s coffee crop, including Ethiopian Yirgacheffee coffee.Yirgacheffee is also the most exclusive of Ethiopia’s coffee crop.It is a mild, aromatic fruity coffee. Coffee is sent to one of 400 washing plants.Workers at these washing plants are specially trained.

Only the prime coffee beans are picked for wet processing.After a final sorting, these coffee cherries are pulped the same day they are harvested.From there, the coffee goes to fermentation tanks.Once the coffee has reached the right level of fermentation, it is washed in running water, and then soaked to remove any remaining pulp and improve the color of the beans.

Two other types of Ethiopian Coffee Beans are Sidamo and Limu.

Ethiopia deserves the fine reputation it has for growing quality coffee.As you can see, Ethiopian Coffee is grown under the finest care, harvested at the right time, and processed very carefully to produce only the best.


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