Ethiopian Coffee Information

The birthplace of coffee, Ethiopia produces some of the most interesting coffees in the world. Defined by its wildly sharp tanginess and thick-bodied liquor, Ethiopian Harrar is one of them.

While coffee is grown at various altitudes in Ethiopia, the three prime regions range between 1,300 and 1,800 meters above sea level.

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 Southern and Southwestern areas of Ethiopia.

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

Garden coffee dominates the Southern and Eastern regions. It's cultivated amongst other crops to avoid coffee specific diseases and accounts for another 35% of Ethiopia’s coffee prodcution.

Plantation coffee is cultivated on state-owned plantations and on some smallholder farms. State-owned plantations use commercial fertilizers.

Approximately 5% comes from on state-owned plantations, and 15% from 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, which ensures the rich flavor compared to machine dried ones. Once the coffee cherries are at about 11% moisture, they are taken to be hulled.

The sun-dried coffee from the East of Ethiopia is called Harrar Coffee, and is known for its strong flavor, fruit-like acidity, rich aroma and heavy body, which makes it a perfect ingredient for espresso blends.

Ethiopian Yirgacheffee Coffee Beans

Ethiopian Yergacheffe Coffee - $ 9.53 Rare but worth the search. Sharp tanginess

Wet processing is done with about 15-20% of Ethiopia’s coffee crop, including Ethiopian Yirgacheffee coffee.

Yirgacheffee is the most exclusive of Ethiopia’s coffee crop.It produces a mild, aromatic fruity coffee. Beans are sent to one of 400 washing plants.

Only the prime coffee beans are picked for wet processing.

After a final sorting, these cherries are pulped the same day they are harvested, and taken 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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