The value of the Ethiopian coffee

A FAST BACKGROUND OF ETHIOPIAN COFFEE

Many consider Ethiopia as the birthplace of coffee. Quickly declaring such a thing might be hasty, but certainly, the genus Coffea is originally from Africa. More specifically, and that’s when things become more relevant to the coffee industry, it is quite safe to say that the Arabica species is originally from Ethiopia. Cultivation of coffee started in Ethiopia since the 9th century, therefore we can also assume that in its wild form had evolved long before.

In case you wonder why the name “Arabica”, the explanation is that up until the 19th century, many scientists were convinced that the plant was originated in the Arabian Peninsula, around Yemen. With time, science proved this assumption wrong and coronated Ethiopia as the mother queen of Coffea Arabica.

The fact that Arabica’s origin is Ethiopia has many implications on how coffee is seen around the country. According to different sources, the first use of coffee in Ethiopia wasn’t actually the roasted and ground beans of the fruit, but rather other parts of the plants. 

The dried leaves or the flowers, for example, were used for tea-like infusions. Also, a common way to consume coffee back then was an old school energy snack – ground beans, mixed with clarified butter, rolled into balls. In addition, it was found that in some regions of Ethiopia they used to make a particular porridge based on cooked coffee beans, most likely with the addition of some kind of fat. 

It was only a few centuries later that coffee in Ethiopia was recognized and appreciated as a beverage. This recognition has set the ground to the Ethiopian coffee ceremony, which is surely one of the greatest symbols of the Ethiopian culture, not only within the boundaries of coffee. I won’t go into the exact details of the ceremony, there’s a lot of articulated information about it online, but there’s one main crucial mark about it: the huge social significance. 

Above all, this ritual is a sign of conviviality. As we all know – up until today, all over the world, a cup of coffee is more than anything an opportunity to socialize. In Ethiopia, they fully understand that, and in many regions across the country, they respect and repeat the ceremony on a daily basis; taking a few moments to be a community, to get together with your family members, friends, and neighbors. 

BUT WHY ETHIOPIAN COFFEE IS SO VALUABLE?

With this rich background and long history, it only makes sense that Ethiopian coffee beans are considered to be some of the best ones can find. The mother of Arabica coffee is blessed with incredible diversity. Diversity is the key to quality. If you put dozens of different micro-climates and environments suitable for coffee production together with thousands of unique and mysterious coffee varieties – what you get eventually is basically an extreme coffee wonderland. Whether it’s grown in a forest or in the backyard of a (very) small scale farmer – the combination of genetics and terroir introduces the world to the most amazing coffee beans. 

The more common processing method is Ethiopia is the natural (dry) process. It usually results in a sweet cup profile, of tropical or red ripe fruits and quite often also berries. However, Ethiopian coffees are so versatile, that even when processed natural, in many cases they’d have an intense aroma of flowers and citrus. They are unexpected, wild, untamed. Or in simple words: very, very complex. 

Here at Vinhood, we describe coffee profiles through different #Characters. In the case of Ethiopian coffees, it is surely not an easy task. I would definitely not describe Ethiopian coffee as #Vigorous, but apart from that, the sky is the limit for these unpredictable coffees. It could easily range from #Adventurous to #Cheerful, but not only. Floral, washed-processed Ethiopians could be described as #Chill, while prolonged dry-processed ones with intense sweetness would be #Fascinating. 

SO WHY SHOULD WE TRY ETHIOPIAN COFFEES?

Ethiopian coffees never disappoint. Personally, I’m always very satisfied after trying them. But beyond that, as mentioned before, Ethiopian coffees are virtually the global single reservoir of the Arabica species, which is 65% of the worldwide consumption. In these highly vulnerable days of the climate crisis and global warming, humanity has to work hard to protect this tremendous reservoir. 

The first step that we can do to support it, as customers, is to simply buy a bag of Ethiopian coffee beans. That would already be a great starting point.