Ethiopia is the country where coffee came from before it spread across the world. While many coffee varieties have occurred naturally or been developed intentionally in coffee growing countries worldwide, Ethiopia has thousands of unique varieties that evolved naturally. How many types of coffee occur in Ethiopia and how many types of coffee does Ethiopia produce commercially?
About Ethiopia
Ethiopia is a nation of 135 million people locate in the Horn of Africa although the country is landlocked. This specific part of the world is where modern humans evolved and from where humans spread across Africa and the world. Ethiopia was visited by Christian missionaries around 330 AD and there are to this day hundreds of surviving monasteries dating back to the 4th century in Ethiopia. In fact, a monastery figures into the history of coffee in Ethiopia.
The Discovery of Coffee as a Beverage in Ethiopia
Legend has it that a goat herder in Ethiopia hundreds of years ago noticed that when his goats ate the berries of a bush that they became very energetic. The goat herder took some of the coffee cherries that he picked to a local monastery where the abbot investigated, tried roasting the beans, and made the first pot of coffee. The coffee in question was not derived from commercially available beans but was a naturally occurring plant. It turns out that Ethiopia has lots and lots of different naturally occurring coffee varieties.
Thousands of Coffee Varieties in Ethiopia
Because coffee in Ethiopia did not arrive from elsewhere as a unique variety but rather grew and evolved naturally, coffee farmers have the option of picking the best of what is available to grow in their specific region, climate, and altitude. Add to these factors differing processing methods and Ethiopia produces between six and ten thousand specific coffee varieties. Well known Ethiopian varieties include Mocha, Shortberry, and Longberry.
Buying Unique Ethiopian Coffee Varieties
When the Ethiopia Commodity Exchange was opened in 2008 coffees were combined by grade which did not allow buyers to pick the best of the regional varieties. This was remedied in 2017 so that buyers can trace varieties and producers of the best coffees can benefit from their hard work and investments.
How Does Ethiopia Rank as a Coffee Producer?
Ethiopia produces nearly 500,000 tons of coffee a year making it the fifth largest producer in the world behind Indonesia and ahead of Honduras. For those interested in naturally grown coffee, Ethiopia is an idea source with much of its coffee grown is shade grown coffee and in the southern part of Ethiopia much of the coffee is grown and picked in the wild.
Specific Ethiopian Coffees
Although Ethiopian coffees come in four specific varieties, they are marketed according to basic variety and region of production. Regions include Kaffa, Harar, Jimma, Sidama, Yirgacheffe and Limu. The Sidama region is where coffee was first recognized for its current use as a drink. Sidama coffees are grown at altitudes of 1,500 to 2,200 meters. They have lemon and citrus notes and are mildly acidic, similar to Colombian coffees grown at similarly high altitudes. The Genica region produces coffee with chocolate, wine, and spice tastes along with an aroma of flowers. Coffee from the Harar region had a mocha flavor. Although these are the general categories you can find subvarieties in the thousands in Ethiopia where much of the development of such subvarieties has occurred solely in nature.