Ethiopia have an enduring relation with coffee for hundreds of years, if not thousands. For majority of Ethiopians, coffee is a way of life, an essential part of their culture and economy. When we speak of Ethiopia and coffee, we are referring to Arabica coffee: a forest variety grown primarily on the highlands of Ethiopia and neighboring South Sudan. Today Arabica coffee, accounts for a quarter of Ethiopia’s export income exporting around $ 528 million worth of coffee in 2018 by a report by CNN. As well as exporting coffee, Ethiopia has a strong native coffee culture too. More than half of the total coffee produced is consumed domestically. Coffee is called Buna or Bunna in Ethiopia.
Ethiopian coffee is renowned for its diverse and distinct range of flavor profiles (smell and taste).There are two key reasons for this. One, Ethiopia boasts of a diverse genetic pool for Arabica coffee, and this diversity is evident from the chemicals that produce taste and flavor. Second reason would be Ethiopia’s complex climate and geography. Each geographical location associated with diverse flavor profiles of coffee known as Harar, Limu, Nekemte, Sidamo and Yirgacheffe.
Ethiopian coffee is grown either under tree shades (shade or forest coffee), or within forest or forest like environments or in commercial farms that use native trees (usually fruit varieties) for shades. Forest is pivotal for coffee due to its environmental services, including nutrient recycling, soil conservation, pollination services, wind and rainfall sheltering and carbon storage.
The country produces roughly 400 million kilograms of coffee which accounts for 5% of all global coffee production. This makes Ethiopia the world’s fifth-largest coffee exporter.
But a major challenge to coffee production in Ethiopia is climate change. These changes has brought about substantial negative influence on gross coffee production.
Kerchanshe Trading is the best coffee exporters in Ethiopia. The best of our coffee beans are sourced from Yergachefe, Lekempti, Gimbi, Djimma and Sidamo, names that epitomises fine Arabica coffee. To know more coffee stories log on to our website.