Home Is Where The Coffee Is: Coffee, Ethiopian style

Coffee is Ethiopia's largest export and generates 60% of its export revenue. It is thought that Ethiopia is the birthplace of coffee and not South America:

The story of coffee has its beginnings in Ethiopia, the original home of the coffee plant, coffee arabica, which still grows wild in the forest of the highlands. The indigenous coffee trees (which some experts say, are the only native coffee trees in the world) first grew in ancient "Abyssinia," which is now present day Ethiopia. These trees blossomed in an area called "Kaffa" and the trees were called "Kafa," which may as well be the root word for coffee. Its cultivation and use began as early as the 9th century. The only thing that seems certain is that it originated in Ethiopia, from where it traveled to the Yemen about 600 years ago, and from Arabia it began its journey around the world.

There are two varieties of coffee in the world: Arabica :-) and Robusta :-( . Arabica is considered the superior variety for flavor, but Robusta is gaining market share due to better yields and hardiness (read: cheaper). Arabica is fine enough to drink on its own; Robusta you will find in a blended coffee. If you find Robusta beans in a blend do me a personal favor and throw it right out. Right out.

Back to the regularly scheduled history/world economy lesson.

Ethiopia is Africa's largest exporter of Arabica beans. Coffee is grown on small farms completely "by hand", from planting to harvesting and is a major source of jobs in Ethiopia.

Some 12 million people are dependent on Ethiopia’s coffee industry, managed by the Ethiopian Coffee Export Enterprise – ECEE – formerly the Ethiopian Coffee Marketing Corporation. An independent, profit-making organization, ECEE trades on the open market and controls about 50 per cent of the market following liberalization.

The three main regions where Ethiopia coffee beans are cultivated are Harrar, Ghimbi, and Sidamo (Yirgacheffe).

Ethiopian Harrar coffee beans are grown on small farms in the eastern part of the country. They are dry-processed and are labeled as longberry (large), shortberry (smaller), or Mocha (peaberry). Ethiopian Harrar coffee can have a strong dry edge, winy to fruit like acidity, rich aroma, and a heavy body. In the best Harrar coffees, one can observe an intense aroma of blueberries or blackberries. Ethiopian Harrar coffee is often used in espresso blends to capture the fine aromatics in the crema.

Washed coffees of Ethiopia include Ghimbi and Yirgacheffe. Ghimbi coffee beans are grown in the western parts of the country and are more balanced, heavier, and has a longer lasting body than the Harrars.

The Ethiopian Yirgacheffee coffee bean, is the most favored coffee grown in southern Ethiopia. It is more mild, fruitlike, and aromatic. Ethiopian Yirgacheffee coffee may also be labeled as Sidamo, which is the district where it is produced.

As if this weren't already music to my ears, I bring to you the Ethiopian "coffee ritual". Part hospitality, part cultural, part darn fine refreshment:

No visit to Ethiopia, is complete without participating in the elaborate coffee ceremony that is Ethiopia's traditional form of hospitality. Invariably conducted by a beautiful young girl in traditional Ethiopian costume, the ceremonial apparatus is arranged upon a bed of long grasses. The green coffee beans are roasted in a pan over a charcoal brazier, the rich aroma of coffee mingling with the heady smell of incense that is always burned during the ceremony. The beans are then pounded with a pestle and mortar, and the ground coffee then brewed in a black pot with a narrow spout. Traditional accompaniments are popcorn, also roasted on the fire, and the coffee is sugared to be drunk from small handless cups.