Ethiopia

The Ethiopian coffee ceremony is legendary and an important component of Ethiopian society. The ceremony is held up to three times a day and is a time when family and friends can visit. During the ceremony, the coffee is praised for its flavor while snacks are eaten. As daily social event, the coffee ceremony is when those gathered share community information and country news. There is a more formal and elaborate coffee ceremony held sometimes in recognition of Ethiopia’s long association with coffee.

The exact year when Ethiopia first began growing coffee is not known. There are interesting legends that propose theories, but as close as anyone can calculate, coffee was first discovered in Ethiopia around the year 900 A.D. From Ethiopia, coffee traveled to Arabia, eventually spreading throughout the world. Ethiopia is known as coffee’s birthplace.

Today, Ethiopian coffee is considered some of the best gourmet specialty coffee on the market. Ethiopian coffees are known to have delicate flavor and are very smooth. But there is actually a wide range of Ethiopian coffee beans to choose among, each kind having varying acidity, body and aroma. Specific Ethiopian coffee information can be easily found online. The options include rich acidity, hearty body, low acidity, balanced body and everything in between. Ethiopian coffees are extremely diverse. It is Ethiopia’s pride and is responsible for over two-thirds of the countries earnings.

Ethiopian Lekempti coffee beans are just one of the coffees produced. The beans are sun dried and washed in Western Ethiopia. The beans are large and make a clean, fruity cup of coffee. It is often sold as a gourmet single source coffee. Other coffees include:

Harar coffee, which is sun-dried and makes an excellent espresso.
Yirga-Cheffe coffee is washed and has a mocha flavor.
Sidamo coffee is sun-dried and washed, and is considered of gourmet quality
Limu coffee is washed and produces a winey flavor

The Djmmah coffee is sun-dried and has high acidity. It also comprises 50% of Ethiopia’s exports in coffee.

Ethiopian coffee producers belong to the Fair Trade organization. When you purchase Ethiopian Far Trade coffee, you are insuring that those who labor to produce delicious gourmet coffee for your enjoyment are adequately paid for their work. Ethiopia is working to expand its presence in the coffee market. That is good news for coffee drinkers who appreciate premium coffee. In addition to its coffee varieties, Ethiopia also grows organic coffees for those concerned about the impact of chemicals on the environment.