Organically Grown, Heirloom Beans from Ethiopia

Among coffee-producing countries Ethiopia holds near legendary status, not only because it’s the “birthplace” of Arabica coffee, but also because it’s simply unlike any other place in the coffee world.  

The vast majority of coffee growing countries had the plant introduced as a cash crop through colonization. Whilst in Ethiopia growing, processing & drinking coffee has been part of everyday life for centuries, since the trees were discovered growing wild in forests & eventually cultivated.

The majority of Ethiopia’s farmers are smallholders & subsistence  farmers, with less than 1 hectare of land apiece; in many cases it is almost more accurate to describe the harvests as a “garden coffee,” as the trees do sometimes grow in more of a garden or forest environment, rather than what we imagine a farm to look like. 

There are some large, privately owned estates,  & co-operative societies comprising a mix of small & more mid-size farms, but the average producer here grows relatively very little for commercial sale.

“Garden coffee” is brought by a farmer, in cherry form, to the closest or most convenient washing station, where it is sold & blended with other farmers’ lots for  processing according to the desires of that washing station. 

Co-op members bring their coffee cherries to be received & weighed  at a co-operative washing station. There is more trace-ability back to the producer as they are registered members of the co-operative.

The flavour profile of Ethiopian coffees will vary based on a number of factors, including variety, process, and micro-region. As a general rule of thumb, natural processed coffees will have much more pronounced fruit & deep chocolate tones, often with a bit of a 'winey' characteristic & a syrupy body.

Washed coffees will be lighter & have more pronounced acidity, although the individual characteristics will vary.

The genetic diversity of Ethiopian coffee is unmatched globally. This gives rise to beautiful & complex flavour profiles; no other coffees are spoken of with more reverence, or romance.