Introduction to Ethiopian Heirloom Coffee Varieties and Pricing

For professional coffee knowledge exchange and more coffee bean information, please follow Coffee Workshop (WeChat public account: cafe_style)

Those who frequently drink Ethiopian coffee should have heard of the [Heirloom Native] variety. Most Ethiopian varieties are named this way because Ethiopia simply has too many varieties. It serves as a natural gene bank for Arabica—on one hand, there are numerous varieties making identification and classification difficult, while on the other hand, the Ethiopian government, for protective reasons, is unwilling to disclose information about these varieties, hence they are collectively called [Heirloom Native].

Understanding Ethiopian Coffee Bean Cultivation and Harvesting

Generally, coffee farmers might grow multiple varieties simultaneously, or they might select superior varieties for separate sale. What's particularly special about Ethiopia is that in this country, coffee mostly grows in wild or semi-wild states—in fields, backyards, or under forests. What farmers actually harvest is a large mix of many different natural varieties.

Wild coffee trees especially like to grow under forests. Trees that can provide shade for coffee are called "Shade Trees"; this cultivation method is known as "Shade-grown Coffee." The advantage is that it reduces ecological impact, and diverse biodiversity helps suppress pests and diseases. In certain regions, local food crops like bananas are used to shade coffee, serving dual purposes.

The Diversity of Ethiopian Coffee Varieties

There are nearly 2000 recorded coffee varieties in Ethiopia, including 1927 native varieties and 128 introduced foreign varieties. So purely in terms of appearance, Ethiopian coffee varieties are like a "Grand View Garden"—they have everything: long, short, thin, fat...

[Long-shaped beans] are found throughout Ethiopian coffee-growing regions. Based on observed proportions, western Jimma, including Limmu and Kaffa, has more long-shaped varieties, while Sidama or Yirgacheffe has fewer.

[Small bean varieties] have a more rounded appearance and are very small, mostly between 14-15 mesh. This variety should be the most familiar to us, as we often see them in Sidama and Yirgacheffe. I've also seen them in a Harrar sample and in green coffee sold locally in Jimma. Compared to other regions, Sidama, Yirgacheffe, and surrounding areas like Arsi and Guji have more cultivation of these small native varieties.

(In addition to the numerous coffee varieties, cultivation methods also affect the varietal mixing of Ethiopian coffee beans.)

Ethiopian Coffee Cultivation Models

Ethiopian coffee cultivation is divided by scale and model:

● Forest Coffee (8-10%): Coffee trees coexist with other crops in pristine forests without any artificial management. Farmers regularly harvest coffee cherries.

● Semi-Forest Coffee (30-35%): Coffee tree growing areas are between forests and the vicinity of farmers' living areas. The coffee trees are the same natural varieties as forest coffee, and farmers manage these growing areas while planting other cash crops.

● Garden Coffee (50-55%): Coffee trees are planted around farmers' living areas and are mostly self-cultivated by farmers.

● Plantation Coffee (5-6%): Large private growers with more processing facilities and production capacity.

Most coffee cultivation in Sidama and Yirgacheffe follows the garden coffee model, where coffee farmers plant coffee trees near their living areas, harvest them themselves during the harvest season, and then send them to nearby water-based processing plants for unified processing (or they are purchased by intermediaries). Except for a small number of powerful plantations that independently grow, harvest, and process green coffee beans, many different varieties from different regions and cultivation methods are concentrated at processing plants, then sent to auction houses for official evaluation and grading. This is why many Ethiopian coffee beans are named and distinguished by processing plants or cooperatives, and it's also one of the reasons why the same batch of coffee beans contains multiple varieties. Even coffee beans produced by the same processing plant can show obvious flavor differences between different batches.

Because Ethiopia, like Brazil and Indonesia, grades coffee beans based on defect rates, there will be obvious unevenness in coffee bean sizes. This is especially true after roasting, as different coffee varieties expand to different degrees, further increasing the size differences between coffee beans. However, it is precisely this characteristic that makes the coffee's layering and richness more pronounced.

Ethiopian Coffee Bean Brand Recommendations

FrontStreet Coffee's freshly roasted single-origin Ethiopian coffee beans—such as Yirgacheffe and Sidama—are fully guaranteed in terms of brand and quality, suitable for brewing with various devices. More importantly, they offer extremely high value for money. A half-pound (227 grams) bag costs only around 70-90 yuan. Calculating based on 200ml per cup with a 1:15 coffee-to-water ratio, one bag can make 15 cups of specialty coffee, with each cup costing only 5-6 yuan. Compared to cafe prices that often run tens of yuan per cup, this represents exceptional value.

FrontStreet Coffee: A Guangzhou-based roastery with a small shop but diverse bean varieties, where you can find both famous and lesser-known beans. They also provide online store services: https://shop104210103.taobao.com

Important Notice :

前街咖啡 FrontStreet Coffee has moved to new addredd:

FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473