Introduction to Ethiopian Coffee Bean Cultivation_Where to Buy Ethiopian Coffee Beans

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Ethiopia's Coffee Paradise

Ethiopia is located between 3 and 14 degrees north latitude, with coffee tree cultivation areas covering nearly 600,000 hectares. The southern and eastern parts of the country have two rainy seasons annually, while the west has only one. This distribution of rainy seasons allows Ethiopia to harvest coffee year-round. Coffee grows at altitudes between 550 and 2,750 meters, with western and southern soils consisting of volcanic rock, rich in minerals and slightly acidic. The average annual temperature ranges from 15 to 25 degrees Celsius, creating an excellent growing environment for Arabica coffee.

As of 2006, Ethiopia produced 300,000 tons of coffee, remaining Africa's largest Arabica-producing country and ranking fifth worldwide. Although its production may not be among the top ranks, its rich and diverse coffee cultivation systems are unparalleled in the world.

Four Major Coffee Systems

Ethiopia has four major coffee systems throughout the country:

• Forest Coffee
• Semi-Forest Coffee
• Garden Coffee
• Plantation Coffee

Ethiopian coffee beans are traditionally cultivated without fertilizers or pesticides, following organic methods, though not all have received international certification.

Forest Coffee

This refers to wild coffee, accounting for 10% of Ethiopia's national production. It is distributed in the wild coffee forest areas of the western and southwestern regions, particularly in the famous Kaffa Forest. Here, dense trees provide the most natural shade for coffee trees. No artificial care is needed—Mother Nature manages their entire lifecycle. Coffee farmers simply harvest directly from the forest lands.

Semi-Forest Coffee

This refers to semi-wild coffee, also distributed in the western and southwestern Kaffa Forest, accounting for 35% of Ethiopia's coffee production. To increase yields, farmers in the forest coffee system select small plots of wild forest land, manually trim overly dense branches and leaves to balance shade and sunlight, assist coffee trees in photosynthesis and growth, and weed once annually to increase coffee production. This system uses a semi-natural, semi-artificial approach to cultivate coffee trees.

Garden Coffee

Farmers plant coffee trees in their backyards or fields, intercropping them with other crops. Although coffee tree density is lowest at only 1,000-1,800 plants per hectare, this method is most popular because the intercropping approach best meets farmers' livelihood needs. It is currently the primary cultivation method for Ethiopian coffee. Garden coffee's small-scale farming is mainly distributed in the southern Sidamo region and southeastern areas. This system accounts for 50% of Ethiopia's coffee production and is receiving increasing attention, with the government actively promoting garden coffee cultivation methods.

Plantation Coffee

This system adopts modern agricultural management practices, with regulations on seedling cultivation, pruning, fertilization, pesticide application, and planting density. It is currently the only non-organic cultivation method, accounting for only 5% of national annual production.

From the four major systems mentioned above, it's clear that unlike the corporate, technology-driven high-efficiency cultivation of Central and South America, Ethiopian coffee largely uses a mixture of wild and artificial cultivation methods, making yield improvements challenging. However, Ethiopian agricultural experts remain undeterred, cultivating high-yield, high-quality Arabica hybrid coffee trees to catch up and close the production gap with Central and South America.

Ethiopian Coffee Bean Classification

Ethiopian coffee beans are divided into five grades:

• Grade 1 and Grade 2 are washed beans

Washed bean Grade 1 represents 0-3 defective beans per 300 grams of raw coffee beans. Grade 2 represents 4-12 defective beans per 300 grams. Grade 1 washed beans are extremely rare and generally difficult to purchase. Currently, Ethiopia's exported washed beans are all Grade 2.

Natural processed beans are graded as Grade 2, Grade 3, Grade 4, or Grade 5. Although Grade 4 has significantly fewer defective beans than Grade 5, farmers often declare higher-quality Grade 4 beans as Grade 5 for export tax savings. This might be merely a marketing tactic, as Grade 5 quality is indeed inferior to Grade 4.

Ethiopian coffee beans are easily recognizable. The beans are mostly small and slender, long-shaped beans known as "longberry," often mixed with small oval-shaped short beans called "shortberry," appearing uneven in size and inconsistent in appearance.

Commercial Grade 4 or Grade 5 beans typically mix hundreds of different varieties from various producing regions, making the uneven bean appearance most obvious and making even roasting difficult.

Ethiopia's Coffee Diversity

How many Arabica subspecies exist here? Even Ethiopian official research units cannot say for certain. The coffee varieties cultivated by cooperatives on one mountain are definitely different from those on another mountain. Even small farmers in the same region grow different coffee varieties.

Some estimate that Ethiopia has at least 2,000 coffee varieties, with some claims exceeding 4,500 varieties. Compared to neighboring Kenya's main varieties like Bourbon 'SL28' or the robust form of Typica in Central and South America and Asia, Ethiopian beans appear somewhat undernourished. However, "beans" should not be judged by appearance—Ethiopian coffee's citrus aroma is considered world-class. Whether instant or freshly ground coffee, one can smell the prominent orange or lemon fragrance during extraction. The intense floral, fruity, and sweet-sour aromas upon entry are Ethiopian characteristics, though body or viscosity is slightly lacking. The biggest disadvantage is easy uneven roasting, especially for natural processed beans. Even the best Grade 3 Harrar natural processed beans often show uneven bean color—this is Ethiopian coffee's greatest defect, but fortunately, it doesn't affect their excellent flavor. For coffee enthusiasts, bean appearance doesn't matter as much as taste. Ethiopian washed beans are much more stable than natural processed beans, whose flavor varies greatly year to year. Multiple cupping sessions are essential before bulk purchasing.

If you get good natural processed beans, their flavor depth far exceeds washed beans. But if you get improperly processed natural beans, it will surely be disappointing—this is the sentiment of many coffee enthusiasts.

Ethiopian Coffee Bean Brand Recommendations

FrontStreet Coffee's roasted Ethiopian coffee beans—washed Yirgacheffe G1 [Kochere]—offer full guarantees in both brand and quality. More importantly, they offer extremely high value-for-money. A half-pound (227 grams) package costs only about 75 RMB. Calculated at 15 grams per pour-over coffee, one package can make 15 cups of coffee, with each single-origin coffee costing only about 5 RMB. Compared to cafés selling coffee for dozens of RMB per cup, this offers 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. Online shop services are also available. 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