What is Ethiopia's Coffee Production Volume? An Introduction to the Flavor Characteristics of Sidamo Coffee

FrontStreet Coffee - Ethiopia Coffee Production and Sidamo Coffee Characteristics Introduction

Ethiopia, Africa's largest coffee producer, is in the middle of production and marketing reforms that could triple its output within five years. As the productivity of old trees declines, the country is replacing them and cutting back eliminated trees so that new stems can sprout. The Ethiopian Coffee and Tea Authority says this could lift production to 1.2-1.8 million tons by 2024, well above the current harvest of 600,000 tons.

According to the authority, ancient trees make up about 60% of the 1 million hectares (2.5 million acres) currently in production, with another 1.5 million hectares still to come into bearing - land that will need roughly three to four years before it starts producing. In the past year, exports ran as high as 7.1 million 60kg bags of green beans. If the new trees come into cultivation and production over the next five years, the output outlook is optimistic. At the same time, climate change and its consequences remain long-term challenges we all must face.

The Ethiopian government, along with several NGOs and research centers, is helping to put these changes in motion. Adugna Debela Bote, the agency's Director-General, said in a recent interview in Kigali, the capital of Rwanda, that the marketing reforms are helping producers skip certain stages of the supply chain. That, he said, will raise the incomes of farmers who currently receive only about 60% of the coffee's price. Under the new reforms, he added, farmers may also export directly and freely through foreign trade. Ethiopia is likewise working to build awareness among farmers, with the effort to be realized within this production year.

Meanwhile, Ethiopia ships most of its beans to Europe and the United States while working to open new markets in Asia - especially China, South Korea, and Japan. China, he said, could ultimately take as much as half of Ethiopia's shipments.

Sidamo

Altitude: 1400-2200 meters

Harvest period: October-January of the following year

Varieties: Indigenous varieties

Sidamo lies on the fertile highlands of the East African Rift Valley and is one of Ethiopia's three registered-trademark coffee regions, blessed with ample rainfall, suitable temperatures, and rich soil.

About 60% of the coffee produced here is washed. Sidamo is celebrated for its rich flavor, full body, bright acidity, and floral and citrus notes, making it a favorite among drinkers who love fruity, aromatic coffee. The region is also home to several of Ethiopia's highest-grown coffees.

Knowledge bonus: Ethiopia still farms the traditional way - coffee trees are tended by hand, and the country sticks firmly to its no-harmful-pesticides, no-herbicides principle, relying instead on organic fertilizers (mainly fallen leaves, dead grass, and animal manure). It has earned a reputation as the world's only pollution-free green organic coffee. Depending on cultivation style, the coffee falls into three types: forest or semi-forest coffee, garden coffee, and plantation coffee.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

To taste Sidamo's fame in your own cup, start with FrontStreet's Ethiopia Huakui - from the Hambella area of Guji, Sidamo, where cherries dry naturally on raised beds for 21 days. Roasted medium-light, it unfolds light fermented wine aroma, florals, citrus, and mango over a thick body, honeyed sweetness, and a cocoa undertone. FrontStreet's washed Yirgacheffe offers the region's other face: jasmine florals, bright citrus acidity, and a clean, tea-like finish.