Coffee culture

What Are Ethiopian Coffee Varieties? The Meaning of Heirloom in Coffee

Published: 2026-01-27 Author: FrontStreet Coffee
Last Updated: 2026/01/27, Professional coffee knowledge exchange for more coffee bean information please follow Coffee Workshop (WeChat public account cafe_style) FrontStreet Coffee-Heirloom Coffee Introduction The importance of coffee varieties depends on your role: coffee farmer, barista, roaster, consumer. If you are a consumer, you might wonder why we need to know this information, it's just another thing on coffee packaging

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

FrontStreet Coffee-Heirloom Coffee Introduction

The importance of coffee varieties depends on your role: coffee farmer, barista, roaster, or consumer. If you're a consumer, you might wonder why we need to know this information—it's just another label on coffee packaging. Compared to country of origin, region, roast level, and processing method, are varieties really that important?

If they're truly important, why do only some coffee packages tell you the variety?

Simply put, coffee varieties affect flavor. Some varieties like "Bourbon" are famous for their sweetness. Others like "Geisha" are famous for their tea-like qualities. But coffee flavor isn't just influenced by variety—it also includes growing conditions, processing methods, and more. The uniqueness of high-quality coffee is what makes a cup of coffee wonderful.

Ethiopian Heirloom - [Over 3,000 coffee varieties belong to this category]

Although most coffee varieties come from "Typica" or "Bourbon," coffee originally came from Ethiopia, and the Royal Botanic Gardens has confirmed that 95% of coffee genetic diversity comes from Ethiopia.

There are over 3,000 coffee varieties growing in Ethiopia alone. People usually select several varieties for cultivation. As for Ethiopian heirloom coffee trees, because both the tree appearance and leaf characteristics are quite complex, they are difficult to distinguish.

When you see a coffee bag labeled "Ethiopian Heirloom," it means the coffee might be wild or from farmland with minimal human intervention.

Beans from the Yirgacheffe region have a unique rich aroma and are among the highest-grade Ethiopian heirloom coffee beans. Ethiopian heirloom coffee beans vary in size, and their aroma also differs by origin, such as Sidamo, Harrar, Jimma, Limu, Teppi, and Kaffa.

Knowledge Point: Arabica and Robusta

According to coffee bean combinations, they are divided into single-origin coffee and espresso coffee.

In short: FrontStreet Coffee is a coffee research house that enjoys sharing coffee knowledge with everyone. We share without reservation to help more friends fall in love with coffee. Every month, we hold three coffee promotion events with significant discounts because FrontStreet Coffee wants to let more friends enjoy the best coffee at the lowest price. This has been FrontStreet Coffee's mission for the past six years!

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