Where is the homeland of Arabica? How does coffee from Ethiopia's Kaffa Forest taste? How to brew heirloom varieties?

We often hear it said that Ethiopia is the homeland of Arabica coffee. To be more precise, it should be said that the Kaffa Zone in Ethiopia is the earliest place where coffee was discovered. Even today, countless wild Arabica coffee mother trees still grow in the cloud forests here, receiving protection.

FrontStreet Coffee learned from research materials that the term "Kaffa" is translated from the English "Kaffa," and in some places it is also written as "Kafa." It originates from the name of an ancient kingdom in history, which was called the Kingdom of Kaffa at that time.

Later, this tribe was annexed by the Ethiopian Empire in 1897, becoming part of what is now the Southern Nations region, and the Kaffa Zone was named accordingly. Administratively, the Kaffa Zone belongs to the South West Ethiopia Peoples' Region, located in the northern part of the autonomous state.

Ethiopia's climate is extremely polarized, with half being humid, temperate rainforest and half being arid desert and Gobi. When viewed from above, we can find that the western part of the entire country is the greenest area, and a large part of these lush green zones belongs to the Kaffa Biosphere Reserve, located at the junction of the three states of Gambela, Oromia, and SNNPR.

As the most extensive forest area in Ethiopia, the primeval forest of the Kaffa Biosphere is recognized worldwide as the birthplace of coffee and the genetic treasure house of the Arabica coffee we are familiar with today. The "Gesha" in the origin story of Geisha is actually one of the regions in Kaffa, located in the western area.

According to data from the German Nature Conservation Union, the Kaffa Biosphere Reserve covers approximately 760,144 hectares, of which forest area reaches 422,260 hectares, with a coverage rate of 55.6%. Over centuries of natural evolution, the Kaffa Forest has nurtured about 5,000 coffee species and varieties, considered the richest genetic treasure house of Arabica today, thus earning the title of "Natural Coffee Variety Museum."

This place is not much different from the cloud rainforests in our impression - it has the same scattered mountains, lush vegetation, humid air and muddy ground, as well as a rich variety of species. The difference lies in that a large number of ancient coffee trees constitute an important part of the ecosystem here. Coffee grows under dense and tall shade trees, with no artificially cultivated crops, only wild plants that have naturally germinated and propagated from fallen seeds.

However, with people's uncontrolled land reclamation and continuous cutting down of plants, converting large areas of wild forests into usable farmland, this forest is also facing unprecedented threats. According to statistical data from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), from 1988 to 2008, the vegetation extraction rate of the Kaffa Forest was as high as 11,000 hectares per year. This means that if no measures are taken to stop it, this primeval forest will completely disappear within the next 10 to 20 years.

Since 2010, the Kaffa primeval forest area has been listed as an international biosphere conservation area by the United Nations NABU organization, and a project to protect the birthplace of wild Arabica coffee has been launched, dedicated to protecting the last natural coffee forest from destruction. Currently, about 30 coffee production cooperatives have been established around the Kaffa Reserve, harvesting mature red fresh fruits from within the primeval forest.

Unlike the pastoral planting model in our impression where farmers plant coffee trees in their backyards, the Kaffa cloud forest is most representative for producing wild coffee. All coffee trees grow in shade environments at altitudes of 1,400-2,100 meters. Favorable factors such as original ecology, microclimate, red soil, and abundant rainfall provide an excellent growing environment for coffee trees.

FrontStreet Coffee's Exploration of Kaffa Forest Coffee

To taste the flavor of this "wild coffee," FrontStreet Coffee also obtained a washed batch of FrontStreet Coffee Ethiopia Kaffa Forest coffee beans, adopting a medium-light roast degree to highlight its distinctive floral and fruity notes.

FrontStreet Coffee: Ethiopia Kaffa Forest Coffee Beans

Country: Ethiopia

Region: Kaffa Primeval Forest

Altitude: 1,800 meters

Variety: Heirloom

Processing: Washed

Grade: G1

Flavor Profile

Bergamot, white floral, orange, apricot

24 hours after the coffee beans were roasted, FrontStreet Coffee immediately conducted a cupping. The dry aroma of this FrontStreet Coffee washed Kaffa Forest showed elegant white floral notes, lemon, and citrus peel aromas like orange. After adding hot water, the aroma of ripe apricot and sweet orange was detected.

When the coffee entered the mouth, FrontStreet Coffee first sensed the bright and clean fruit acidity of this FrontStreet Coffee washed Kaffa Forest coffee, with rich aromas of lemon, sweet orange, nectarine, green tea, and caramel. As the temperature slightly decreased, the coffee tended toward the juiciness of apricot and green grapes. The overall texture was light, and after swallowing, there remained some sweet fragrance of melon and nuts in the mouth, which was very pleasant.

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