The motherland of coffee.
The largest coffee exporting country in Africa, and yet 75% of the coffee is consumed in Ethiopia itself. However, the top coffee is intended for export only. So get your Jebena (traditional Ethiopian coffee pot) out and let the ceremony begin.
Ethiopia & Coffee
There are many myths surrounding the connection between Ethiopia and coffee. One story is about the goatherd Kaldi, who noticed that his goats were euphoric after they chewed on coffee blossoms. According to legend, this is the starting point for the incredible success story of Ethiopian coffee. Today coffee accounts for around 70% of total Ethiopian export sales and 15 million people are dependent on the coffee industry.
With the fall of the Marxist dictatorship in 1991, the coffee trade also changed. The new government allowed the establishment of cooperatives, which led to improved pricing policies and allowed direct trade. Although the farmers initially benefited from the conditions, the war with Eritrea (1998-2000) and the fall of coffee price meant that the sale of coffee could no longer even cover production costs.
Today the trade in Ethiopian coffee is strictly regulated by the ECX (Ethiopian Commodity Exchange). All processed green coffees are delivered to the ECX, where they are repackaged, graded and auctioned off to the highest bidder. This generally leads to better prices for producers and also to higher quality. However, the traceability suffers from this regulation and 90% of the roasters buy from the ECX instead buying directly from cooperations. At Coffee Annan we work with local roasters in the countries of origin and buy directly from the cooperatives.
Traceability
In general, tracing in Ethiopia is very difficult.
At Coffee Annan we can trace our Ethiopian coffee back to the Kata Muduga Farmer’s Union, but we have to register every roast and export. However, we are happy to accept this hustle for better traceability.
