🌍 Ethiopia: The Birthplace of Coffee
Ethiopian coffee, considered the origin of Arabica coffee, is facing a crisis… Amid the mists of Kaffa, where according to legend a shepherd discovered coffee centuries ago, a modern paradox unfolds:
6,000 unique varieties of Coffea arabica grow here alone — the greatest genetic treasure of coffee worldwide.
Coffee ceremonies recognized by UNESCO as Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
4 million families depend on coffee for their livelihoods.
But… 40% of coffee plantations have been replaced by eucalyptus or chat, a local stimulant shrub.
💔 The Coffee Crisis in Ethiopia: What We All Lose
The reason for this replacement is simple; one farmer puts it bluntly:
“I have to feed my family today, not in 10 years.”
1 kg of Ethiopian coffee = €1.20 for the farmer
1 kg of chat = €4.50 and sells three times faster
How can we blame someone who chooses the crop that feeds them now, even if it means losing their coffee heritage?
Every uprooted coffee plantation means losing unique flavors, living traditions (community ceremonies), and biodiversity (coffee agroforestry systems protect birds, soil, and forests).
🌱 Coffee Cooperatives in Ethiopia
Some cooperatives are resisting:
Bench Maji: high-altitude coffees internationally awarded.
Yirgacheffe: women producers exporting directly.
Forest Coffee Projects: each bag sold protects 1 hectare of native forest.
Banko Gotiti Cooperative: women exporting award-winning coffees directly to ethical roasters paying up to five times market price.
This is not a call for charity, but a call for awareness:
Every time you choose to pay fairly for a well-traced coffee, you help a farmer avoid choosing between feeding their family today or preserving their heritage.
