THE HISTORY OF ETHIOPIAN COFFEE

Ethiopia is widely considered the birthplace of coffee. Many experts say that Ethiopia is the only place that coffee grew natively and the apocryphal story of Kaldi is told over and over. Kaldi was a goat herder who discovered coffee after witnessing the vigor that his goats received from eating the cherries. He later brought these cherries to the monastery and shared them with the monks who exclaimed that they were the Devil’s work and hurled them into the fire. The aroma of the beans roasting in the fire was heavenly and the beans were raked from the fire and crushed to put out the embers. Realizing their mistake, they placed them into a jug and covered with hot water for preservation. Later the monks drank the brew and it helped them keep awake during nightly devotions. While this story is fun, in all actuality, it was likely that the people of the nomadic Galla tribe first discovered the coffee plant and its invigorating properties. Many such stories about the origin of coffee are apocryphal and its actual discovery is something of much speculation.

The rest of coffee’s history in Ethiopia is quite turbulent. Ethiopia has undergone many changes in their government. In the past 40 years alone, they have had three forms of government, from a militaristic Marxist ideology to the federal system today. Each of these systems have been met with much public dissatisfaction, rebellion, and political upheaval. From 1998-2000 Ethiopia was involved in a war with Eritrea. This conflict with Eritrea (and many other dissension) have led to many deaths and great misery. It also limited access to land and created an economic downturn. The cost of the war was estimated in the billions of dollars.

Amidst the turbulent political and economic climate, the coffee farming in Ethiopia took a big hit. In 2003, the price of coffee plummeted lower than it ever has. The price of coffee was no longer covering the cost of production and, as a result, many farmers abandoned their crops. They were devastated, not having enough money to cover the cost of repairs to their homes, purchase clothing, or provide their children with an education. Many farmers migrated away from their farms to the city while others still remained with their coffee plantations.

Despite all of these hardships and challenges, coffee remains Ethiopia’s biggest export. At times, Ethiopian coffee farmers must compete and pair with larger companies with more power that often take most of the profit. Farmers make very little from these partnerships and women in Ethiopia’s coffee industry make even less, sometimes as little as 20USD a month. In 1957, the National Coffee Board of Ethiopia was formed to help improve the quality of Ethiopian coffee and to coordinate producers traders and exporters. And recently, Fair Trade organizations have been helping to ensure the fair compensation of coffee producers.