African Origins Of Coffee: Following Roots In Ethiopia
A bag of roasted coffee beans. Inhale, then inhale again. The smell delivers comfort, the anticipation of wakefulness and clarity. I first encountered freshly roasted coffee in 1995, when I lived among the Bedouins inside southern Israel. Nicknamed “taht al-nujuum,” I insisted on sleeping outside, under the stars, in the crisp night air securely cloaked under a heavy quilt. The gift? We awoke to the smell of the patriarch, Abu Yusuf, roasting and grinding coffee beans so we could imbibe a bracing, sweet thimble full of dark nectar before confronting the day, off the grid. But where did coffee originate, how did it migrate and will future generations continue to enjoy the coveted cuppa? This three-part series looks at the African origins of coffee, its early migration around the world, coffee varieties today, simple coffee definitions and how to roast green coffee beans at home. Last, as coffee farmers experience greater vulnerability to climate and disease, the series explores how we might conserve coffee’s biocultural diversity in its place of origin to ensure its global survival for generations.
Costs of coffee
Coffee, the other black gold, is the world’s most widely traded tropical agricultural commodity, and second only to petroleum, the most traded commodity. Coffee accounts for global exports worth more than $15 billion. In 2009 and 2010 alone, 93.4 million bags of coffee shipped internationally. The biggest exporters are Brazil, Vietnam, Indonesia, Colombia, Ethiopia and India, according to data collected by the International Coffee Organization in March 2013. The biggest importers are the United States, Germany, Italy, France and Japan, according to data collected in November 2012 by the International Coffee Organization. Seven countries rely heavily on coffee export sales (greater than 12% and up to 59%) for country earnings — Burundi, Ethiopia, Rwanda, Honduras, Uganda, Nicaragua and Guatemala, based on International Coffee Organization statistics. That’s the macrocosm. But what about the microcosm, what is happening in coffee’s (Coffea arabica) place of origin, Ethiopia?
Diversity a hallmark of African origins of coffee
The African continent is the center of origin and genetic diversity for all coffee species, reports Taye Kufa of the Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural Research in “Environmental Sustainability and Coffee Diversity in Africa.” Coffee, of the genus Coffea, resides in the larger Rubiaceae family. There are more than 100 species in the genus Coffea. Two species have the most commercial value in the global coffee industry: Coffea arabica and Coffea canephora, commonly referred to as Arabica and Robusta coffee, respectively. Arabica is geographically isolated from other Coffea species. It only grows in isolated mountain forests of the Great Rift Valley in southern Ethiopia. Robusta coffees, with origins in the equatorial lowland forests of west and central Africa, make up the rest of global coffee production. Today, Robusta varieties thrive in tropical highland and lowland areas worldwide and make up about 30% of global coffee production. Arabica varieties dominate 70% of total coffee production and more than 90% of the market.
How did Ethiopians enjoy the coffee plant?
Ethiopians ate the raw coffee berries, chewed the leaves, brewed both into a light tea, ground the beans and mixed it with fat to create a dense energy bar, fermented the fresh fruit pulp, concocted a drink from roasted husks called qishr, and, at some point, roasted the green beans. They delivered to the world a highly addictive type of plant nectar: roasted and brewed coffee. Read about the contemporary Ethiopian coffee ceremony by fellow Zester Daily contributor, Elisabeth Luard.
What is a center of origin mean and why is it important?
All plants have a place of origin, a center or centers of biodiversity. If the wild species has not gone extinct, there may be anywhere from a few to many wild species.
Originally published on Zester Daily, April 2013.