OFFER LISTS ORIGINS EVENTS SERVICES ABOUT TRANSPARENCY BLOG Ethiopia Our sourcing strategy Ethiopia is our largest portfolio and origin by volume. In order to get access to the best coffee at the best exportable quality, we put people on the ground. Our sister company, Tropiq, has a representative office and team in Addis Ababa. We generally work in the Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples’ Region as well as Agaro in the West. The cup profiles Quality in the cup is for the most part defined by distinctiveness of flavour, balance and cleanliness. That said, we cup thousands of coffees per season in order to make a final selection. With the geographical diversity and share size of coffee regions, we look for distinctive, exceptionally clean and atypical coffees that represent the terroir to its fullest. To maintain the quality that is sourced, we are present from selection to shipping of the container. Until three years ago, Ethiopian coffee was mainly traded through the ECX. There, coffees were brought in as regional blends and auctioned off to the highest bidder. This is why some people might ask for coffees such as “typical Sidamo profile”. But with the development and privatisation of the coffee sector, new profiles are being discovered and broken down in the already famous regions. Here are the profiles that we seek in Ethiopia: Here are the profiles you’re likely to find in the different regions: Guji: Uraga: Samii, Kelloo and Diima. Hambela: Samii and Bildimoo Shakiso: Burtukaana Sidamo: Yirgacheffe: Samii and Magarissa Gedeb: Samii, Kelloo and Diima Worka: Kelloo, Diima and Bildimoo Bombe Mountain: Burtukaana and Bildimoo West Arsi: Nensebo: Dihlgee, Bildimoo and Burtukaana Jimma Agaro: Samii, Kelloo and Magarissa The value chain Farmers are typically smallholders with around 0.25-2 hectares of land. Cherry is usually sold and delivered to washing stations. These stations are either owned by or vertically integrated with an exporter. Parchment is delivered to an ECX checkpoint for grading. Once certified exportable, parchment will then be cleaned and sorted, ready to be cupped by buyers. Varieties The varieties are referred to collectively as Ethiopian Heirloom, which is a myriad of local native Typica hybrids and new improved varieties based on the old strains. Some are named with a code such as 74/112 and 74/110 developed in the 1970’s at the Jimma Agricultural Research Center (JARC) for resistance to the coffee berry disease. These two varieties begin with “74” to indicate their cataloging and selection in 1974. Planting and production On average farmers own less than 1 hectare. Most coffees are organic by default with seedlings provided by the Jimma Agricultural Research Center. Organic compost is common, pruning practices less. A farmer can typically have less than 1500 trees per hectare, and 1 tree typically produces cherries equal to less than 100 – 200 grams of green coffee. Background info Linguists have determined that the earliest reference of coffee in Ethiopia is in Arabic documents dating back to the year 900. The documents refer to a strange new drink called “buna” that was being consumed throughout the country; “buna” is Oromiyan (a language spoken in Ethiopia) for coffee. Arabica coffee has always grown wild in the hills of the Kaffa districts, so many coffee farms were established in those areas. Today 98% of the Ethiopian coffee farmers are small scale. Because coffee still grows wild in many areas, farmers harvest their crops utilizing 4 different systems: forest coffee, semi-forest coffee, garden coffee, and plantation coffee. At a glance: Harvesting season: October- January Arrival times: April – July Quantities: 50 – 100 bag lots Packaging: 30 or 60 kg grainpro bags Price levels: 10,00 – 12,00 USD/kg Cultivars: Heirloom, improved varietals from research center Processes: fully washed and natural, dried on raised beds Flavour profiles: Fruit juice, fruit tea, floral, elegant Usage: Widely used for filters, as single origin espresso and in espresso blends. Shelf life: Normally holds up well for a year, sometimes longer. Ethiopia videos: Ethiopia blog posts: Spring Cupping is here! Posted: May 3, 2021 Spring Cupping has begun! Spring Cupping is here! While it won’t be our usual event at our Oslo HQ, it will still be a lot of fun. Check our Spring Cupping page for new videos and events daily. Ethiopia transparency overview now available Posted: March 23, 2021 Our third transparency overview with prices paid to farmers in Ethiopia is now available. It explains how we work in Ethiopia, the suppliers we work with, and the complicated journey our coffees take from farm to port. The overview also includes average prices paid to farmers in each region and the […] Your guide to our Ethiopian profiles Posted: February 26, 2021 Coffee is a very important agricultural export for the Ethiopian economy, and has therefore been very tightly controlled by the government. Until very recently, all coffee traded in Ethiopia was bought and sold through the Ethiopian Coffee Exchange (ECX). This entity inspected every lot of coffee, assigned it a grade […] Ethiopia offer-list, European warehouses Sales Offer Number Name Region Available Amount Availability Processing Method Varieties Descriptors Price Warehouse Ethiopia ET-2021-154 Samii Chelbesa Danche #4 (organic) Gedeo 3 x 60kg bag Spot Washed Dega, Wolisho $ 11.75 USD / kg Seabridge - Belgium/EU ET-2021-161 Bildimoo Gedeb #2 Gedeo 11 x 60kg bag Spot Natural Kurume, Wolisho $ 11.70 USD / kg Seabridge - Belgium/EU ET-2021-153 Samii Chelbesa Danche #3 (organic) Gedeo 11 x 60kg bag Spot Washed Dega, Wolisho $ 11.75 USD / kg Seabridge - Belgium/EU ET-2021-058 Samii Hambela Wamena #1 Guji 2 x 60kg bag Spot Washed Other $ 11.70 USD / kg Seabridge - Belgium/EU ET-2021-074 Diima Bedessa #1 Guji 2 x 60kg bag Spot Natural Other $ 11.75 USD / kg Seabridge - Belgium/EU ET-2021-048 Dhilgee Uraga Raro #1 Guji 5 x 60kg bag Spot Washed Dega, Wolisho $ 11.50 USD / kg Seabridge - Belgium/EU ET-2021-148 Bildimoo Deri Kocha #1 Guji 82 x 60kg bag Spot Natural Other $ 11.75 USD / kg Seabridge - Belgium/EU ET-2021-047 Samii Foge #3 Yirgachefe 45 x 60kg bag Spot Washed Other $ 11.50 USD / kg Seabridge - Belgium/EU ET-2021-061 Kelloo Wote Konga #1 Yirgacheffe 13 x 60kg bag Spot Washed Kurume, Wolisho $ 8.50 USD / kg Seabridge - Belgium/EU ET-2021-140 Diima Chelbesa Danche #2 Gedeo 2 x 60kg bag Origin Natural Dega, Wolisho $ 11.75 USD / kg Seabridge - Belgium/EU Nordic Approach AS Tøyengata 29c 0578 Oslo Home » Origin projects » Ethiopia Privacy Policy E-MAIL INSTAGRAM YOUTUBE FACEBOOK NEWSLETTER We use cookies on our website to give you the best experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. 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