The legend says that a shepherd named Kaldi once noticed that his goats, after eating the red berries of a certain shrub, did not sleep at night and jumped with unusual energy. He brought these berries to a local monk. The monk boiled the leaves and fruits in water. He stayed awake all night.

This story, true or not, places Ethiopia at the heart of coffee’s origin. And this origin is not symbolic: it is literally where Coffea arabica still grows wild today, in the humid forests of the Ethiopian highlands.

Ethiopian coffee-growing regions

Ethiopia is a country of extreme contrasts: scorching deserts, fertile highlands, dense forests, deep valleys. This spectacular geography creates radically different micro-terroirs, and therefore coffees with very distinct flavor profiles.

Yirgacheffe is probably the best-known region among specialty coffee lovers. Its beans are renowned for their intense floral notes, aromas of bergamot, jasmine, and tea. A well-prepared Yirgacheffe coffee sometimes resembles a high-end herbal tea more than what is ordinarily imagined as coffee.

Sidamo, in the south of the country, produces fruitier coffees, with notes of red fruits and citrus, a bright acidity, and natural sweetness. Harrar, in the east, gives stronger coffees, with notes of dried fruits, wine, and sometimes blueberry.

Each region has its signature. And it is this diversity that makes Ethiopian coffee so fascinating for specialty coffee professionals.

Natural processing vs washed processing

In Ethiopia, the two main processing methods coexist and produce very different results from the same beans.

The natural process, or drying on the fruit, involves leaving the whole coffee cherry to dry in the sun for several weeks. The bean then absorbs the sugars and aromas of the fruit during this time. The result is a sweeter, fruitier coffee, with winey aromas and a richer texture.

The washed process involves removing the pulp immediately after harvest, before drying. The bean is then fermented in water, rinsed, and dried. The result is a cleaner coffee, with more defined acidity and more precise aromas.

Both methods have passionate defenders in the specialty coffee world. And both exist in Ethiopia, often in the same regions.

Why Ethiopian coffee is in our cup

At Carrera Café, interest in origins is not incidental. It’s part of the same philosophy that makes us choose a bean with the same rigor as a F1 engineer chooses their components.

Understanding where a coffee comes from, how it was grown, harvested, processed, and roasted means understanding what it has to offer in the cup. It’s not snobbery. It’s curiosity. And curiosity, at Carrera Café, is a core value.

Next time you order an espresso with us, ask where the current bean comes from. We always have an answer, and often a story to tell with it.

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