Ethiopia Coffee Trade

Admasu Ayele harvests coffee on the Teppi plantation in the Kaffa region of Ethiopia. It is one of Ethiopia’s largest plantations where Starbucks buys much of its coffee from Ethiopia.Coffee permeates the cultural fabric of Ethiopian life, and is celebrated daily in coffee ceremonies. Families prepare it in the living room using a pan to roast over coals, a mortar and pestle to grind, and a clay pot to boil and brew. The coffee ceremony is at once a social tradition, a celebration of the virtuous properties of coffee, and an opportunity for contemplation and reflection. Coffee is served over a period of time in three individual rounds—the Abol, Tona, and Baraka, each of which has its specific significance. Life without coffee is almost unimaginable—most people drink it in the morning, the afternoon, the evening, and sometimes late into the night. Ethiopia is one of only two producing countries that drink more than half of what they grow.