China is doing fine not only in the export of Ethiopian coffee but also in the rate of economic growth that is impressive and serve as an inspiration to developing countries in particular. According to the latest global economic ranking of the ten top economies in the world, China is standing number two after the United States. What is of most interest for Africans is that Chinas is one of the leading importers of Ethiopia’s agricultural products in general.
No doubt that China’s growing economy has created a great market for Ethiopian goods.Speaking of Ethiopian coffee, there is no doubt that it is the leading one as far as the quality of its Arabica brand is concerned. It is eagerly sought by leading global importers and hugely demanded in coffee markets and coffee shops across Europe and the United States with brand names such as Sturrbacks and others.
I was jotting the following notes as I was sitting at the famous Kaldi’s coffee shop in down town Addis, my cup of hot Ethiopian Arabica brand steaming and forming a thin film of from on the surface of the dark beverage underneath. The inspiration for this article came to me as I finished my first cup and started to fidget for another one. Soon, I remembered that French writer, whose name I forgot for now and I have no time to Google because I was in a hurry to write down my first impressions for this article as they came in small cascades, before they would escape or disappear out of my head.
The French writer is said to have left an immortal saying as far as his coffee drinking habit was concerned. He noted that ideas for his books came in torrents cascades as soon as he finished his morning coffee ritual and sat down at his desk. Different writers have their own morning rituals. I presume that most of them drink coffee after breakfast and before they start their daily writing journey.
According toa January 5-2024 report, China “has become one of the largest importer of Ethiopian coffee according to Tefera Dereebew Ethiopia Ambassador to China. Speaking at the recent at a Chinese international coffee expo, in Yunan province, Pu’er city, with the theme of “Pu’er Coffee shared Worldwide”, the Ambassador said that he was delighted that the exhibition was dedicated to coffee origins that gives Ethiopia a chance as the place of origin of coffee which a precious gift to the world.
By the particular coffee shop where I was taking my morning sips as I wrote this article is named after the Ethiopian shepherd called Kaldi who is the first to discover the coffee bean at a place called Kefa in Ethiopia’s Oromia region. It is believed and generally agreed that coffee originated from this place and spread throughout Ethiopia then crossed the Red Sea and became a famous beverage in Yemen and then throughout the Arab world.
Kaldi’s story of discovery my sound like a myth or a legend and its recognition as the boy shepherd. One fated morning, Kaldi stumbled across a field in his home village where he noticed a herd of goats jumping up and down in the field in apparent joy as if they were in high spirits. The boy apparently reported his discovery to the elders in the village who made additional observations and even experimented by chewing and then roasting the same beans that sent the goats on a roller-coaster of great energy.
After a series of trials, the farmers agreed with the positive effects of the magic beans on animals as well as on humans. they spread the news far and large and the magic caught fire everywhere it was tested and consumed. That was in brief the Ethiopian story of the origin of coffee. However, it took an unfairly long time before the farmers received their due recognition while Kaldi’s name was resurrected only recently and turned into a modern brand name.
The Ethiopian ambassador at the Hunan international coffee expo was also reported as saying that coffee is part and parcel of Ethiopia’s social fabric and any guest visiting Ethiopia will certainly feel the profound coffee culture deeply imbedded in the identity of the Ethiopian people, adding that, “being one of the world’s three main beverages, coffee is like a bridge connecting all countries in the world, crossing borders and races, narrowing the distance between people in the global village, and letting coffee plug in wings through coffee cultural exchanges promoting the great integration and development of excellent cultures among all human being in the world.”
I continued sipping from my second cup of coffee as I was sifting through the news report and my thought was particularly captured by the idea that coffee in nowadays general and Ethiopian coffee in particular is presently recognized throughout the world as a bridge among different cultures. This is also a powerful idea. How many thousands of beverages are three in the world? Coffee is finally recognized as one of the top beverages in the world. It has made the long temporal journey from the village in Keffa district to the various international coffee markets and expos. This is a fantastic story and this story is potentially significant in many ways and with a potential for more stories.
Ethiopia is the undisputed birthplace of coffee but it has not yet gotten the recognition it deserves. Had coffee originated in some European or American region, it could have been elevated to the status of best drink in the world and its story could have been elevated as one of the best international discovery in the culture and history of best foods and beverages. Unfortunately Ethiopian has not so far deserved more than a passing remark in international media reports, more emphasis put on the volume of exports rather than in the fantastic story of its origin and development.
However, it is not too late to put Ethiopian coffee on the international map as not only the best but also the first crop that revolutionized the way we welcome our mornings for eternity. By the way, and according to available records, the discovery of tea was made in China. All ancient discoveries like those of tea and coffee started as legends. “According to legend, in 2037 BC the Chinese emperor Shen Nung was sitting beneath a tree while his servant boiled drinking water, when some loaves from the trees blew into the water. Shen Nung, a renowned herbalist, decided to try the infusion that his servant had accidentally created.”
it all happened the same way that Kaldi discovered coffee in the Ethiopian village field while observing the behavior of his good goats. Chinese tea migrated to the rest of the world after the discovery by the emperor while Ethiopian coffee gained little recognition or the chance to spread to the rest of the world like Asia or America. Again, it is never to play catch up and give Ethiopian coffee the place and it deserves.
As I keep on sipping my coffee almost absent mindedly as I was caught in the mental whirlwind those stories about the origins of coffee and tea, another idea flashed in my mind. Why not start by erecting a permanent exhibition right here in Addis Ababa for the great Ethiopian coffee replete with the stories of its origins. Books can be written about it and be turned into films to be seen by the thousands of international exhibitors and tourists who come to the Addis exhibition centre.
Why not build similar Ethiopian international and permanent exhibition for Ethiopian coffee across the major continents and city of the world so that its fames and merits can be recognized and appreciated while at the same time boosting its demand and popularity until it becomes a household name in families, coffee shops and at gatherings and at global expos.
This job can perhaps be dome with the cooperation of the Ethiopian ministry of trade, coffee and tea development as well as the Addis Ababa Trade Centre and other affiliated bodies. The job can be started at a modest level and modest pace until it gathers enough energy and starts to roll on with its own momentum. This idea can also be implemented as a joint-venture or a bilateral initiative with other interested parties or governmental authorities.
The Ethiopian ministry of culture and tourism the local and international media may have a role to play as part and parcel of the current drive to boost tourism and attract more visitors every year. The private sector actors can also take part in this coordinated work given the immense potentials it is bound to generate once the momentum for growth gathers steam with greater recognition and greater impact.
It may be in this way that Kaldi and Ethiopian coffee would be honored with memorial for their contribution to present day world culture and cooperation in a lasting way. This may also be a gift to future generations of young inventors and farmers who will be inspire by the story Kaldi and his fellow villagers left behind for posterity.
BY MULUGETA GUDETA
The Ethiopian Herald January 28/2024
