Ethiopia is where coffee was first discovered
They say that in the 8th or 9th century a goat herder named Kaldi discovered coffee after noticing his goats getting very frisky from nibbling red berries off some wild shrubs. He chewed some himself and enjoyed the buzz. Next someone (possibly monks) tossed some coffee berries in a fire and loved the scent. Slowly coffee as we know it today began to be drunk. Arab traders took the beans home and by the 15th century coffee had made its way to Europe and cafe society was born. For an engrossing and detailed history of coffee check out a fascinating 3 part Canadian documentary series called Black Coffee.
Coffee production in Ethiopia
Coffee production in Ethiopia is a longstanding tradition which dates back to dozens of centuries. Ethiopia is where Coffea arabica, the coffee plant, originates.The plant is now grown in various parts of the world; Ethiopia itself accounts for around 3% of the global coffee market. Coffee is important to the economy of Ethiopia; around 60% of foreign income comes from coffee, with an estimated 15 million of the population relying on some aspect of coffee production for their livelihood.In 2006, coffee exports brought in $350 million,equivalent to 34% of that year’s total exports
