Coffee wasn't cultivated in Ethiopia until the 1500's (though some scholars believe it was cultivated in modern-day Yemen as early as 600 AD). Before, coffee beans were just harvested from coffee plants growing naturally across the country. This initial cultivation was very small in scale. The original name for coffee, Kaffa, came from the region in southwest Ethiopia where coffee was first discovered in the wild. Unlike almost every other coffee-growing country, coffee trees grow naturally here. Kaldi was a goat herder who discovered coffee after witnessing the vigor that his goats received from eating the cherries. He later brought these cherries to the monastery and shared them with the monks who exclaimed that they were the Devil’s work and hurled them into the fire. The aroma of the beans roasting in the fire was heavenly and the beans were raked from the fire and crushed to put out the embers. Realizing their mistake, they placed them into a jug and covered with hot water for preservation. Later the monks drank the brew and it helped them keep awake during nightly devotions. While this story is fun, in all actuality, it was likely that the people of the nomadic Oromo people first discovered the coffee plant and its invigorating properties. Many such stories about the origin of coffee are apocryphal and its actual discovery is something of much speculation. 'Buna tetu' which translates to 'come drink coffee' is a famous communal tradition in Ethiopia. Families will send children to knock on their neighbors homes to invite them to come share some coffee. This bonding nature of Ethiopians is a key thread in the fabric of its society.

The way Coffee was always meant to be
Harvested from some of coffee’s most famous and ancient origins Arbegona, Sidama - our 100% organic Arabica coffee is unmatched in quality. Sidama Coffee is one of Ethiopia's three trade-marked coffee regions. It's also the source of most of the country's grade one and grade two beans, which are its two highest quality rankings during worldwide quality completions held on cup of excellence. Sidama Arbegona coffee benefits from a very high altitude of 2,200meters above sea level, coffee is the main crop in the area. The designation of coffee varieties from Ethiopia is still Ethiopian heirloom Varieties or Ethiopian Indigenous varieties. This is also the case with this coffee.

From Birthplace of Coffee
Ethiopia is known as the birthplace of the coffee plant, Coffea Arabica. Many people have heard the legend of Kaldi, the goat herder in the ninth century who supposedly tracked the energetic behavior of his animals to the red coffee cherries they consumed, in turn “discovering" coffee.