Breakfast Briefing: Ethiopia Forest Coffee

The Ethiopian Coffee and Tea Development and Marketing Authority and Partnerships for Forests are hosting a breakfast presentation on Ethiopian Forest Coffee at the Global Speciality Coffee Expo in Seattle on 22 April. The presentation will be an opportunity to learn more about Ethiopian forest and semi-forest coffee and to discuss opportunities for collaboration.

We will be calling for Expressions of Interest for partners to build an Ethiopian Forest Coffee brand and supply chain, details of which are available here.

If you are interested in attending the event please register through the Event Page.

The bulk of coffee production in Ethiopia (around 45%) stems from coffee forests which cover around 500,000 thousand hectares. This coffee holds the potential to unveil additional Arabica coffee genetic material, which is vital to ensure the resilience of coffee in the current reality of climate change, as currently there is only 0.5% genetic diversity between all commonly grown Arabica.

Forest coffee is currently sold as commercial-grade coffee due to variable quality and lack of traceability. At the same time, the forests in which this coffee grows are under threat; smallholder and commercial agricultural expansion and demand for fuelwood and charcoal have led to the loss of one third of Ethiopia’s natural forest. The Ethiopian Forest Coffee initiative aims to promote coffee from these forests in order to incentivise their protection and conserve the rich genetic resource.

The event will take place on Saturday 22th April, from 7:45-9:00am, in Room 210 of the Expo. The agenda is as follows:

7:45-8:10 – Registration

8:10-8:15 – Opening remarks from the Coffee and Tea Development and Marketing Authority

8:15-8:40 – Short presentation from Partnerships for Forests

8:40-9:00 – Q&A