Did You Know?
Kenya Coffee
Kenya coffee has a wonderful flavor courtesy of the rich volcanic soil and high altitudes of the mountains found in East Africa. Coffee is Kenya’s top foreign exchange earner and the government is keen to see this industry prospers. The Coffee Board of Kenya was formed to ensure the quality of exports is maintained and to streamline the industry by regulating coffee trade within and without the country. Kenya coffees have a very unique taste. The best quality has a very strong coffee aroma with very little bitterness.
Côte d’Ivoire (3.3 million bags)
In the mid-1990s Côte d’Ivoire was the number five coffee producer and second largest robusta producer. Why the decline? Some speculate that an emphasis on volume and a lack of investment and planning have lowered quality and per-acre productivity. Today most exports end up as mass-market coffee in Europe, especially France and Italy. Notable Bean: Côte d’Ivoire specializes in robusta production.
Ethiopia (3.8 million bags)
The natural home of the arabica tree and the setting for most of coffee’s origin legends, Ethiopia is Africa’s top arabica exporter and leads the continent in domestic consumption. About 12 million Ethiopians make their living from coffee, whose name is said to be a derivation of “Kaffa,” the name of an Ethiopian province. Notable Beans: Harrar, Sidamo, Yirgacheffe
Uganda (3 million bags)
Though Uganda grows precious little arabica, it is a key producer of robusta. That humble, hardy bean accounts for 75 percent of the country’s export revenue and provides employment for 80 percent of all rural workers. Efforts to diversify aside, Uganda is likely to remain beholden to the bean for the foreseeable future. Notable Bean: Bugisu
You’ve discovered the coffee treasures of Africa. Listed below for your pleasure are some of the finest African coffee roasts.