Coffee Break
Intro
The Houses of the Land of Judah and the Chrysanthemum Throne have had strong relations and a soft spot for each other’s countries since the early fifties.
This friendship was accelerated during the Korean War when Ethiopian Imperial guards under the UN flag took their R&R (rest and recuperation) in Japanese cities. “Eruk Mesrak Salehu Japanuan Wodije” went the refrain of a memorable Tilahun Gessese song, recounting how a young soldier fell in love with a Japanese girl. “Japan Endet Beletsegech?” – How Did Japan Develop? – was an influential book written by a nobleman who saw direct similarities between Ethiopian and Japanese socio-economy and culture. The book was a conversation piece for decades as it posed the question of how Ethiopia could emulate its far-eastern soul mate.
Bilateral relations were given a marathon boost after the efforts of Abebe Bikila in the 1968 Tokyo Olympics, which in their own way have inspired the Japanese to be among the best marathon runners in the world.
The long-standing ties between the two countries are further exemplified by the interesting role that coffee has played in bringing them closer together people to people. Internationally, Japan has been a valuable promoter of Ethiopian coffee, as this special feature will reveal.
As a result of the gourmet coffee trend, Ethiopia has more recently obtained a previously unheard of high profile. This can only be to the benefit of Ethiopia and the whole market. Global commodity prices and export volumes are growing and coffee is no exception. The phenomenal economic rise of China and India promises that this trend will continue. The 2008 Beijing Olympic Games are another opportunity to instill the love of aromatic Ethiopian coffee in the Chinese people. Capital talked to Yanni Georgalis of Moplaco, a leading promoter, processor and exporter of fine Ethiopian coffee.
Ethiopia plans to be the world’s second largest coffee exporter in the next 10 years befits the birthplace of this ‘black gold’.
Next week, 15th–17th February, Ethiopia plays host to the 4th Eastern African Fine Coffee Exporters Association convention. Up to 600 coffee buyers, roasters and others in the coffee industry are expected to attend.
The top four importers of Ethiopian coffee are Germany, Japan, Saudi Arabia and the USA, with the first two buying 39,000 and 35,000 tons respectively each year. Although Germany imports the highest bulk amount, it exports some to other European countries including France and Italy. Japan, on the other hand, consumes every ounce of coffee it imports, making it the highest Ethiopian coffee consuming country in the world.
Mr Yanni Georgalis of Moplaco Trading Co. Ltd., one of the leading coffee exporters, cleaners and graders in Ethiopia, is one who believes that “this is the time to show the world exactly where coffee comes from. Ethiopia is the birthplace of coffee”, he says.
The coffee plant was first found in a region of western Ethiopia called Kaffa, from which the names ‘coffee’, ‘café’ and the like are derived.
Legend has it that a shepherd named Kaldi saw his goats eat the plant and afterwards they became agitated. Intrigued, the shepherd ate some of the leaves himself and also became more alert.
Coffee was originally growing wild in Ethiopia, as part of the culture, and not grown for commercial purposes, until some Yemenis in Dire Dawa started informal exports through the port of Zeila.
That is how the name ‘Coffea arabica’ arose. Ethiopian coffee should have been named ‘Coffea abyssinica’, but since changing the biological naming of plants is difficult, we can at least let the world know that Ethiopia is the true origin of coffee” he says.
“Though Christianity forbade the faithful from drinking coffee, priests in Zege (Bahar Dar), took coffee seeds from Kaffa, where Kaldi had originally discovered it, planted them at their monasteries and started drinking it as it helped them to stay awake for their all night prayers and meditations. The coffee trees can still be seen in the Zege area.”.
Coffee spreads around the globe
Ethiopian coffee, from the 17th to 19th centuries, arrived in Japan by way of Yemeni traders and became a popular drink. The Japanese started to conduct direct trade with Ethiopia in 1953, when a Japanese entrepreneur named Tadao Ueshima came to Ethiopia and bought 150 bags of Harrar coffee to take back to Japan and start the first of many trade links with Ethiopia.
His first trade effort was followed by another Japanese, Sueo Ishimitsu, who also came to Harrar and bought 100 bags of coffee. He was followed by Mr Nishibayashi Wataru who imported 100 bags to Japan as well. The business became much larger when the famous Mitsui Company became a regular importer of Ethiopian coffee, buying over 1000 bags every month. ‘Shoshas’ – trading houses – such as Mitsubishi and many others followed.
It was so successful that today the Japanese drink a lot of Ethiopian Mocha coffee on a regular basis. An astounding example of a devoted Japanese coffee drinker was the late Ken Suzuki – a mechanic – who drank Ethiopian coffee all his life and wished to be buried under a coffee tree in Ethiopia. But as that was impractical, he entrusted his close friend Narita Senzo to come to Ethiopia and at least bury Suzuki’s photograph under a coffee tree in Harrar. His wishes were honored in February 2006. “This shows how much the Japanese love Ethiopian coffee”, says Yanni Georgalis.
Over the years, the Japanese have done a great deal to introduce Ethiopian coffee to the world. Indeed, Japanese scholars have been working to protect trees in the Harrar region by asking UNESCO to grant them World Heritage status. Some of these trees are up to 200 years old and cannot survive modern pruning techniques. Yanni believes that the Japanese have contributed far more than we have given them credit for in the promotion of Ethiopian coffee. They have an unwritten law in Japan that holds that if a coffee roasting or supply company wishes to use the name MOCHA, then at least 35% of the content must in fact be Ethiopian coffee.
Saudi Arabia is a most significant long-standing buyer of Ethiopian coffee and they are especially fond of Harrar coffee. The cardamom spice which Saudi Arabians like to add to their coffee does not hide the aroma of Harrar coffee, but the cardamom flavor comes through in the taste.
The USA has always been a prominent and important partner of Ethiopia. More recently, American gourmet coffee roasters have become substantial buyers of Ethiopian specialty coffees. When asked about his opinion of Starbucks, Yanni said that he believes the recent misunderstandings over trademarks between Ethiopia and Starbucks will be resolved amicably. He says that Starbucks is a major buyer of gourmet coffee and Ethiopia values Starbuck’s most significant contribution to introducing Ethiopia’s fine coffees to the wider world. He hopes that Starbucks will continue these efforts, as there are yet more varieties to discover.
The way forward
Yanni is a veteran coffee processor and believes that creating a sustainable market is the way forward to expand coffee exports in the world and he believes that China, whose people are traditionally tea drinkers, can be potentially the largest market for expanding Ethiopia’s coffee export sector. With over 1.2 billion people, a coffee drinking generation is emerging, and if Ethiopia could tap into that market, Yanni believes that even increased supply from coffee producing nations around the world would not meet the huge demand.
Coffee has long been the number one export commodity for Ethiopia, but we have not used our full potential of providing quality coffee to the world. Ethiopia used to produce 98,000 tons of coffee a year during the imperial era, but that figure has risen to 350,000 tons per year now, making it the largest coffee producer on the African continent.
“Half of the 350,000 tons of coffee produced in a year is consumed by Ethiopians, and believe me, if the government had not stepped in and set export regulations, the local market would have consumed the entire annual production. This shows that there is room for more production and Ethiopia clearly has the potential to become one of the top coffee players in the world,” Yanni says.
Ethiopia is known as a high quality coffee exporter, especially with Harrar, Yirgacheffe and Sidamo coffees being a big hit on the international gourmet market. Though all Arabica coffee is classified as either Typica or Bourbon, Ethiopia in fact produces many different varieties of coffee. Apart from Harrar, coffee is grown in Sidamo, Wollega, Gamo Gofa, Guji, Borena, Amaro, Arsi and Kaffa – the original birthplace. There are wild coffee trees still growing in the tropical rainforest of the Bale Highlands where farmers harvest the coffee but are not permitted to cultivate the trees in any way.
Ethiopian coffee is different from coffees from other countries. Farmers do not use fertilizers or pesticides here, thus preserving the famous flavour and aroma of Ethiopian coffee. In the Harrar region, the cherries are left on the trees to dry, rather than drying them on tables in the sun, and this unusual process gives Harrar coffee its special fruity, flowery aroma which is truly unique in the coffee world and it is known as Mocca, Mocha or Moka coffee.
Though coffee produced in the rest of the world was taken originally from Ethiopia, it is a proven fact that none have the flavour and aroma that Ethiopian coffee possesses,” Yanni says.
Promoting Coffee
The Eastern African Fine Coffee Association convention to be held in Addis Ababa February 17th to 19th will be the fourth of its kind and is expected to be the largest ever.
This association was conceived in October 2000 by Simeon Onchere, representative of East Africa in ICO and Coffee Board of Kenya, and none other than our very own Yanni Georgalis.
The association’s first conference was held in Kenya (Feb 19-22, 2004), next in Zambia (Mar 3-5, 2005) and then in Tanzania (Feb 16-18, 2006). The eleven member countries of EAFCA are : Kenya, Uganda, Ethiopia, Tanzania, Malawi, Zambia, Zimbabwe, DRC, Rwanda, Burundi and recently, South Africa.
The late Mr Tadao Ueshima, who was honoured by the Ethiopian government for his great contribution in promoting and marketing Ethiopian coffee, will not be the only member of the Ueshima family to visit Ethiopia, as his son, Mr Tatsushi Ueshima, President and CEO of UCC Ueshima Coffee Company will be a most honoured guest at this EAFCA meeting.
Yanni Georgalis
Born in Harrar to Greek parents, Yanni Georgalis has been an Ethiopian citizen all his life and in the coffee business since the age of 13. Operating out of a 15,000 sqm warehouse in Addis Ababa, his company, Moplaco, exports up to 8,000 tons of coffee a year to many different markets, mainly to Japan.
The Moplaco warehouse in Addis Ababa is rated by professionals as among the top five most hygienic warehouses in the world. The local administration of Yirgacheffe, in Dumeso District has given Moplaco 15,000 sqm of land for a new project Moplaco is pioneering to dry red cherries on tables. The Kochere district has followed by giving 8,000sqm of land, with the promise to expand this to 21,000 sqm for the same purpose. Building of the new infrastructure in both locations has already begun. This new drying process will bring higher revenues than the usual sundrying process and may equal the revenues obtained from washed coffees, if not higher.
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