Ethiopia is known for rolling green hills and vibrant culture—and the perfect climate for growing arabica coffee beans. The country is widely considered to be the birthplace of coffee. Our beans have been cherished for centuries, and even today, Ethiopia is one of the world’s leading coffee producers with coffee beans renowned for unique flavor profiles. Uraga Coffee is proud in producing the best quality coffee from the origin.
Many experts say that Ethiopia is the only place that coffee grew natively and the apocryphal story of Kaldi is told over and over. 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.