Ethiopia Kaffa Forest

Somewhere in the forests of southwest Ethiopia, a shepherd named Kaldi noticed that his goats, after eating the red berries from a mysterious shrub, didn't sleep at night — they danced. He brought his discovery to a monastery. The monks brewed a drink from the branches and discovered they could pray longer than ever before.

Legend or not — Kaffa is where arabica was born. To this day, some of the oldest genetic populations of coffee plants in the world grow here. And it is right here, in the middle of this ancient forest, that Bitta Farm stands.

When Bitta Farm was founded in 1993, it was a conscious commitment — not just to grow coffee, but to protect the place where coffee has existed since time immemorial. Today it spans 912 hectares, a large part of which is preserved ancient forest. Coffee plants grow in the shade of native trees, in an environment of rich biodiversity and fertile clay-loam soils — exactly as they have for thousands of years before us.

No random varieties grow at Bitta Farm. Every coffee plant comes from the JARC (Jimma Agricultural Research Center) — the Ethiopian institution that has spent decades breeding varieties adapted to local terroir. Varieties 74110, 74112, 74140 and 8136 are prized for exceptional cup quality and disease resistance. Not wild chance, not industrial monoculture — science in service of nature.

Between the coffee plants at Bitta Farm grows Korerima — Ethiopian black cardamom, one of the rarest spices in the world. Its warm, spicy aroma drifts through the farm's air, enters the soil, enters the air itself, enters the coffee plants. And that gentle, almost elusive hint of spice you sometimes catch at the finish of the cup? That is Korerima. That is Kaffa. That is this forest.

Bitta Farm is not just a plantation. It is a community. 115 permanent workers and during harvest a further 380 to 510 seasonal workers — most from surrounding villages. The farm invests in road access, clean water, education and healthcare. Organic, Rainforest Alliance and C.A.F.E. Practices certifications are not just labels. They are a commitment to the forest, the soil and the people who live here.

Only perfectly ripe cherries — hand-picked, delivered the same day. Sorting, flotation, pulping. Controlled fermentation, thorough washing with clean water, then slow drying on one of 510 raised African drying beds.

Washed G2 processing removes everything that could obscure the natural character of the terroir. The result is a cup as clean as the mountain air of Kaffa — peach, lemongrass, green tea, delicate floral elegance.

A forest thousands of years old. The legend of shepherd Kaldi. 912 hectares of organic Ethiopia. JARC varieties bred for this terroir. Korerima cardamom in the background. A community of 600 people. And in the cup — peach, lemongrass, green tea.

This is not just a coffee. This is a place.