‘Forest Coffee’ -often seen as a promising and intriguing concept, is far too often promoted without a comprehensive understanding of its implications. This term has received attention for its potential environmental and quality benefits, but may still have no substantive meaning.

Recent research and publications have shed light on this topic, uncovering unexpected findings and prompting a deeper investigation into its essence. Time for a brief state of affairs. Let’s unravel the truth behind savvy marketing phrases such as ‘forest coffee’ and/or ‘wild coffee’. Let’s explore a range of facts, alternative interpretations and differing opinions surrounding this almost mythical concept.

BACK TO THE ROOTS | THE CLOUD FORESTS OF KAFA, ETHIOPIA

Long before coffee was cultivated around the globe, before it became one of the world’s most traded commodities, and before it became the backbone of industries and economies, the plant grew wild in Ethiopia’s dense forests. The mountainous and misty southwestern Ethiopian rainforests serve as the backdrop and original habitat of Coffea arabica’s gene pool. 

These cloud forests -especially the renowned region of Kafa carry significant historical and agricultural importance in the cultivation of Arabica coffee. Here, wild trees grow up to 9 meters tall and are covered in moss, almost unrecognisable from the neat rows of pruned shrubs you find on a conventional coffee farm.

Up until the twentieth century, the Kafa area remained largely undiscovered by European explorers, providing the local Kafa people with the opportunity to cultivate the world’s original coffee culture within these forests.

It is here in Kafa, once a proud kingdom, that coffee developed as part of the local ecosystem, or, as Koehler puts it in his reference work ‘Where the Wild Coffee Grows’ – earned its place in the forest.

WILD STORYTELLING

It is easy and tempting to make a romantic leap from the existence of some wild coffee in Ethiopia to an imaginary mythical place where the local natives wander into their forest to gather the wild, original coffee berries that still grow there.

That’s because this legendary land of ancient coffee forests -often romanticised in coffee marketing and storytelling- speaks to our desire to honour nature and origins. We are only too happy to pay tribute to the cradle of coffee and we are only too happy to strive for coffee that has been grown in the most natural environment possible. However, it is more than unlikely that your cup of Yirgacheffe was grown in a truly wild way.

FACTS & FIGURES | ETHIOPIAN WILD COFFEE, FOREST COFFEE, SEMI FOREST PLANTATION, SEMI FOREST COFFEE, GARDEN COFFEE, PLANTATION COFFEE

All fanciful and tempting storytelling aside, let’s try to find out how much Ethiopian coffee is cultivated in the deep forests. Is forest coffee truly sourced from pristine environments? Does this production method effectively preserve biodiversity ?

Several publications and studies in recent years have provided valuable insights into this topic, with somewhat unexpected results. The diagram below (compiled by Julie Craves* using data from a range of different sources and published in the article ‘How wild is Ethiopian forest coffee‘) about coffee growing, harvesting practices and their effect on the environment is a simplified representation of the different coffee growing methods in Ethiopia, with rough approximations of frequency with which they occur.

PLANTATION COFFEE 10%

>>This method involves the most intensive cultivation practices, where land is cleared and exclusively planted with coffee, managed for high yield, ranging from 450 to 1200 kg per hectare annually (with an average of around 750 kg). It encompasses larger estates but may also involve smallholder farmers.

GARDEN COFFEE  (OR ‘SEMI-FOREST PLANTATION) 50% 

>> In this method, coffee plants are moved to gardens near farmers’ residences. These plants may be sourced from nearby forests, exchanged between farmers for varieties suited to local conditions, or even come from different regions. Coffee is typically intercropped with other crops and fruit trees. Garden coffee is predominantly found in southern Ethiopia, including Sidamo, as well as Harerge/Harrar. Yields typically range from 200 to 700 kg/ha/year.

>> By comparison, Partnerships For Forests defines semi-forest coffee as: “coffee that grows in forests that are semi-managed by humans (i.e. opening up canopies, clearing weeds etc.) but maintain a minimum of 50% canopy cover.

FOREST COFFEE 5% 

>> This scenario is likely what most people envision when they hear about “wild” coffee. Here, coffee is gathered from trees growing naturally in the forest, with minimal intervention in the surrounding vegetation, except for some clearance of undergrowth to access the coffee trees. However, it’s important to acknowledge that some level of management occurs wherever coffee is cultivated.

>> In Ethiopia, only around 2000 square kilometers of high-quality forest containing wild arabica coffee remains. Even within local communities, the term “forest coffee” can hold various interpretations. It might denote old, overgrown plantations or a lone coffee tree in a pasture that was formerly forested. Regardless, yields are typically low, often ranging from just 7 to 30 kg per hectare.

>> This more or less corresponds with how non-profit organisation Partnerships for Forests defines Forest Coffee: “coffee that grows naturally in primary forests that have not been disturbed or damaged by human intervention.” Although there is actually no management of the surrounding vegetation, there is some minor removal of undergrowth purely to facilitate access to the coffee trees.“

>> Most peasants cannot afford pesticides, herbicides or other chemical inputs. Yields of forest coffee are much lower than from garden or plantation coffee systems. Deviations, however, are high. Forest coffee yields tend to have tremendous annual fluctuations due to pests, unfortunate weather conditions or plant recovery/regeneration.

>> According to our local Ethiopian partner KURU, a maximum of 3% can be described as real ‘forest coffee’.

‘FOREST’ COFFEE CULTIVATION  IN ETHIOPIA | PRACTICAL CHALLENGES & CONCEPTUAL DILEMMA 

>> The forests are worldwide rapidly depleting due to deforestation, leading to irreversible damage to their ecosystems and biodiversity.

>> Since 2002, a growing number of stakeholders engage in certification of Ethiopian forest coffee. The units of certification are local coffee cooperatives that are organised under cooperative unions.

• In practical terms, concerns arise regarding the benefits of certification for producers. Although private merchants sometimes pay slightly more for coffee than cooperatives, cooperatives usually distribute profits as dividends to members. However, some farmers have not received payments for years, casting doubt on the credibility and sustainability of the cooperative system.
  
• Conceptually, a dilemma emerges regarding the relationship between price and forest management. Traditionally, local producers employ extensive practices to enhance yields. However, intensified management activities, driven by higher prices, result in forest degradation and biodiversity loss.This presents a paradox: while certification aims to offer higher prices, it inadvertently promotes practices that harm forest ecosystems. This raises questions about the appropriateness of current certification approaches given the diverse ecological and socio-economic contexts of forest coffee production.On the other hand, higher prices promote the long-term tansformation of the last remaining primary coffee forests into agro-forestry*coffee plantations. This opens the question on the appropriateness of certification concepts. Different products are produced under different ecological and socio-economic backgrounds, posing different challenges on certification. Fairtrade and Utz Certified standards have been developed for and are most widely applied in intensive agricultural production systems, like coffee plantations in Brazil. Coffee production in Ethiopia, however, describes a different ecological, socio-economic and institutional situation.

WILD COFFEE, FOREST COFFEE | FLAVOUR FACTS

So wild coffee, coffee that comes from beans collected in a coffee forest, does it taste better? We would rather say ‘no’, or ‘not necessarily’.
The best coffee has a high quality control: it comes only from ruby red fruit. If the berry is not ripe, the bean will not have the same taste. But in the deep forest, the farmers take all the coffee fruit off the tree, including the underripe and overripe cherries. That’s because wild coffee doesn’t mature at the same time. The place where people forage may not be close to where they live, and if they return later, a monsoon may have knocked over the fruit, or baboons and birds may have eaten it – animals love the ripe coffee fruits…

So the result is not so good. But as an experience? Being in the woods and drinking rich, thick wild coffee can’t be beat.

CUPRIMA | ETHIOPIAN COFFEE LINE UP

At Cuprima, we’re all about coffee with attitude! We select our coffees for pure quality and ranki them based on their SCA value.
Our lineup? Nothing but the coolest, most exceptional coffees, whether they’re wild or not.

PRIMA 86+

Koke Shalaye | Natural – Yirgacheffe
Cupping notes: Strawberry / floral
SCA-score: 86

Berra Xaddicho | Washed – Sidama
Cupping notes: Black tea / brown sugar
SCA-score: 86.5

AUTHENTICA 84-86

Konga Amederaro | Natural – Yirgacheffe
Cupping notes: Yellow fruits / rose
SCA-score: 85

Gargari Gutity | Washed– Yirgacheffe
Cupping notes: Lemon grass / floral
SCA-score: 85

Gargary Gutity | Natural – Yirgacheffe
Cupping notes: Caramel / Red fruits
SCA-score: 85

Konga | Natural – Yirgacheffe
Cupping notes: Berries / Caramel
SCA-score: 84.75

TERRA 82-84

Kola | Washed – Sidama – Organic
Cupping notes: Peach/ Milk chocolate
SCA-score: 82-84

Kuru | Natural – Sidama – Organic
Cupping notes: Chocolat – red fruits
SCA-score: 82-84