Region and grade name a category, not a lot. What follows is the category: zone, altitude, process and cup for every origin we work in. Where the published figures disagree, we show the disagreement rather than pick the flattering number.
Select a region
Gold marker · Kaffa, where arabica was found.
Road corridor Addis Ababa to Djibouti · about 900 km · effectively all ocean export.
Sourced from our own origin research file. Ranges that primary sources disagree on are printed as disagreements, because a buyer planning a season needs to know which numbers are solid.
N° 01 · predominantly washed
Administratively inside Gedeo Zone, not present-day Sidama, despite the historical Sidamo umbrella. It functions as a de facto protected micro-origin in the trade.
N° 02 · washed and natural
South of Lake Awasa in the Rift Valley, more than twenty woredas, its own federal regional state since 2020. Sidamo was historically an umbrella label that also covered what are now marketed separately as Yirgacheffe and Guji.
N° 03 · washed and natural
Guji Zone in southern Oromia, bordering Sidama and Yirgacheffe. Sold under Sidamo until it gained independent recognition; sources disagree on the year.
N° 04 · washed and natural
Not an official administrative zone. Limu is a flavour designation within Jimma Zone and neighbouring Illubabor, which is why the paperwork and the name do not always line up.
N° 05 · mostly natural
Southwest Oromia, lower than the others and Ethiopia's principal commercial-volume region. Home of the Jimma Agricultural Research Center, which bred the disease-resistant varieties still grown today.
N° 06 · consistent supply
Western Oromia, historically traded as Lekempti and one of the original commodity-exchange classifications. We list it for buyers who need volume that repeats rather than a headline micro-lot.
N° 07 · natural, subject to availability
The eastern highlands, almost exclusively dry processed. The famous blueberry character was strongest historically and a primary importer source records that it dropped significantly after mid-1970s production changes, so we do not sell it as a guarantee.
Method
Every figure here comes from our own origin research file rather than a supplier's brochure. Where primary sources disagree we print the disagreement. Where no authoritative figure exists we say so instead of choosing the number that sells best.
Flowering follows the rains, picking runs October to January with the peak in November and December, milling and grading carry into spring, and fresh crop lands in your warehouse mid-year. Plan backwards from that.
Everything on this page describes a category. What you buy is a specific delivery from a specific washing station on a specific day, and that is what we document.
“Region and grade name a category, not a lot.”