By: Eyob Tekalign Tolina*
For the 8,000 attendees at the Specialty Coffee Association of America’s (SCAA) 20th Annual Conference & Exhibition it was all about the coffee—and Ethiopia.
From May 2-5 in Minneapolis, Ethiopia and its legendary coffees were on full display during the SCAA Conference, which is the largest gathering of coffee professionals in the world. Ethiopia was featured prominently due to its role as the Portrait Country Sponsor—the first time an African nation has been selected for that honor.
From the opening ceremony, which featured Ethiopian musicians and swirling dancers in colorful attire and keynote presentations by Ethiopian dignitaries, to seminars, exhibits, a sophisticated exhibitor booth and a traditional coffee ceremony, Ethiopia was everywhere. It was simply impossible for conference participants to ignore Ethiopia—tremendous banners in the colors of the Ethiopian flag featuring the traditional jebena coffee pot hung from the convention center floor to the upper reaches of the building’s skywalk.
Recognized as the birthplace of coffee, Ethiopia saw the SCAA gathering as a major opportunity to build upon the momentum its surging coffee industry has been experiencing, helped in no small part by Ethiopia’s partnership with coffee giant Starbucks.
Evidence of just how seriously Ethiopia took its role as the featured country could be found in the 60-person delegation that it sent to Minnesota. In addition to 40 coffee exporters and 10 farmers’ cooperative representatives, Ethiopia also sent 10 official representatives, including high-level government officials.
Yacob Yalla, State Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, and Dr. Samuel Assefa, Ethiopia’s Ambassador to the U.S., made the rounds at this year’s conference discussing the latest advances made by the government to boost Ethiopia’s coffee industry. Joining them was Getachew Mengistie, the Director General of the Ethiopian Intellectual Property Office and the brains behind Ethiopia’s campaign to trademark its luxury coffee brands, including Sidamo, Yirgacheffe and Harar.
Tadesse Meskela, the head of the Oromia Coffee Farmers Cooperative Union was also present, and was recognized by a number of conference-goers who were first introduced to him on-screen in the coffee documentary Black Gold.
A major highlight of the SCAA fete was the series of addresses delivered by Ambassador Assefa, State Minister Yalla, and Mengiste . During his speech, which brought some in the audience to tears, Assefa explained how Ethiopia’s trademarking and licensing of its luxury coffees is improving the lives of famers who harvest the nation’s “black gold.” (Click here to read the full text of Ambassador Assefa’s speech)
Assefa said that Ethiopia was “delighted to have been chosen as the portrait country sponsor at such a preeminent global coffee event,” and described the SCAA conference as “an unparalleled opportunity to present the fruits of our efforts to produce the world’s finest coffees.” The event also enabled Ethiopia to “share the unique culture and heritage that help make Ethiopia such a fascinating country,” he added.
In his remarks, State Minister Yalla, dressed in traditional Ethiopian attire for the occasion, touched upon the rich history and traditions of Ethiopia. He also explained the lengths to which the Ethiopian government is going to ensure that Ethiopia’s coffee beans remain the finest in the world.
Mengistie, the Director General of the Ethiopian Intellectual Property Office in Addis Ababa, said, “Ethiopia grows some of the world’s matchless single origin coffees with their most unique range of flavor and aroma profiles. As the Portrait Country of the SCAA conference, the land that introduced this gift to the world showcased its millennium-long love affair with coffee before the ultimate coffee connoisseurs.”
During the conference’s welcome reception, the sights, smells and sounds of Ethiopia were on full display. More than 15 members of the Ethiopian cultural band provided the soundtrack as dazzling Ethiopian models in traditional dress and dancers wowed conference delegates as they feasted on traditional Ethiopian cuisine.
Adding to the excitement generated by its delegation and the various activities at the conference, Caribou Coffee’s organic-certified Ethiopian Yirgacheffe won the top honors during the Conference’s Roasters Choice competition for best coffee.
Ethiopia recently inked a licensing agreement Caribou Coffee, having previously signed a similar deal with Starbucks. Ethiopia now enjoys strong relationships with both of America’s top two coffee companies.
During the SCAA Conference and Exhibition, Ethiopia signed more than a dozen new licensing agreements with coffee companies taking part in the conference. Ethiopia has already trademarked its fine coffee brands in 28 countries and has signed licensing agreements with more than 70 foreign coffee companies, roasters and distributors and 50 Ethiopian coffee exporters including three coffee farmer and producer unions.
During the SCAA conference, Ethiopia also attracted thousands of visitors to its booth, which featured information about its coffee industry and trademarking and licensing initiatives. On-hand at the booth at all times was a wide range of Ethiopian coffee exporters and experts. Delegates also were drawn to the Ethiopian booth in order to experience a traditional coffee ceremony, which were held throughout the duration of the conference.
The Ethiopian coffee ceremony typically begins with a young woman dressed in traditional garb roasting coffee beans in a flat pan over a small charcoal stove as incense burns. The woman conducting the ceremony washes coffee beans on the heated pan and visitors are invited to inhale the aromatic scent. The beans are stirred, the husks shaken away, and the coffee beans are then ground by hand in a mortar and pestle.
The coffee grinds are slowly stirred into a clay coffee pot known as a jebena, which is rounded at the bottom, has a long, thin neck and is topped by a straw lid. Once the coffee has been brought to a boil and the grounds have been given a chance to settle, the coffee it is poured into tiny china cups and served to the guests.
The impression that Ethiopia left on conference-goers will not easily be forgotten. Both the coffee and the country itself combined to create an experience and impression of the country that appears destined to last for years to come. Many of the delegates were overheard commenting that the efforts by Ethiopia helped to make this the best SCAA conference ever.
Coming off the success of those efforts, senior members of the delegation then traveled to Seattle for meetings with top Starbucks executives, including CEO Howard Schultz. The purpose of the discussions was to discuss ongoing cooperative efforts and to follow-up on a series of meetings held last November in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa.
-Eyob Tekalign Tolina is the head of the economic and business section of the Ethiopian Embassy in Washington. He can be reached via email at eyobjobt@yahoo.com or by phone at 202-274-4562 or fax at 202-587-0195.
Facts about Ethiopia’s Coffee Industry
---Ethiopia, the birthplace of coffee, is Africa’s leading arabica coffee producer and exporter.
---Coffee derives its name from the Kaffa region where the coffee plant is believed to have originated.
---Ethiopia grows some of the finest coffees in the world, including Sidamo, Harar and Yirgacheffe.
---In January, the price of Ethiopia’s finest coffees rose by as much as 16 percent and exports more than doubled. Over the next five years, the government hopes to boost coffee production by 20 percent.
---Ethiopia has trademarked its fine coffee brands in 28 countries and has signed licensing agreements with more than 800foreign coffee companies, roasters and distributors and 50 Ethiopian coffee exporters including three coffee farmer and producer unions.
---Ethiopia produced 330,000 tons of beans in 2007-2008.
Sources: Embassy of Ethiopia and the Ethiopian Intellectual Property Office.
For the 8,000 attendees at the Specialty Coffee Association of America’s (SCAA) 20th Annual Conference & Exhibition it was all about the coffee—and Ethiopia.
From May 2-5 in Minneapolis, Ethiopia and its legendary coffees were on full display during the SCAA Conference, which is the largest gathering of coffee professionals in the world. Ethiopia was featured prominently due to its role as the Portrait Country Sponsor—the first time an African nation has been selected for that honor.
From the opening ceremony, which featured Ethiopian musicians and swirling dancers in colorful attire and keynote presentations by Ethiopian dignitaries, to seminars, exhibits, a sophisticated exhibitor booth and a traditional coffee ceremony, Ethiopia was everywhere. It was simply impossible for conference participants to ignore Ethiopia—tremendous banners in the colors of the Ethiopian flag featuring the traditional jebena coffee pot hung from the convention center floor to the upper reaches of the building’s skywalk.
Recognized as the birthplace of coffee, Ethiopia saw the SCAA gathering as a major opportunity to build upon the momentum its surging coffee industry has been experiencing, helped in no small part by Ethiopia’s partnership with coffee giant Starbucks.
Evidence of just how seriously Ethiopia took its role as the featured country could be found in the 60-person delegation that it sent to Minnesota. In addition to 40 coffee exporters and 10 farmers’ cooperative representatives, Ethiopia also sent 10 official representatives, including high-level government officials.
Yacob Yalla, State Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, and Dr. Samuel Assefa, Ethiopia’s Ambassador to the U.S., made the rounds at this year’s conference discussing the latest advances made by the government to boost Ethiopia’s coffee industry. Joining them was Getachew Mengistie, the Director General of the Ethiopian Intellectual Property Office and the brains behind Ethiopia’s campaign to trademark its luxury coffee brands, including Sidamo, Yirgacheffe and Harar.
Tadesse Meskela, the head of the Oromia Coffee Farmers Cooperative Union was also present, and was recognized by a number of conference-goers who were first introduced to him on-screen in the coffee documentary Black Gold.
A major highlight of the SCAA fete was the series of addresses delivered by Ambassador Assefa, State Minister Yalla, and Mengiste . During his speech, which brought some in the audience to tears, Assefa explained how Ethiopia’s trademarking and licensing of its luxury coffees is improving the lives of famers who harvest the nation’s “black gold.” (Click here to read the full text of Ambassador Assefa’s speech)
Assefa said that Ethiopia was “delighted to have been chosen as the portrait country sponsor at such a preeminent global coffee event,” and described the SCAA conference as “an unparalleled opportunity to present the fruits of our efforts to produce the world’s finest coffees.” The event also enabled Ethiopia to “share the unique culture and heritage that help make Ethiopia such a fascinating country,” he added.
In his remarks, State Minister Yalla, dressed in traditional Ethiopian attire for the occasion, touched upon the rich history and traditions of Ethiopia. He also explained the lengths to which the Ethiopian government is going to ensure that Ethiopia’s coffee beans remain the finest in the world.
Mengistie, the Director General of the Ethiopian Intellectual Property Office in Addis Ababa, said, “Ethiopia grows some of the world’s matchless single origin coffees with their most unique range of flavor and aroma profiles. As the Portrait Country of the SCAA conference, the land that introduced this gift to the world showcased its millennium-long love affair with coffee before the ultimate coffee connoisseurs.”
During the conference’s welcome reception, the sights, smells and sounds of Ethiopia were on full display. More than 15 members of the Ethiopian cultural band provided the soundtrack as dazzling Ethiopian models in traditional dress and dancers wowed conference delegates as they feasted on traditional Ethiopian cuisine.
Adding to the excitement generated by its delegation and the various activities at the conference, Caribou Coffee’s organic-certified Ethiopian Yirgacheffe won the top honors during the Conference’s Roasters Choice competition for best coffee.
Ethiopia recently inked a licensing agreement Caribou Coffee, having previously signed a similar deal with Starbucks. Ethiopia now enjoys strong relationships with both of America’s top two coffee companies.
During the SCAA Conference and Exhibition, Ethiopia signed more than a dozen new licensing agreements with coffee companies taking part in the conference. Ethiopia has already trademarked its fine coffee brands in 28 countries and has signed licensing agreements with more than 70 foreign coffee companies, roasters and distributors and 50 Ethiopian coffee exporters including three coffee farmer and producer unions.
During the SCAA conference, Ethiopia also attracted thousands of visitors to its booth, which featured information about its coffee industry and trademarking and licensing initiatives. On-hand at the booth at all times was a wide range of Ethiopian coffee exporters and experts. Delegates also were drawn to the Ethiopian booth in order to experience a traditional coffee ceremony, which were held throughout the duration of the conference.
The Ethiopian coffee ceremony typically begins with a young woman dressed in traditional garb roasting coffee beans in a flat pan over a small charcoal stove as incense burns. The woman conducting the ceremony washes coffee beans on the heated pan and visitors are invited to inhale the aromatic scent. The beans are stirred, the husks shaken away, and the coffee beans are then ground by hand in a mortar and pestle.
The coffee grinds are slowly stirred into a clay coffee pot known as a jebena, which is rounded at the bottom, has a long, thin neck and is topped by a straw lid. Once the coffee has been brought to a boil and the grounds have been given a chance to settle, the coffee it is poured into tiny china cups and served to the guests.
The impression that Ethiopia left on conference-goers will not easily be forgotten. Both the coffee and the country itself combined to create an experience and impression of the country that appears destined to last for years to come. Many of the delegates were overheard commenting that the efforts by Ethiopia helped to make this the best SCAA conference ever.
Coming off the success of those efforts, senior members of the delegation then traveled to Seattle for meetings with top Starbucks executives, including CEO Howard Schultz. The purpose of the discussions was to discuss ongoing cooperative efforts and to follow-up on a series of meetings held last November in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa.
-Eyob Tekalign Tolina is the head of the economic and business section of the Ethiopian Embassy in Washington. He can be reached via email at eyobjobt@yahoo.com or by phone at 202-274-4562 or fax at 202-587-0195.
Facts about Ethiopia’s Coffee Industry
---Ethiopia, the birthplace of coffee, is Africa’s leading arabica coffee producer and exporter.
---Coffee derives its name from the Kaffa region where the coffee plant is believed to have originated.
---Ethiopia grows some of the finest coffees in the world, including Sidamo, Harar and Yirgacheffe.
---In January, the price of Ethiopia’s finest coffees rose by as much as 16 percent and exports more than doubled. Over the next five years, the government hopes to boost coffee production by 20 percent.
---Ethiopia has trademarked its fine coffee brands in 28 countries and has signed licensing agreements with more than 800foreign coffee companies, roasters and distributors and 50 Ethiopian coffee exporters including three coffee farmer and producer unions.
---Ethiopia produced 330,000 tons of beans in 2007-2008.
Sources: Embassy of Ethiopia and the Ethiopian Intellectual Property Office.
