The Addis Ababa airport is situated about 2400 meters above sea level, but some areas of the city reach altitudes of 3000 meters. Upon our arrival, we are greeted by Robba with a warm smile and his gentle, kind manners. Robba, a graduate in economics with a master's from the University of Gastronomic Sciences in Pollenzo, comes from a family of the Oromo Karrayyu clan, who are pastoralists and camel breeders for milk production, and he will take us through the plateau, 400 km south of Addis Ababa, to the Bale Mountains, and into the Harenna Forest, where wild coffee is still harvested. Here we will encounter a couple of small gathering communities, who still live in isolation, collecting coffee, raising animals, and cultivating gardens and teff, the grain that only grows in Ethiopia and is part of Ethiopian culture. With ancient origins, teff, along with coffee, is a primary means of livelihood for millions of people. Teff is extremely rich in nutrients, gluten-free, and is used in many ways, both as food and beverage. It is very common to find it used as 'bread.'
"All of Ethiopia stretches between enormous plateaus and primordial rifts that constantly remind us of the power of the elements."
To cover the 400 km that separate us from Bale Mountains National Park by car, we will take two days, crossing fantastic landscapes and truly unspoiled nature, where biodiversity still finds space despite the risks of pollution and poaching. All of Ethiopia stretches between enormous plateaus and primordial rifts that remind us at every moment of the power of the elements and the origin of everything. In Addis Ababa, which in Aramaic means new flower, about three and a half million people live. The traffic of cars coexists with a rurality that permeates daily life and with the complete absence of traffic lights, as in most African metropolises. Addis, as it is familiarly called by the Europeans who live there, extends over a vast territory up to the Entoto mountains.
During our stay in the city, before leaving, we delve into the Merkato, on streets that were paved, it seems, during the time of the Italian colonists. The Merkato is the largest market in Africa, a sort of city within a city, gathering merchants of all kinds and goods of various origins, agricultural products, which are brought to the city every day to be sold. In this enormous hustle and bustle, about thirteen thousand people coexist, working, trading, designing, and discussing. Among them is Menelik, a young entrepreneur in the coffee supply chain, who has his roasting laboratory within the Merkato, manufactures roasting machines, has an office for exports, and not far away, a coffee shop.
"In Ethiopia, the best coffee in the world grows and it is a very popular drink, prepared with the Jabena."
Unlike other countries in the coffee belt, where coffee is grown but does not form part of the local gastronomy, in Ethiopia the beverage is very popular and throughout the Merkato, as in the rest of the country, women can be seen roasting coffee on small braziers and preparing it with the Jabena, the typical Ethiopian coffee pot, according to a widely practiced hospitality ceremony.
Ethiopia produces the best coffee in the world, both cultivated and wild, and thanks to the characteristics of the soil and especially due to its biodiversity, it consists of different coffees, rich in aromas and great complexity. Ethiopia boasts 31 endemic species of mammals and over 20 species of birds. During our journey, we encounter the African wild dogs, and as we traverse part of the Great Rift Valley, along the great African fault, an old bus, loaded with luggage and humanity, climbs alongside our jeep. Few and isolated villages appear from nowhere, and we notice large beehives high up in the trees. These are hives built according to the tradition of the Arsi-Oromo community, weaving bamboo and climbing plants, and they have a conical shape, with one side completely closed and the opposite end filled with straw. The Arsi-Oromo community lives on the plateau, raises sheep, grows vegetables and grains, and engages in beekeeping, an activity with deep cultural roots. Occasionally, there are hives passed down through three or four generations in the trees.
We approach the Sanetti Plateau, unforgettable, at 4,000 meters, where the air is very thin and the vegetation becomes sparse, making way for Lobelia, clumps of helichrysum with tiny flowers. From Sanetti, the path continues on a trail, through increasingly dense vegetation until we reach the last bustling village, Dollo Mena, before entering the Harenna forest, where we will sleep. Finally, we delve into the forest on motorbikes and on foot: the rains have been heavy and the ground does not even allow for 4x4s.
"Harenna is a primary forest. Here, at about 2000 meters altitude, coffee grows wild on small patches of land scattered on the slopes of the mountain."
Harenna is a primary forest, protected by numerous international organizations as well as the Ethiopian government. Here, at about 2000 meters, coffee grows spontaneously and in the shade, among large trees and on a very rich and uncontaminated land. The gatherers, who live here in small remote villages, equipped with a small, long wicker basket, pass between the trees and pick the ripe drupes.
Recently, thanks in part to the technical support of organizations such as Slow Food, collectors have come together in cooperatives and, having become aware of the value of the coffee found in the forest, follow a guideline that prioritizes good practices in harvesting, drying, and selecting the beans, further enhancing their already excellent characteristics.
Extremely sweet and full-bodied, we drink our coffee, prepared with the jebena, very simply, around the fire.