Afrika
Today, coffee is being cultivated in at least 32 African states. However, the
proportion of these countries with respect to world production is rather
small.
The original home of the Coffea Arabica is in Ethiopia, as it is
called today, where immense wild-growing coffee areas do still exist nowadays.
Even though the population of this country had drunk coffee for some time, it
was only in 1450 that coffee was mentioned for the first time in history. In
1896 Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania started with the cultivation of coffee. Two
years later, the Robusta bean, which is now predominantly produced in Western
Africa, was discovered in the Congo area.
Coffees from Kenya and Ethiopia
are indispensable for gourmet coffee roasters due to their complex aroma.
However, they are only to be found in small amounts on the world market. This
represents their high price, which is unquestioningly accepted, especially by
the Japanese and the Americans. Only excellent contacts can ensure the delivery
of the exceptional qualities from these countries of origin to
Europe.