Coffee was first discovered in Ethiopia and was first grown commercially just across the Red Sea in Yemen. The coffees from this region are some of the most exotic on the planet, from the delicate floral and lemon notes of the Yirgacheffe coffees from Ethiopia to the rich and buttery yet sparkling coffees of Kenya.
Varietals
In Ethiopia you will find some of the original Arabica coffee trees, while in Kenya varietals such as SL-28 and SL-34 are used to great results. Both of these Kenyan cultivars are strains of the Kent which was spread through East Africa by the British. In Yemen there are many different varieties like Hittari and Ismaeli that are distinct to each small growing region. Most researchers believe that there are four main varieties; Udaini, Dawairi, Tufahi, and Bura’ai, with most of these types resembling Udaini the most which could mean that this is the original Yemeni coffee.
Processing
In this greater growing region many processing styles are used, from the most basic to some of the most advanced in the world. In Ethiopia alone you will see both wet and dry processing. In the wet processing style that you would see being used for Ethiopian coffee from Yirgacheffe the cherries are picked at their ripest and the fruit is removed right away. The beans are then allowed to ferment in the mucilage left on them and then washed and sun dried. This method was first introduced in the early 1970’s to this region. The Harrar coffees from Ethiopia are dry processed to great effect. All the coffee cherries, ripe and not so ripe, are dried in the sun fruit and all. Sometimes the fruit is allowed to simply dry on the tree itself. The dried fruit is then cleaned off sometimes just by rubbing it off in one’s hands. In Kenya coffee is wet processed, but instead of being put on patios or on rooftops to dry, the washed coffees are placed on raised beds with screens for bottoms. These screens allow air to move through the beans as they dry, creating a more defined and sparkling acidity and allowing the coffee to dry more evenly. The use of these raised beds has spread to Uganda, and I have even seen some in use in Honduras in Central America.
Flavors
Coffee from Yemen on the Arabian Peninsula and Harrar in Ethiopia shares a similar winy acidity with potent berry flavors coupled with a wild honey like sweetness. Their body is rich and slightly earthy, Yemen usually being a little bigger and wilder, and dark chocolate and carob notes abound in the finish. Kenya tends to have a buttery or richly creamy body with some floral notes and a sparkling citrus acidity. Tanzanian coffee can be similar to Kenya if not a little milder body-wise yet more aggressive acidity-wise.