In Addis Ababa’s affluent Bole neighbourhood, the traditional smell of roasting coffee beans wafts through a thoroughly modern coffee shop. “Ethiopia coffee is big, but as an Ethiopian I saw lot of green coffee beans sold to international brands,” said Alemu, the founder of the internationally successful, locally made, Sole Rebels shoe brand. Like much of Ethiopia’s economic growth, exporting its coffee culture offers a boon for those already connected to industry, but threatens to leave behind those who built the culture. Coffee culture is still very much part of the fabric of Addis Ababa, with far more humble cafes all around. It doesn’t help that coffee growers, fed up with the falling prices of coffee beans and changing climate, have begun growing khat instead, making it more difficult to access beans.

Source: Ethiopian News February 28, 2019 12:13 UTC