A study case on coffee (Coffea arabica): Limu Coffe - IRD

Coffee ripens only once a year and vanishes after wards. Then after, it became customary
to dry the coffee and to use it on daily basis. People began to be addicted to coffee and even
used the leaves of the plant when it was not possible to get the coffee cherry. At the time
various traditional medicines were mixed with coffee to be consumed. Especially persons
with flue, malaria and common cold began to add pepper in the coffee in search of remedy. It
was believed that the body temperature increasing after consuming the mixture would heal the
disease. Even today, when modern medical services are not available, coffee is used to treat
diseases related to the throat. Coffee is roasted without pealing off the cover. The coffee grain
is mixed with butter to be eaten. In addition piper and butter are mixed together in order to be
consumed.
Therefore, people boil the leaf of coffee plant and drink the juice. This is called Chembo.
Alternatively, it is named Kuti in Harar and Chemo in the south.
The equivalent of the word coffee (Buna) has its roots in the Oromic language. It signifies
considerable respect. Children are called after this product. Coffee began to be used in this
society at least in the 4 th century. Coffee in the ancient times was exported from Enaria to
other border areas. At the time, people who consumed coffee were free of diseases as it had
healing effect. It is similar as that of incense, civet and others.”
These three stories agree to recognize as a potential coffee origin site the current Suntu
State Farm covered area. A fourth one completely breaks this tendency:
- A 70 years-old peasant (Limu Genet) told me that an Algerian trader, Nasser Allah,
imported coffee in Limu which is not the place of coffee origin. He imported coffee plants
from Godjam and planted it in Miyaa forest, in Tanaboo Laaloo kebele area now under Suntu
State Farm authority. He couldn’t mention any date but situates it long time before Menelik.
After planting in Miyaa forest, Nasser Allah repeated it in Gumer (Limu Kosa woreda) then
Agaro forests (Goma woreda).
It has to be considered that Bruce in 1790 mentioned that coffee trees got introduced close
to Lake Tana in the 17 th century by Almeida in Azazo and that at the beginnings of the 19 th
century the main coffee plantations in Christian kingdoms were on these Lake Tana banks
(Mercier, 1980-2). Ethiopian Muslims were in charge of its production, and it was essentially
exported. Why wouldn’t be possible that traders and trees travelled from Gondar to Kaffa,
passing by Gojam?
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