Ueshima Coffee Co. (UCC) together with the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) have organized a promotional event in Japan where bullet train commuters had the chance to taste Ethiopian forest coffee.
The coffee originates from the southwestern part of the country: namely Belete-Gera forestry in the Oromia Regional State.
According to Fumiaki Saso, head of JICA’s agricultural division, the event is getting momentum in Japan where commuters increasingly are expressing their interest to taste the coffee’s flavor which is grown in a wild forest naturally.
In his recent visit to Belete-Gera area, Naomi Nakahira, coffee advisor and cupper at the UCC, said that Ethiopia’s forest coffee has the potential to become one of the major global brands.
So far, the country sells Yigachefe, Harar and Sidama coffees as branded commodities internationally. Nakahira is certain that if branding procedures are dealt with, Belete-Gera forest coffee could become one of the leading brands in the specialty category.
Rainforest Alliance has been certifying Belete-Gera forest coffee annually since 2007.
That has prompted Japanese firms and government agencies to take part both in the conservation and coffee buying businesses. Currently, UCC buys some two containers or 36 tons annually from farmers’ cooperatives in Belete-Gera forest coffee.
