Ethiopian Coffee Tour

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Hi there - It’s Paul here again.

The K in K Bean comes from Kaldi, the famous goat herder from Ethiopia. As legend has it, Kaldi discovered coffee when he noticed his energetic bean eating goats. This legend originates from Kaffa in South West Ethiopia, the birthpace of Coffee Arabica, so this was the place that I needed to visit.

In 2019 I set off on a journey with award winning photographer Jayne McLean, a very cool local Ethiopian guide, a local driver and a local chef. My goals where to to experience Ethiopian coffee culture, visit family “backyard” plantations, wander old growth coffee forests and plantations, meet coffee farmers, learn about coffee farming and processing and get a better understanding of the international coffee bean trade. I was also looking for a way to get amazing Ethiopian coffee beans into Australia’s coffee machines.

I joined farmers as they transported seedlings, walked through plantations, learned about coffee bean farming and processing and tasted sweet coffee fruits. I was in coffee heaven. After the trip I sourced beans from Kaffa and I now offer these Coffee Beans to coffee enthusiasts Australia wide.

This is just the beginning. A goal for future engagement is to partner with an Ethiopian coffee farm offering the magnificent Ethiopian Gesha.

The trip was so much more than I had expected. It was mind blowing and life changing. If I had to sum up the trip in one word it would be “people.” The Ethiopian people are some of the happiest and kindest that I have met. I returned from Ethiopia with a new and fresh outlook on life.

I really can’t do much justice with text or even with photos so the best thing that I can do is point you towards the K Bean Coffee Machines YouTube Channel. I have posted a number of videos there to share my coffee adventures. There’s also a blog about a Gesha coffee farm I visited on the Jayne McLean Photograper website. To read this very cool blog Click Here

Thanks for reading about my little journey.