Tour Overview
Follow the origins of Ethiopian coffee on this immersive 5-day coffee tour through the country’s most famous coffee-growing regions. Travel through Yirgacheffe, Sidama, Kaffa, and Jimma while visiting coffee cooperatives, plantations, rainforests, waterfalls, and traditional farming communities. Learn about the journey of Arabica coffee from forest to cup while experiencing Ethiopia’s rich culture, landscapes, and hospitality.
Travel Itinerary
Day 1: Drive to Yirgalem through the Rift Valley
Begin your journey south from Addis Ababa through the scenic Ethiopian Rift Valley toward Yirgalem, one of Ethiopia’s renowned coffee-growing regions. Along the way, enjoy beautiful landscapes, local villages, and lush vegetation before arriving at your lodge surrounded by coffee plantations and forest scenery.
Day 2: Yirgacheffe Coffee Cooperatives & Plantations
Travel to Yirgacheffe, internationally celebrated for producing some of the world’s finest Arabica coffee. Spend the day visiting local coffee cooperatives, farms, and washing stations to learn about traditional cultivation, harvesting, processing, and drying techniques that give Yirgacheffe coffee its distinctive flavor and aroma.
Day 3: Coffee Culture in Aleta Wendo & Bensa
Continue exploring Ethiopia’s coffee heartland with visits to coffee-growing communities in Aleta Wendo and Bensa. Meet local farmers, observe daily life during the coffee harvest season, and gain deeper insight into Ethiopia’s centuries-old coffee traditions while driving through beautiful highland scenery.
Day 4: Kaffa Rainforest & Barta Waterfall Adventure
Journey into the Kaffa region, considered the botanical birthplace of Arabica coffee. Take a guided nature walk through the misty rainforest to the spectacular 70-meter-high Barta Waterfall. Visit a local beekeeper and taste organic forest honey produced within the rainforest canopy while learning about the biodiversity of the region.
Day 5: Mother Coffee Tree, Jimma & Return to Addis Ababa
Trek to the legendary “Mother Coffee Tree,” believed by locals to be one of the oldest surviving coffee plants in Ethiopia. Continue to Jimma to visit the historic palace of Ras Abba Jifar before flying back to Addis Ababa. In the evening, enjoy a traditional Ethiopian farewell dinner with cultural music and dance performances.
