Kaffa (Kafa), Ethiopia
A forested zone of south-western Ethiopia long associated with the origins of Arabica coffee, and now a UNESCO biosphere reserve.
Kafa, often spelled Kaffa, is a zone in south-western Ethiopia, about 460 km south-west of Addis Ababa, with Bonga as its nearest city. The Kafa Biosphere Reserve was designated by UNESCO in 2010 and is described as Ethiopia’s first UNESCO-protected biosphere reserve.
The region is often called the birthplace of Arabica coffee, and its montane forests are described as a centre of origin and genetic diversity of wild Coffea arabica. That is how the association is usually put today: a region where wild Arabica grows and is protected, rather than a precisely located first cup.
The historical record is more cautious. Histories of coffee suggest it was probably first picked from wild plants in Ethiopia, but direct evidence for early drinking is scarce, and the earliest confident evidence of coffee drinking comes from Yemen in the mid-to-late fifteenth century. The familiar story of the goatherd Kaldi is a legend, first recorded in 1671. A link between the name Kaffa and the word “coffee” is sometimes suggested but is debated.
- Country
- Ethiopia
- Region
- Kafa Zone, south-western Ethiopia
- Designation
- UNESCO biosphere reserve, 2010
- Associated with
- Wild Coffea arabica forests
Kafa Biosphere Reserve information site ↗
Editor’s Selection is an editorial choice by Sunjae Sharmah. Names and marks belong to their owners; no affiliation with, or endorsement by, the brand is implied.
Added October 2026