Coffee can be traced back to the 10th century and the coffee forests of the Ethiopian plateau. The words Coffee and Café are actually derived from ‘Kaffa’ which is the area in the southwest region of Ethiopia where you will find many cultivated coffee farms as well as coffee growing wild in the highland forests. There is a popular legend about an Ethiopian goatherd named Kaldi who observed the energetic prancing and dancing of his goats after they had nibbled the red berries of an unfamiliar tree. So Kaldi decided to try the berries himself and then became known ever after as the happiest goatherd of Abyssinia! Passing this knowledge about the energy berries on to a local monk, the monk decided to try drying and then boiling the berries to make a beverage. His fellow monks loved this tasty new drink, which also had the advantage of keeping them very alert. Knowledge of this new berry beverage then quickly spread as the little red bean transformed the drinking habits of the world! From Africa coffee spread quickly throughout the Middle East then to Europe and throughout the colonial empires of the time including Indonesia and the Americas … and the rest as they say is history!
This tour enables you to not only taste the coffee but to observe the entire “from Bean to Cup” process as well as enjoying the beauty of stunning lush coffee plantation forests, the varied Ethiopian countryside and beautiful waterfalls and lakes along the journey.
Ethiopia Coffee Tour
4nights/5 days
Day 1: Addis Ababa
Arrive at Bole international airport and be welcome by an Ethiopian Holidays representative. Depending on your arrival time, you will be taken on an Addis Ababa City Tour, which will also include drinking coffee and experiencing the unique and traditional Ethiopian coffee ceremony; from washing, roasting, grinding, smelling, serving and tasting coffee!
Additional Addis Ababa sightseeing City Tour stops will include Mount Entoto (first capital situated in hills overlooking Addis Ababa which means “New Flower”) and from where you can enjoy panoramic views. You will visit the National Museum: famous for containing the famous hominid fossil ‘Lucy’, the colourful Ethnographic Museum (take an engaging visual tour through Ethiopia) located within the former palace of Emperor Haile Selassie I. Your drive will also take you through Mercato – the largest open market in East Africa and along the way you will pass various significant historical monuments of Addis Ababa on this City Tour to give you a taste of Addis.
Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner Overnight: Hotel
Day 2: Addis Ababa – Jimma
Morningyou fly to Jimma and will be met by our representative at the airport. First off however, there will be time for a quick tour of Jimma itself. Jimma is an important centre of coffee production and distribution. This bustling modern market town of Jimma is comfortably the largest settlement in the western highlands, with an estimated population of 200,000. Your tour will include the Jimma museum containing a selection of personal effects of Abba Jiffar, the last independent king of Jimma, along with interesting ethnographic displays relating to the Oromo and other local cultures.
Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner Overnight: Hotel
Day 3: Drive to Bonga
Rise early in the morning to the smell of locally grown and freshly roasted coffee and savour the taste as you also enjoy a great breakfast. Then, you set off for your drive to Bonga through the Kaffa region of Ethiopia; Kaffa is generally regarded to be the region from where the Arabica strain of coffee originated and also where the plant was first cultivated. After checking in to the hotel in Bonga, you then drive to the marvelous Tatmara coffee plantation where you will be able to experience and observe the whole coffee production process concluding with a coffee ceremony in this perfect Home of Coffee location!
Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner Overnight: Hotel
Day 4: Mankira – Jimma
After breakfast, take an excursion to Mankira, which is the actual place where Arabica coffee was discovered. En route you will visit the magnificent and ancient Adaracha Medhanealem Church and the Natural Bridge Gurguto/Egziher dildy (meaning God’s bridge), which connects two distant villages. Then, drive back to Jimma.
Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner Overnight: Hotel
Day 5: Drive back to Addis Ababa;
In the evening experience a folkloric dinner where you will have a chance to taste several national dishes and watch dances of the various ethnic groups of Ethiopia. The traditional coffee ceremony will also be served. Later you will be transferred to the airport for your departure.
Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner
Price
Price in US Dollar (USD)
No. Pax
1 PAX
2 PAX
3PAX
4 PAX
5 PAX
6 PAX
7 PAX
Price/Person
2169.00 $
1269.00 $
1025.00 $
899.00 $
829.00 $
779.00 $
749.00 $
Single Room Supplement would be by Adding 70.00 USD
Price includes:
- 4 night hotel accommodation on twin bed basis
- Meals: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner
- All entrance fees according to the tour program
- Return transfer to airport
- Ground transportation per the package itinerary
- Driver allowance
- English speaking local guide
Price doesn’t include:
- Alcoholic drinks
- Video and camera fees if and where applicable
- Tips, telephone calls, laundry services and other expenses of personal nature
- Entrance fees to any special ceremonies you might encounter by chance
- International and Domestic flight
Any other expenses which are not mentioned on price include section