Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
sometimes two, buses serve Jimma (Birr98, seven hours). For Mizan Tefari (Birr22, 1½
hours), seven buses run daily.
BEAN ALL OVER THE WORLD
At some point between the 5th and 10th centuries, in the Ethiopian kingdom of Kafa, an astute herder named
Kaldi noticed that his goats were behaving rather excitedly each time they ate a certain plant's berries. Trying it
himself, he discovered that after a few chews and a couple of swallows, he was one hyper herder! When he told
the local monastery they reprimanded him for 'partaking in the Devil's fruit' and flung the berries on the fire.
They soon changed their minds, however, when they smelt the aroma emanating from the roasting beans.
Soon the monks were drying the berries for transport and shipping them to Ethiopian monasteries far and wide.
There, priests would rehydrate them in water, eat the fruit and drink the fluids to keep themselves awake for noc-
turnal prayers.
Soon Arabs began importing the bean, and in the 15th century the Turks brewed the roasted beans into the
drink we know today. From Turkey, coffee spread to Europe via Italy and then to Indonesia and the Americas.
Today an estimated four out of five Americans drink coffee at least once a day, and America (Seattle, to be pre-
cise) is the home of Starbucks - a coffee empire that encompasses over 16,000 stores in 49 countries.
But the bean didn't stop there. Coffee is now the top agricultural export for 12 countries, with the livelihood of
over 100 million people depending on its production, and has become the world's second-most-valuable commod-
ity after petroleum!
Mizan Tefari
POP 19,300 / ELEV 1451M
The stunningly sited small town of Mizan Tefari, the old capital of the Bench people,
serves as a base for a visit to the 9337-hectare
Bebeka Coffee Plantation
(
0471-118621)
. The plantation is 28km southwest of Mizan Tefari (an hour's drive) and is
Ethiopia's largest and oldest coffee farm.
As with Tepi, there are no longer any official tours, but you may be able to wrangle a
letter of introduction by calling the
Coffee Plantation Development Enterprise
(
0118-962395/4)
in Addis Ababa and pleading your case. Armed with such a letter and
your own 4WD (the plantation is far too big to take in on foot), the manager will usually
provide a guide.
