The Anfilloo terroir is located in western Ethiopia, near the border with Sudan. It is composed of ancient coffee forests supported by agricultural practices specific to the area that produce a well-known Nekemte coffee. According to oral and family tradition, coffee has been cultivated for several centuries in this forest. The elders say that before being sold to the outside world the coffee crops were used for domestic purposes. The coffee trees were planted in the vicinity of Waba by farmers who consumed the coffee with family and friends, and it is how the Anfilloo forest came about.
The coffee forest developedin 3main stages.
First in the 19th century, because although not colonised by a European power, foreign traders found products in Ethiopia that piqued their interest. Anfilloo coffee began being sold to outsiders by Greek and Armenian traders, guided until then by English settlers in Gambella, the main neighbouring city. The farmers worked the surrounding hills to develop this profitable production, starting with the village of Waba, then Yeti, where the oldest plants are found. The Anfilloo forest grew from this, which is why Anfilloo farmers often say their coffee originates from Waba.
Later, another wave of demand emerged, driven by the Italians present in Ethiopia in the 1930s. EmperorHaile Selassiebegan organising coffee purchasesmore efficiently, in particular by centralising them in Addis Ababa.
Finally, in the 1980s, under the dictatorship of the Derg and after the notorious great famines, international aid was provided to restore the environment. This made it possible to increase the coffee forest further.
Anfilloo owes its reputation to this unique history, in addition to its agricultural practices based onthe manual farming of small plotsand the specific qualities of the coffee produced.
