Specialty Coffee Association of Ethiopia logo.
Prominent Ethiopian green coffee professionals have come together to launch the Specialty Coffee Association of Ethiopia (SCAE), a new national trade organization designed to “elevate” Ethiopia’s specialty coffee sector and better connect producers with global buyers.
In a Nov. 25 announcement, the SCAE said it plans to protect the country’s coffee heritage, improve quality standards and expand market access. Ethiopia is widely recognized as the genetic birthplace of arabica coffee and home to thousands of distinct varieties, yet much of that potential “remains unexplored and undervalued,” the group said.
The SCAE is launching with a flagship green coffee program called Best of Ethiopia, designed to identify and promote standout coffees from throughout the country.
“Our goal is simple but ambitious,” the SCAE’s inaugural president, Ashenafi Argaw, said in the announcement. “We want to showcase the best of Ethiopian specialty coffee, strengthen traceability and quality standards, and provide a platform for our producers to be recognized globally.”
The association is governed by a nine-member board, representing major coffee-growing regions such as Guji, Sidama, Jimma, Wellega, and Yirgacheffe. The organization was formally established and launched by the Ethiopian Coffee Authority and the Ethiopian Ministry of Agriculture.
Among the organizations founders are: Argaw, the founder of exporting company Ardent Coffee; exporter and Testi Coffee founder Faysel Abdosh; Daye Bensa Coffee executive Kenean Assefa; and producer-exporter Tamru Tadess, the first-place winner in the 2021 Ethiopia Cup of Excellence competition.
The organization said it plans to “uncover and document” more than 10,000 unique coffee varieties in Ethiopia, while also building market connections and unlocking value for more producers.
“SCAE will organize coffee auctions which provide a premier global platform to present Ethiopia’s finest, rarest and most exceptional coffees to international buyers — ensuring transparency, rewarding excellence and elevating the value returned to producers,” Tadess said.
The SCAE launch fits into a broader pattern in the global coffee sector, where smaller coalitions within the “specialty” segment are leaning into competitions and auctions to capture more value for high-end coffees. Models such as the Specialty Coffee Association of Panama’s long-running Best of Panama auction or Cup of Excellence programs have resulted in high prices for small lots of green coffees while serving as marketing platforms for their countries’ coffee sectors overall.
[Editor’s note: This story has been updated. An earlier version incorrectly outlined the structure and geographic representation of the association’s governing board.]
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