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Botany · Species and varieties

Ethiopian landraces

Ethiopia holds most of the genetic diversity of arabica coffee. What its landraces are, how they are grown, collected and bred, and why the “heirloom” label says little about them.

Across the chain: History

Source-checkedby Coffearium verification pass· Last source-checked 16 Oct 2026· Prepared with AI assistance· 15 sources (10 tier A)· Updated 16 Oct 2026
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Contents
  • Ethiopia is the centre of diversity of *Coffea arabica*; DNA markers find the most diversity in the forest coffees of the south-western highlands.1
  • Coffee in Ethiopia is grown in four systems, forest, semi-forest, garden and plantation coffee; a 2017 study finds at least 80% comes from forests, forest-like habitats or shaded farms.1,2
  • Ethiopian accessions are genetically more diverse than commercial varieties grown elsewhere, which descend from a narrow base.5,6
  • Ethiopian breeding has released 41 varieties (as of a 2021 review), with yield, disease resistance and cup quality as its main aims.9
  • The Nagoya Protocol, in force since October 2014, governs access to genetic resources and benefit sharing; material collected before 1992 is considered freely accessible.12

What a landrace is#

A landrace is a local variety tied to the place where it grows.10 According to a 2020 book chapter, Ethiopian coffee landraces generally show adaptation to a specific location.10 A released variety, by contrast, comes out of a breeding programme and is released to growers.9,10

Practitioners note that Ethiopian coffee is often labelled “heirloom”; in 2018 a specialty roaster called the word vague and poorly defined.14,15 Genetic work shows why one label says little. In a 2022 study, Ethiopia’s cultivated trees came from local landraces, released varieties or both, and their genetic diversity was large and continuous.4

Ethiopia, the home of arabica’s diversity#

Coffea arabica is native to the forests of south-western Ethiopia, and Ethiopia is the centre of its diversity.1,3,11 Commercial varieties grown elsewhere show little diversity, and genomes separate the ancestors of cultivars from wild arabica.5,6 How a few plants left Ethiopia is told in Arabica varieties and their lines.

The species itself is narrow. It mainly fertilises itself, and its genetic variation is extremely low in both wild and cultivated plants.7 Within that narrow species, Ethiopian accessions, the samples kept in collections, are more diverse than commercial varieties.5

Four ways coffee is grown in Ethiopia#

A 2008 review describes four growing systems: forest coffee, semi-forest coffee, garden coffee and plantation coffee.1

Most Ethiopian coffee grows under trees. A 2017 study reports that at least 80% of Ethiopia’s coffee comes from forests, forest-like habitats or farms with shade cover.2 DNA markers find the highest diversity in the forest coffees of the south-western highlands.1 The same review finds landrace naming particularly rich in garden coffee systems, such as Harerge in eastern Ethiopia.1

Selections and released varieties#

Ethiopia breeds its own varieties from this material. As of a 2021 review, 41 coffee varieties had been released.9 The main breeding aims are yield, resistance or tolerance to diseases, and cup quality.9 A 2011 review covering Ethiopia and Kenya describes decades of breeding against three fungal diseases: coffee leaf rust, coffee berry disease and coffee wilt disease.3

According to a 2020 book chapter, breeders in southern Ethiopia select within local landraces for each growing region, because landraces are adapted to their place.10 In Ethiopia, selections against coffee wilt disease come from local landraces.3

Ethiopian coffee outside Ethiopia#

Collections outside Ethiopia hold landraces and wild accessions gathered in the 1960s.12,4 Some of this material reached farms. According to a 2017 textbook, Geisha and Rume Sudan are wild or semi-wild selections from the Ethiopian and Sudan regions. They suit niche markets because they yield little.8 Geisha’s journey is told in Arabica varieties and their lines.

The map below, shared with that entry, shows the Ethiopian landraces line among the arabica varieties in the World Coffee Research catalogue. Tap the line name to follow it, or tap “Ethiopian accessions” to see which F1 hybrids have an Ethiopian parent.

Tool

Arabica lines map

A metro map of 69 Arabica varieties on eight lines, from Ethiopia and Yemen to Typica, Bourbon, Catimor, Sarchimor and the F1 hybrids. Tap a variety for its parents and traits.

Open as a standalone tool →
Ethiopian landraces Typica Bourbon × Typica Bourbon Catimor Sarchimor Other introgressed F1 hybrids Ethiopia Yemen15th–16th c. India c. 1600 Java late 1600s Amsterdam 1706 Paris Americas 1723–1727 Réunion 1708–1718 Brazil mid-19th c. East Africa Kent India Rume Sudan Ethiopian accessions CATIE Timor Hybrid1920s Indian crosses C. canephora, C. liberica F1 hybrids Geisha (Panama) Java AB3 Typica Maragogipe Pache Caripe Pop3303/21 Harar Rwanda Mibirizi Nyasaland SL14 SL34 BPL10 Mundo Novo Catuai Pacamara Bourbon Caturra Villa Sarchi Pacas Venecia Tekisic K7 SL28 Jackson 2/1257 Bourbon Mayaguez 71 Bourbon Mayaguez 139 KP423 Anacafe 14 Catimor 129 Catisic Costa Rica 95 Fronton IHCAFE 90 Kartika 1 Lempira Oro Azteca T5175 T8667 T5296 Cuscatleco Parainema IAPAR 59 IPR 107 Limani Marsellesa Monte Claro Obata (Red) Paraiso IPR 103 Catigua MG2 S4808 Batian Sln.6 RAB C15 S795 Sln.5B Centroamericano Milenio Mundo Maya Esperanza Starmaya Evaluna Nayarita EC15 Ruiru 11 Casiopea H3

Drag or swipe sideways to follow the lines.

Variety in the WCR cataloguePlace and date on the journeyParent, not a catalogued varietyCross or selection

Tap a station to see its parents and descendants. 69 Arabica varieties from the World Coffee Research varieties catalogue, grouped by its genetic groups; traits are as WCR reports them. Our own diagram, not to scale in time.

Wild and cultivated: what the genomes show#

Arabica genomes separate wild accessions from the ancestors of cultivars. A 2024 genome study dates that split to about 30,500 years ago, followed by a period of gene flow between the two groups.6 A 2020 study found extremely low genetic variation in both wild and cultivated germplasm and traced it to a single polyploidisation event; it links predominant self-fertilisation to high levels of inbreeding.7

Marker studies still find clear structure within Ethiopia. A 2019 microsatellite (SSR) study of Ethiopian accessions and Brazilian cultivars found two genetic groups: one of Ethiopian accessions, one mainly of commercial cultivars.5 Ethiopian accessions were more diverse, and the 19 accessions from west of the Great Rift Valley carried 34 private alleles, variants found in no other group.5

A 2022 study genotyped 555 samples, 356 of them from cultivated trees in Ethiopia and 186 from Yemen.4 In Yemen it found an “Ethiopian Legacy” cluster beside the Typica/Bourbon and “New-Yemen” clusters, and it links that legacy cluster to southern Ethiopia.4 The diversity among Ethiopian cultivated trees was large and continuous.4

Collections and genebanks#

Most studies of arabica diversity in Ethiopia rest on accessions from two surveys of the 1960s, one by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and one by ORSTOM.4 The FAO Coffee Mission collected in 1964–1965.13 All of the ORSTOM survey and 90% of the FAO survey took place in the south-west.4 As of 2022 the surveys were almost 60 years old, and the 2022 study sees a need for a more up-to-date one.4 Ethiopian accessions held in Brazil come from open-pollinated seed of the original collection at the Tropical Agricultural Research and Higher Education Center (CATIE) in Costa Rica.5

In Ethiopia, the field genebank of the Jimma Agricultural Research Center (JARC) held 4,780 accessions spread over 10 research stations, as reported in 2008.1 The genebank of the Institute of Biodiversity Conservation at Choche (Limu) held 5,196 accessions, according to the same review.1

19601970198019902000201020201234567
  1. 1964–1965. The FAO Coffee Mission collects wild coffee in Ethiopia; most surveys of the 1960s worked in the south-west.13,4
  2. 1992. Cut-off of the Convention on Biological Diversity: material collected earlier is treated as freely accessible.12
  3. 2008. Genebank counts reported: 4,780 accessions in the JARC field genebank, 5,196 at Choche.1
  4. October 2014. The Nagoya Protocol comes into force.12
  5. 2017. A climate study finds 39–59% of Ethiopia’s growing area could become unsuitable for coffee.2
  6. 2021. A review counts 41 released Ethiopian varieties.9
  7. 2024. A genome study separates wild accessions from the ancestors of cultivars.6
Collecting, counting and regulating Ethiopian coffee genetic resources, 1964–2024. Hollow rings mark access rules. Dates to scale; markers schematic.

Breeding in Ethiopia#

A 2011 review of fungal diseases in Ethiopia’s coffee forests, which also reports breeding progress in Kenya, describes about 40 years of breeding against leaf rust, coffee berry disease and coffee wilt disease; its abstract does not tie that span to one country.3 Breeding for berry disease resistance has used major genes; in Ethiopia, breeders select wilt-tolerant accessions from local landraces.3 The disease and its history are covered in Coffee berry disease.

According to a 2021 review, Ethiopian programmes use selection, crosses within C. arabica, germplasm enhancement and hybrids from selected parents.9 According to a 2020 book chapter from southern Ethiopia, the selections 744 and 75227 are released berry-disease-resistant cultivars and serve as standard checks in trials.10 The same chapter describes a strategy of breeding from local landraces for each coffee-growing region, because landraces show specific location adaptation.10

Access and benefit sharing#

The Nagoya Protocol, in force since October 2014, governs access to genetic resources and the fair sharing of benefits from their use.12 Working under it requires Prior Informed Consent (PIC).12 Material collected before the 1992 cut-off of the Convention on Biological Diversity is considered freely accessible and, in theory, not covered by the Protocol.12

The 2024 paper counts the Ethiopian landraces and wild accessions collected in the 1960s, now in field collections abroad, among such freely accessible material.12 The same paper names Ethiopia as one of the countries most active in shaping the Protocol. It uses Geisha to ask whether the Ethiopian communities that kept such resources would have been acknowledged or rewarded under today’s rules.12 No source opened for this entry states Ethiopia’s current rules on exporting coffee seed or plants.

Conservation and climate#

Coffee genetic resources in Ethiopia are being lost quickly, according to a 2008 review that also covers conservation in genebanks and in the forests.1 According to a 2017 textbook, the forests holding the ancestral plants are shrinking, and local cultivated varieties are interbreeding with the wild plants.11

Climate adds pressure. A 2017 study projected that 39–59% of Ethiopia’s current growing area could become unsuitable for coffee this century without major interventions.2 Relocating coffee, together with forest conservation, could increase the suitable area at least fourfold.2 The study calls Ethiopia’s wild coffee forests the main storehouse of C. arabica.2 The Red List status of wild arabica is covered in Coffea arabica.

Reference values#

Parameter Value Source
Growing systems Forest, semi-forest, garden, plantation coffee Labouisse et al. 20081
Highest diversity (DNA markers) Forest coffee, south-western highlands Labouisse et al. 20081
Richest landrace naming Garden coffee, e.g. Harerge (eastern Ethiopia) Labouisse et al. 20081
Coffee from forest, forest-like or shaded farms (2017) at least 80% Moat et al. 20172
JARC field genebank (reported 2008) 4,780 accessions, 10 stations Labouisse et al. 20081
Institute of Biodiversity Conservation genebank, Choche (reported 2008) 5,196 accessions Labouisse et al. 20081
FAO Coffee Mission 1964–1965 Ciência e Agrotecnologia 202113
Share of 1960s surveys in the south-west FAO 90%, ORSTOM 100% Montagnon et al. 20224
Private alleles, accessions west of the Rift Valley 34 (19 accessions) da Silva et al. 20195
Wild and cultivar ancestors split about 30,500 years ago Salojärvi et al. 20246
Varieties released in Ethiopia (2021) 41 Melese & Kolech 20219
Growing area at risk from climate change 39–59% Moat et al. 20172
Nagoya Protocol in force October 2014 Lachenmeier & Montagnon 202412

Open questions#

  • Sampling of the 1960s collections. Most diversity studies rest on surveys made almost entirely in the south-west; a 2022 study of cultivated trees from the whole country calls for a new survey.4
  • How much of Ethiopia’s diversity is in genebanks. The 2008 review counts accessions but also reports fast genetic erosion in the field.1
  • Benefit sharing for older material. Accessions collected before 1992 are considered freely accessible under the Nagoya Protocol, and how the communities that kept them would be acknowledged remains open.12

Key studies#

Labouisse et al., 2008 – Ethiopia’s coffee genetic resources. Reviews the four growing systems, where genetic diversity is highest and what threatens it. Counts the accessions held in Ethiopia’s two main genebanks and calls for coordinated conservation.

Genetic Resources and Crop Evolution 55(7), 1079–1093 · doi:10.1007/s10722-008-9361-7

Montagnon et al., 2022 – Ethiopia and Yemen genotyped. Genotyped 555 samples, mostly cultivated coffee from Ethiopia and Yemen. Found large, continuous diversity in Ethiopia and an “Ethiopian Legacy” cluster in Yemen beside the Typica/Bourbon group.

Agronomy 12, 3203 · doi:10.3390/agronomy12123203

da Silva et al., 2019 – Ethiopian and Brazilian arabica compared. Used microsatellite markers on Ethiopian accessions and Brazilian cultivars. The Ethiopian accessions were more diverse, and those from west of the Great Rift Valley carried alleles found nowhere else.

Genetica 147(2), 205–216 · doi:10.1007/s10709-019-00064-4

Moat et al., 2017 – Ethiopian coffee under climate change. Maps where coffee can grow in Ethiopia now and under future climates. Finds much of today’s area at risk, but a large potential gain from relocation and forest conservation.

Nature Plants 3, 17081 · doi:10.1038/nplants.2017.81

Lachenmeier & Montagnon, 2024 – Coffee and the Nagoya Protocol. Explains what the Convention on Biological Diversity and the Nagoya Protocol require of coffee researchers, breeders and companies. Discusses the status of material collected before 1992 and benefit sharing with source communities.

Foods 13(2), 254 · doi:10.3390/foods13020254

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Sources

  1. ALabouisse, J.-P.; Bellachew, B.; Kotecha, S.; Bertrand, B. (2008). Current status of coffee (Coffea arabica L.) genetic resources in Ethiopia: implications for conservation. Genetic Resources and Crop Evolution 55(7), 1079–1093. doi:10.1007/s10722-008-9361-7 · other copies
  2. AMoat, J.; Williams, J.; Baena, S.; Wilkinson, T.; Gole, T. W.; Challa, Z. K.; Demissew, S.; Davis, A. P. (2017). Resilience potential of the Ethiopian coffee sector under climate change. Nature Plants 3, 17081. doi:10.1038/nplants.2017.81 · other copies
  3. AHindorf, H.; Omondi, C. O. (2011). A review of three major fungal diseases of Coffea arabica L. in the rainforests of Ethiopia and progress in breeding for resistance in Kenya. Journal of Advanced Research 2(2), 109–120. doi:10.1016/j.jare.2010.08.006 · other copies
  4. AMontagnon, C.; Sheibani, F.; Benti, T.; Daniel, D.; Bote, A. D. (2022). Deciphering early movements and domestication of Coffea arabica through a comprehensive genetic diversity study covering Ethiopia and Yemen. Agronomy 12, 3203. doi:10.3390/agronomy12123203 · other copies
  5. Ada Silva, B. S. R.; Sant’Ana, G. C.; Chaves, C. L.; Androcioli, L. G.; Ferreira, R. V.; Sera, G. H.; Charmetant, P.; Leroy, T.; Pot, D.; Domingues, D. S.; Pereira, L. F. P. (2019). Population structure and genetic relationships between Ethiopian and Brazilian Coffea arabica genotypes revealed by SSR markers. Genetica 147(2), 205–216. doi:10.1007/s10709-019-00064-4 · other copies
  6. ASalojärvi, J.; Rambani, A.; Yu, Z.; Guyot, R.; et al. (2024). The genome and population genomics of allopolyploid Coffea arabica reveal the diversification history of modern coffee cultivars. Nature Genetics 56(4), 721–731. doi:10.1038/s41588-024-01695-w · other copies
  7. AScalabrin, S.; Toniutti, L.; Di Gaspero, G.; et al.; Bertrand, B. (2020). A single polyploidization event at the origin of the tetraploid genome of Coffea arabica is responsible for the extremely low genetic variation in wild and cultivated germplasm. Scientific Reports 10, 4642. doi:10.1038/s41598-020-61216-7 · other copies
  8. BHerrera, J. C.; Lambot, C. (2017). The Coffee Tree – Genetic Diversity and Origin. In: Folmer, B. (ed.), The Craft and Science of Coffee, Academic Press, ch. 1, pp. 1–16. doi:10.1016/B978-0-12-803520-7.00001-3 · other copies
  9. AMelese, Y. Y.; Kolech, S. A. (2021). Coffee (Coffea arabica L.): methods, objectives, and future strategies of breeding in Ethiopia – review. Sustainability 13(19), 10814.
  10. BGessese, M. K. (2020). Summary of a decade of South Ethiopian coffee improvement activities at Awada Coffee Research Center: fruit of the landrace Arabica coffee variety development strategy. IntechOpen (open-access book chapter; running head: Horticultural Crops). doi:10.5772/intechopen.84886 · other copies
  11. BNoponen, M. R. A.; Góngora, C.; Benavides, P.; Gaitán, A.; Hayward, J.; Marsh, C.; Stout, R.; Wille, C. (2017). Environmental Sustainability – Farming in the Anthropocene. In: Folmer, B. (ed.), The Craft and Science of Coffee, Academic Press, ch. 4 (p. 84 cited).
  12. ALachenmeier, D. W.; Montagnon, C. (2024). Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and the Nagoya Protocol: implications and compliance strategies for the global coffee community. Foods 13(2), 254. doi:10.3390/foods13020254 · other copies
  13. ARodrigues, L. M. R.; Destéfano, S. A. L.; Beriam, L. O. S.; Ferreiro-Tonin, M.; Braghini, M. T.; Guerreiro Filho, O. (2021). Ethiopian coffee germplasm is a valuable resistance gene pool to Brazilian Pseudomonas syringae pvs. garcae and tabaci. Ciência e Agrotecnologia 45 (Editora UFLA). doi:10.1590/1413-7054202145002921 · other copies
  14. CSquare Mile Coffee Roasters (2018). Why we’re stopping using the term “heirloom”. Square Mile Coffee Roasters (company blog).
  15. CDaily Coffee News (2018). Beyond heirloom: new book sheds light on Ethiopia’s coffee varieties. Daily Coffee News by Roast Magazine.

Tier A · authoritative · B · trade and expert · C · general. Supporting quotes for every source are in the data version of this entry. If a publisher’s site refuses access, try the doi link or “other copies”.

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