Harar is the great origin of eastern Ethiopia and one of the oldest names in coffee. It is drier and lower than the south, and its coffee is almost always dried natural, giving full-bodied cups with low acidity and notes of blueberry, cocoa and spice.
It is also one of the three trademarks Ethiopia registered for its coffee.
Zone: East and West Hararghe · Oromia
Altitude: 1,500 – 2,100 m
Farming: Family gardens
Processes: Natural
Harvest: November – March
Typical profile: Blueberry, cocoa, spice
Where does Harar coffee come from?
Harar is a walled city, capital of the small Harari region, but no coffee is grown in the city itself. “Harar” coffee comes from the historic region of Hararghe, now divided into two zones of Oromia: East Hararghe and West Hararghe, whose capital is Chiro. Curiously, the western zone produced more than twice as much as the eastern one, even though the fame belongs to the east.
The coffee is traditionally traded in Dire Dawa, on the railway to Djibouti. “Harar” or “Harrar” is one of the three trademarks registered by Ethiopia, together with Sidamo and Yirgacheffe.
Landscape and farming
These are dry, rocky highlands. Almost all the coffee lies between 1,500 and 1,800 metres, although in the Galeti valley it rises to around 2,200. It is grown by smallholders in gardens, alongside maize and khat, a stimulant plant that yields several harvests a year and has been taking land from coffee. Since 2011, thousands of hectares have been replanted to bring coffee back.
Traditionally, in East Hararghe the dried coffee is hulled by hand in a wooden mortar, and the husks are kept to make qishr, a coffee-husk infusion.
How it tastes
Natural. Almost all Harar coffee is natural. It gives creamy-bodied cups with low acidity and fruit, a very characteristic blueberry note, and undertones of cocoa, nuts and spice.
Harar’s famous “mocha flavour” is partly tradition: some importers consider it more myth than reality, and quality varies a lot from lot to lot.
Longberry, shortberry and mocha
These words appear on Harar sacks. They are not varieties or quality grades, but size and shape classes of the bean: longberry are the largest beans, shortberry the smaller ones and mocha the peaberries (a single round bean per cherry). “Mocha” comes from the old port of Mocha in Yemen, not from chocolate.
How it differs from the rest
It is the only major coffee region in the east. Compared with the south (Sidama, Guji, Yirgacheffe), Harar is drier and lower, almost always natural, with more body and less acidity. Its naturals are more rustic and chocolatey; those from the south, cleaner and more floral.
How to brew it
It is a coffee made for the moka pot, espresso, French press and Turkish coffee pot, and it pairs very well with milk. In the jebena too.
Frequently asked questions
Is coffee grown in the city of Harar?
No. The coffee comes from the rural areas of Hararghe, east and west of the city.
What is Harar longberry?
Large-bean Harar coffee. It is a size classification, not a variety.
Is Harar the same as mocha?
No. “Mocha” on a Harar sack means peaberries. The name comes from the Yemeni port of Mocha, through which coffee was once shipped.
What does Harar coffee taste like?
It usually has a lot of body, low acidity and notes of blueberry, cocoa and spice.
Is it good for espresso and with milk?
Yes. It is one of the Ethiopian coffees that works best in espresso, moka pot and with milk.