Ethiopian coffee vs Kenya coffee.

Kenya grows 950 thousand bags of Arabica. Ethiopia grows about 12.7 times as much. If you need container-scale supply, depth favours Ethiopia. Here is what we can and cannot say about Kenya.

Unroasted green coffee beans filling a burlap sack

The figures side by side.

OriginTotalArabicaRobustaUSDA marketing year
Ethiopia12,10012,1000October to September
Kenya9509500October to September

Source: USDA Coffee: World Markets and Trade, July 2026. Volumes are thousand 60 kg bags for 2026/27. Ratios and shares are our arithmetic from those figures.

Where Kenya is stronger.

We put this first on purpose. A comparison that hides where the other origin wins is not worth reading.

  • A specific Kenyan cup. Kenya grows 950 thousand bags of Arabica in 2026/27. If your brief is for Kenyan coffee by name, Ethiopian coffee does not substitute for it. We have not verified Kenya's grading or sale system and say nothing about it here.

Where Ethiopia is the better fit.

  • Scale. Ethiopia grows 12,100 thousand bags against Kenya's 950 thousand, about 12.7 times as much. If you need a full container load, and then another, Ethiopia has the depth.
  • A wider range of named zones. Seven Ethiopian origins are on the season sheet, from Yirgacheffe and Sidama to Harrar.

How to decide.

  • Your minimum is a full container and you want repeat supply: depth favours Ethiopia.
  • Kenyan grades and sale system are not verified here. Check them with a Kenyan source before you decide.
  • Both are Arabica only in these figures.

What we have not verified for Kenya: grade names, washed and natural shares, harvest months and export regulation. We have not checked them against a primary source, so we do not describe them. Kaffa Bridge sources Ethiopian coffee only and acts for the buyer. We are not the exporter and do not own farms or washing stations.

Comparing Ethiopia with Kenya?

Send the brief with the volume and timing. We come back with Ethiopian lots that fit, or tell you if the figures point to another origin.

Send your brief

Tell us the shape of it and we reply with something specific. No commitment.

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