The yield per hectare varies depending on the variety and farming method (from less than 100 kg/ha to up to over 2 tonnes/ha). High-yield varieties are often derived from genetic manipulation and high-yield coffee trees do not give aromatic coffees.

Coffee trees must be cultivated in the shade to obtain good quality coffee. Although this decreases the yield, it creates a relatively humid and cool microclimate that is beneficial to Arabica.

We can already see the outlines of a map of fine Arabicas linked to Ethiopian soil, where the coffee from age-old varieties grow at high elevations in the shade of large trees in a volcanic soil.

Harvesting is also an essential criterion in the quality of coffee.

For the bean to give a fine and aromatic beverage, the cherry that contains the bean must be picked when ripe. The only suitable method is the method of selective hand picking of only ripe cherries. A picker can harvest an average of 60 kg of cherries per day, which gives 12 kg of green beans. The harvest period lasts 2 to 3 months, which means that cherries from each single plant are picked four to six times.

In Ethiopia, this is the only method used.

In other parts of the world, many growers harvest by the "strip picking" method, which means they mechanically pick the cherries in one pass whether they are ripe, green or rotten. This gives a heterogeneous coffee that is sometimes harsh and astringent with a fermented or grassy taste. This technique yields a harvest of 30,000 kg of cherries per day and per person, which gives 6,000 kg of green beans.