Coffee is an integral part of daily life in many countries around the world. In fact many people look at the popular brew as an important way to begin their day. To the people of Ethiopia however, it’s even more important.
Coffee originated in Ethiopia, and if you take a moment to speak to the people of the country you are sure to hear the popular story of a goat herder who saw his flock frolicking in the fields after eating raw coffee berries. He told the local monks about the berries, and they flung them into the fire, thinking they were sinful. It was from there they got the idea to brew them and first make the soon to be popular beverage. They started to believe the berries were a blessing that allowed them to stay up later for their holy devotions. If you are looking for a more credible source, you can find mention of it in history books being exported in the late 15th century from Ethiopia to Yeman.
While images of coffee shops and cafes quickly come to mind when you think of a quick cup of Java, the people of Ethiopia and Eritrea are sure to be picturing a more elegant ceremony that they share with their family and and friends over the course of several hours. In some cases the ceremony is conducted three times a day.
The coffee ceremony typically starts with a female member of the family dressed in a traditional white dress with coloured woven borders, spreading fresh flowers and grass on the floor or ground of the house, while burning incense. She then prepares the raw coffee beans by washing them, and cooking them over an open flame (or on a stove) in a long-handled pan. The beans are roasted until they are black and oily, and when they are ready, the host invites the guests over to savor the smell.
The next step in preparing the coffee is to grind the beans using a mortar and pestle, before adding it boiling water. The water would have been boiled in a black clay coffeepot called a jebena as the hostess ground the beans. Even the pouring of the water into the small china cups is important to the ceremony. The hostess holds the jebena high in the air (approximately one foot), away from the cups, so that the when the coffee is poured the grounds are trapped in the bottom of coffeepot. Pouring the coffee is harder than it appears to be, and takes a lot of skill and grace. Not to mention years of practice. Once the coffee is poured, it is served with a heaping spoonful of sugar (or salt, depending on where in the country you are) and fresh popcorn, peanuts or cooked barley to snack on. Each guest usually drinks three cups of coffee from the same grounds (it’s impolite to stop before then), with the third cup saying to bestow a blessing.
If you are invited to attend a coffee ceremony, you should. After all it is considered to be a mark of friendship and respect, and will give you a great sense of Ethiopian hospitality. You will find most parts of Ethiopia conducting the ceremony three times a day, in the morning, at noon and in the evening. And if that’s not enough to convince you of popularity of the drink, an ancient proverb of the region states “Buna dabo naw”, which roughly translates to “Coffee is our bread!”