Not Just a Cup of Joe

Ethiopians know coffee, and if you claim to be a coffee connoisseur, Ethiopia’s beans best be on your radar. I, myself, take pride in not being able to tell the difference between the world’s finest brew from the day-old diner special to the instant coffee crystals that’s only distantly related to the coffee bean, but don’t tell that to an Ethiopian. They know what real coffee is and even more than that, they know how to serve it. You see, for Ethiopians, coffee is not used as a stimulant to keep people going when they didn’t get enough sleep. Instead, it is a very important part of Ethiopian culture and hospitality. Whenever we are invited over to someone’s house for a meal, we always must plan on coffee to follow. And we aren’t talking about running the boiled water through a coffee machine. We’re talking a whole coffee preparation ceremony lasting over an hour. What? That’s a lot of time for us Americans, but in Ethiopian culture, the time it takes is part of its beauty, as the guests and hosts socialize throughout the whole process. Ethiopian coffee builds friendship and community, so it’s a VITAL part of this culture.

Last week, we had two friends from the States staying with us as they welcomed an Ethiopian boy into their family. Trent, the new father, and his brother, Drew, the new uncle, had wanted to experience the Ethiopian coffee ceremony. I called up one of our friends and politely asked if his sister, Membrat, could help us (it’s always the women who prepare the coffee). She agreed and so the three of us headed over to their house where Membrat, wearing her Sunday best, welcomed us. She invited us into their one-room living quarters where she lives together with her brother.

Beginning the coffee ceremony, she lit the charcoal on which the coffee would later boil.

While the charcoal was heating up, she washed the raw coffee beans several times and then, using a small propane burner, she roasted the beans on a metal pan. After 10-15 minutes of roasting the beans, they had turned from green to black. She took them off the heat, allowing them to cool a bit before picking out those which did not roast well. As I said, Ethiopians know their coffee.

She then put water to boil on the charcoal “grill” and got out her large mortar and pestle (the pestle was made of wood and the mortar was a heavy metal bar, which looked like it was once a machine part of some sort). With all the beans inside the pestle, she pounded the mortar by hand for about 5 minutes as the fresh coffee smell filled the room.

After the beans were finely ground, she dumped the powder into the traditional “jebena” along with the boiling water (a “jebena”is a very specific clay pot/pitcher used for the coffee ceremony).

Leaving the coffee to boil on the charcoal fire, Membrat poured water for us to wash our hands and then fed us some homemade injera, shiro and potato wet (traditional Ethiopian foods). Despite being full from our lunch, we could not say “no.” As we ate, Membrat prepared the coffee cups (Ethiopian hosts do not eat with their guests). After washing the tiny cups and saucers, she added sugar to each one and began to pour the coffee. Ethiopian women always pour coffee high in the air in a long thin stream, yet never splashing or missing the tiny cups. Finally polishing off our second lunch, we received our first cups of coffee (a real coffee ceremony requires three cups for each person). Although the cup is small enough to be drunk in one swig, it goes without saying that this coffee is meant to be sipped. Also, another piece of advice, you are not expected to drink the final sip as there is no coffee filter to hold back the grounds. No filters and plenty of time in the jebena for steeping, the coffee is served very strong, yet very smooth.

So what did Trent and Drew think? Well, despite Drew being a knowledgeable connoisseur of good coffee, he remarked that it was probably the best coffee he had ever tasted. Trent, who somehow managed to live nearly 30 years of life without ever even tasting the stuff, decided that it was time for his first. He also enjoyed all three cups, but sadly giving him the world’s best on his first taste means its only downhill from here. So whether you are an addict, a virgin or somewhere in-between, we highly recommend trying a cup of Ethiopian joe, but make sure it’s been when washed by Ethiopian hands, pounded with an old machine part, boiled in a jebena, served in three consecutive cups and steeped in incredible Ethiopian hospitality! It doesn’t get any better than that.