Coffee Ceremony

The Coffee Ceremony began with a lady in traditional Ethiopian dress preparing an urn of Frankincense and lighting it on fire so that it would smolder and release a rich, but not overwhelming fragrant scent. We were told that Frankincense, which comes from the bark of the Boswellia tree, only occurs naturally in Ethiopia. It is for this reason that Ethiopians believe that the wise man, who brought Frankincense to the birth of Jesus, was from Ethiopia. The lady then built a little fire that would be used to roast the coffee beans. The roasting took quite awhile, but when the beans got close to being complete she called everyone over to smell the wonderful aroma. During this time popcorn was also made and passed around. Popcorn is quite a treat in Ethiopia. All the while the coffee was being prepared all the families had a great opportunity to talk and get to know one another. Ryan explained to us that the real heart of a coffee ceremony was the chance to get people together to talk. I have to say that it worked out very well.

Finally the coffee beans were completed roasting and the lady then ground them up by hand. She then put the ground coffee beans into what looked like a cast iron pitcher filled with water and placed it over the fire to brew. I wish that I had watched this part a little more closely, because the coffee was very good and I’m now finding it very hard to believe it was made with just a cast iron pitcher. Finally once the coffee had brewed she gave each person a small cup. We were told that it was considered impolite to drink less than three cups. I can definitely see why coffee ceremonies are so popular in Ethiopia. It gives people a wonderful reason to get together to and enjoy great company and great coffee.