Coffee Ethiopia Style

Sunday’s Ethiopian Coffee Ceremony came out really well and I want to thank everyone that showed up. It was probably the biggest turnout yet for a workshop and I think our host Tigest did a great job. She was professional and elegant and super beautiful in her traditional gown.



We started with popcorn, as all good social gatherings should, and then lit incense. Then we actually roasted some coffee over an open flame. Smoke and chaff went everywhere and the fragrance department was cowed, if only for a few minutes. It was great. You should have seen the looks on their faces. It was a good thing this workshop was held on a Sunday afternoon because there were no managers around to stop us!

The resulting roast was definitely something the average roastmaster would cringe at:

But the taste was actually quite good, all things considered. I got caught making drinks during certain portions of the ceremony and missed some stuff but apparently there were four servings of coffee but only two stages completed. The first serving, called Abol, was served and then reheated and served two more times. Each serving got milder and milder. The second serving was served with ginger. This stage was called Huletegna. Traditionally there is a third serving known as Bereka, which means "good look/so long/farewell/." We spent nearly two hours on the first two stages and never even got to the third! So I guess that means we actually did it right, since the ceremonies last up to three hours.

Thanks again to everyone that came in for the ceremony - especially those crazy people that drove from Tampa! Absolutely wonderful!

Bereka

EDIT: I just spoke with Tigest and we actually did all three stages of the ceremony. The coffee with ginger was another Abol! So we were faster than I thought. How very American of us.