The coffee ceremony in Ethiopia

We are in Ethiopia and today we went to visit a Dorze town, we visited the compound of a very hospitable family and then we saw the Meskel celebration, it was very interesting and, at times, exciting.

But during our stay at the Dorze family's house we witnessed another ceremony: the coffee ceremony.

Preparing coffee in Ethiopia takes a long time and it is a real ritual that is celebrated every time there is a guest to whom they want to show how welcome he is.

We are really curious to attend this ceremony.

After lunch, at a certain point, the mother of our local Dorze guide arrives, we have already met her in the morning when we visited their compound; for the occasion she changed and wore the typical white veil of Ethiopian women.

She sits on a low stool and lights a fire on the ground, she takes a small pot, puts away the raw coffee beans and puts the pan on the stove.

With the heat the coffee beans are toasted and in the air a heady aroma of coffee is released; it takes some time before the beans are toasted to perfection, but then any ritual has its own times.

Once the beans are toasted they are put in a mortar and crushed with a pestle until they are reduced to powder; in the meantime, in another small pot placed on the fire, the water begins to boil.

When the water boils the saucepan is removed from the heat and, immediately afterwards, the coffee powder is added; at this point it is left to rest for a few minutes and then the coffee is ready to be served.

All the cups were placed on a low wooden table, embellished with bougainvillea flowering branches; a couple of guys serve the coffee to us.

Ethiopian coffee is very strong because it is very concentrated and even the quality of coffee is intense, it is also not filtered before pouring it, so the ground always remains in the cup; Ethiopian coffee is usually never sweetened, so if someone likes sweet coffee they must bring a supply of sugar.

Together with the coffee they offer us toasted chickpeas, they are very good.

It was very interesting to participate to the coffee ceremony, not only because we witnessed the whole process but because we felt welcome in this family.