| The Ethiopian coffee ceremony is very | | | | wooden bowl. The beans are poured inside, and |
| important in the Ethiopian culture. The | | | | then crushed with a zenezena, which is a |
| coffee ceremony will be performed when | | | | wooden or metal stick that is used in an up |
| friends visit, during celebrations, or simply | | | | and down motion, rather like a mortar and |
| as a part of the daily routine. It is so | | | | pestle. |
| important to how the Ethiopians view coffee | | | | |
| that most Ethiopian restaurants will have the | | | | The ground coffee is then put into a |
| coffee ceremony performed for you at your | | | | traditional clay pot called a jebena |
| table. | | | | (pronounced jay-ben-ah). Water is added, and |
| | | | then the pot is put over heat until the |
| The Ethiopian coffee ritual takes the | | | | coffee boils. The scent of the boiling coffee |
| participants through the entire coffee | | | | again fills the room, tempting the senses of |
| preparation process. Whether you are | | | | all the participants of the ritual. |
| witnessing the ritual in a restaurant or | | | | |
| lucky enough to participate in someone's | | | | Coffee prepared in the Ethiopian coffee |
| home, the green coffee beans will be brought | | | | ritual is then served in small ceramic cups |
| to your table by a woman. She will wash the | | | | resembling the small cups you see in Chinese |
| beans, and then start a fire in a small open | | | | restaurants for tea. The cups are arranged on |
| roasting furnace. | | | | a tray very close together, and the coffee is |
| | | | poured from one cup to another in a single |
| The washed beans will be put into a small pan | | | | pour from the pot. This is a very important |
| with a long handle and held over the fire. | | | | step, even if some sloshes onto the tray. If |
| The woman preparing the beans will shake the | | | | the server poured each cup individually, the |
| pan back and forth, like an old-fashioned | | | | coffee grounds would get mixed up with the |
| popcorn maker. This keeps the bean from | | | | liquid, resulting in gritty coffee. With the |
| burning. Some people have described the sound | | | | single pour method, the coffee remains free |
| of the shaking beans as similar to shaking | | | | of the sediment. |
| coins in a tin can. Once the beans are | | | | |
| roasted, the preparer takes the pan and walks | | | | Once you've taken your first sip, you've |
| around the room, filling the room with the | | | | witnessed the full life-cycle of making |
| enticing aroma of freshly roasted coffee. | | | | coffee, from washing the raw beans, through |
| Experiencing the sounds and smells is an | | | | roasting, grinding, and boiling the coffee. |
| important part of the ritual. | | | | If you're in a restaurant, the ceremony |
| | | | usually ends here. Traditionally, second and |
| The next step in the Ethiopian coffee | | | | third servings are often prepared as well. |
| ceremony is to grind the freshly roasted | | | | Each serving has its own name: the first |
| beans. In restaurants, they may use an | | | | serving is called Abol, the second serving is |
| electric grinder to speed up the process. | | | | called Huletegna, and the third serving is |
| Traditionally, the beans will be ground in a | | | | called Bereka. Once you've reached this |
| small tool called a mukecha (pronounced | | | | stage, you have completed the Ethiopian |
| moo-key-cha). The mukecha is a very heavy | | | | coffee ceremony. |