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