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In the Ethiopian context, there is one thing that
equates both the rich and the poor: the drinking of
coffee. This is not surprising considering that
Ethiopia is the land where this “brown gold” was
first discovered. Over the years, the making and
drinking of coffee has undeniably grown to become an
essential part of Ethiopian culture.
The ritual of coffee making in the early hours of
the morning sends a tantalizing aroma of roasting
coffee through the air, heralding the start of a new
day in any Ethiopian household, regardless of the
social status of its inhabitants. The significance
of coffee is also reflected in the coffee drinking
ceremony that marks the welcoming of a guest, or in
the abundance of people who sit down together in
cafes and restaurants to socialize over a cup of
good, strong coffee.
The pounding, rhythmic sound of roasted coffee beans
being ground corresponds to the human heartbeat. It
is a sound that produces a taste which is said to
quench the thirst of the fairies and the gods that
keep watch over the neighbourhood. Having been duly
satiated, these superpowers, in turn, protect the
area from an ominous fate, according to a woman
called Desta. Coffee is not only a stimulating hot
beverage for these superpowers but is one that is
enjoyed by many Ethiopians as an additional intake
with food or even on its own. It has undoubtedly
become a symbol of Ethiopia’s pride and heritage.
Desta, who toils over 16 hours a day to make ends
meet, lives in my neighborhood. She breaks the fate
of a murky day by making coffee and “drinking” her
breakfast, if I may call her habit thus. She claims
to be the best coffee maker that ever lived around.
Desta says that coffee making in earnest very much
depends on the ability to discern bad coffee beans
from the good ones: the bad ones are dark in colour
and broken at the edges resulting from premature
harvesting. She believes that the odour of the beans
is a reflection of how best the beans were stored.
The good ones smell pure. When it comes to the
origins or the species of the coffee berries, she
adds, there is no equal to those from Harrar, if you
can find them, that is.
The taste of good coffee does not only depend on the
quality of the coffee beans. It also lies in the art
of making it. Desta goes so far as to evaluate a
woman’s worth not by her looks and material
possessions, but by her ability to make good coffee
that has “electric power” , a quality that is
free from any problems, whatever that may mean.
Good coffee, according to Desta, has the power to
heal headaches and cure drowsiness. Nothing is more
healing than a strong cup of coffee. Although Desta
manages to make coffee almost every day, she prefers
late Sunday mornings as she can afford to spend
ample time on the little rituals that accompany
coffee sipping after church. She does not like to
curtail the time it takes to make coffee and drink
the three rounds that is cultural to her people.
Every Sunday morning after church, Desta comes home
after doing a little shopping outside the churchyard
for green grass to spread around the coffee pot and
around the scores of coffee cups set on a little
tray besides the charcoal oven on which the beans
are roasted in an iron pan. Fanning the burning
charcoal seems to be a practice that is associated
with the art of making coffee. The simmering of the
beans has to be done cautiously so that the heat is
evenly distributed through the beans lest careless
roasting spoils the whole effort. The over-roasting
of coffee beans results in a burning odour, while
careful roasting fills the air with an irresistibly
tempting flavour. Pounding and crushing the roasted
beans is the next thing that has to be done. The
grinding should neither be too coarse nor too fine!
It has to be in between the two so that the taste is
rich and delightful.
Desta says that the most important and challenging
part in the process of making coffee is determining
the correct amount of powder to be mixed with the
required volume of water. She warns that unless one
knows exactly how many spoonfuls of coffee powder to
fuse with the water, the coffee may end up either
too strong or too weak, both of which means an
obvious waste of time and effort. Putting some
incense onto burning charcoal or into a little
fire-pot adds a warm and sweet fragrance to the
atmosphere.
Modern cafés, especially those with verandahs, are
relatively rare in the capital albeit the abundance
of the beautiful and inviting weather that Addis is
endowed with. This is more so in the northern sector
of the city, except for a few cafés around Arat Kilo
and in the Ras Makonnen Bridge vicinity. Many people
do not appreciate machine ground and brewed coffee.
They say that the natural flavour of the coffee is
extracted and the coffee is rendered tasteless by
the heat of the machine. Home brewed coffee, with
all those delicate rituals that go into its making,
results in a hot beverage full of “electric power”,
a beverage with a great health value. Serving coffee
without small snacks of roasted or boiled cereals is
considered as dull and boring as talking to a
mother-in-law, as the Amharic proverb has it. So do
not forget the snacks when sitting down to indulge
in this liquid gold!
Not only is it liquid gold. It has been mentioned in
this weekly that Ethiopia’s foreign exchange
earnings from the sales of coffee has made a
positive and significant stride in the right
direction towards Ethiopia’s economic wealth. It
would be unfair, however, not to mention that the
price of a cup of coffee at coffee shops and cafés
is rather exorbitant! Try to figure out how much a
kilo of powder coffee is bought for and how many
cups of coffee it yields and you will discover how
much money is milked from the God-fearing customers
who can hardly spend a single day without sipping
the normal coffee brew, not to mention espresso! |
