C is for Coffee

Ethiopia is coffee country, considered the birth place of it actually. Every one in Huruta tells me the good stuff is exported so what's in the market is only okay, but hey, I'm rather fond of it.

Coffee is such a huge part of the culture here that while I hated the stuff in America I have it all the time at site. There's a ritual called a coffee ceremony, and it involves roasting the beans, hand grinding them, and then boiling it in a clay kettle called a jebena. It's essentially an excuse to have people over to talk. In the States, you go to Starbucks. Here, you make your own. Much cheaper.

It takes awhile though, usually 90 to 120 minutes because roasting and boiling are done over charcoal and a coffee ceremony includes three cups of coffee. If you're in a hurry, you still have to have at least two cups.

You use the same grounds for all three cups, so the coffee gets weaker as you go along but it starts out what I imagine to be stronger than most American drinks. Each round has a special name, matching what locals call the discoverers of coffee.