Coffee

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Coffee is an important part of Ethiopian culture and daily life. Coffee was first discovered here in the Kaffee region of Ethiopia. as the story goes, a shepard noticed that his goats were very energetic after chewing coffee beans.

Drinking coffee is an important part of daily life here. There are many cafes and each business meeting makes time for a formal coffee break mid morning and mid afternoon. The coffee, called "buna" in Amharic is very tasty. Coffee with cream, machiatto, is very good and popular as well.

Ethiopian have a formal coffee ceremony in which coffee is served with popcorn or bread by a beautiful Ethiopian woman wearing traditional dress. Incensed is burned and the coffee is made in a black ceramic pot and served in very small teacups. It is formal and reverent and time to chat and socialize with each other.

In my organization's anti-HIV/AIDS work trying to achieve behavioral change, we sponsor coffee ceremonies for communities and young people to provide a forum for discussions on relationships, risky behavior and honor/respect for one another.

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Photos

Cafe in Gondar
I find this picture funny because if you look at the background, a lot of people are either looking at us or at the camera. We unwittingly attract a lot of attention wherever we go.

Family drinking coffee
This shows a very typical scene where the 7 of us gather around a tiny table drinking either warm milk or machiatos. This is our friend Tameru joining us.