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Goats of legend
Ethiopia claims to be the original home of the Arabica
coffee bean. Several legends contribute to the assertion.
The most popular concerns the goat herder from Kaffa,
where the plants still grow wild in the forest hills. After
discovering his goats to be excited, rearing, and almost dancing
on their hind legs, he noticed a few mangled branches of the
coffee plant which was hung with bright red berries. He tried
the berries himself and rushed home to his wife who told him
that he must tell the monks. The monks tossed the sinful drug
into the flames, an action soon to be followed by the smell
we are all so familiar with now. They crushed the beans, raked
them out of the fire, and distilled the stimulating substance
in boiling water. After sitting up all night, they found a
renewed energy to their holy devotions.
The most well documented case explaining the roots of the
coffee plant are to be found in Arabic scientific documents
dating from 800 A.D., referring to "buna", the Ethiopian
term for coffee. Mufti of Aden witnessed his men imbibing
upon the substance in Addis Ababa in 1454 and, partaking in
the tradition, it cured him of some ailment. The dervishes
of Yemen, acting with Mufti's approval began to incorporate
coffee into their tradition, carrying it all the way to Mecca,
where the first controversial coffee houses developed into
social meeting places. Once planted in Arabic countries, buna
became qua weh, eventually evolving to coffee. Or according
to the Ethiopians, the plant derived its name from the Kaffa
region.
Local flavour
You'll find that each region's coffee will taste slightly
different, according to the growing conditions. Kaffa's
forested hillsides, at 1,500 feet, provide larger trees to
protect the coffee plants from the harsh sun. Harar
is renowned for its longberry variety with its distinctive
wine-like flavour and sharp acidic edge. Sidamo's beans, known
as Yirgacheffes, have an unusual flavour.
Ethiopian coffee does not have the excessive pungency or acidity
of the neighboring Kenyan brands. It is much closer in character
to the related Mocha variety of Yemen. The composition
of its delicate and strong flavour is lost if it is high roasted.
The coffea arabica strain of Ethiopia is the original
bean to have grown there and the only one still grown and
drunk there today. The washed beans fetch a high price on
the world market, being of the most premium quality.
Ethiopia is Africa's major coffee exporter, exporting only
Arabica coffee, the species that accounts for 70% of the world's
coffee. The country produces 200,000 tons, of which a little
less than half is for domestic consumption. The Ethiopian
Coffee Export Enterprise is responsible for the livelihood
of 12 million people, which controls 50% of Ethiopia's coffee
market. Its processing plants are found in Addis Ababa
(where five plants process up to 500 tons a day) and in
Dire Dawa. This figurehead company sells to Germany, Japan,
the USA, France, and the Middle East - specializing in unblended
and organic coffee.
Local tradition
Ethiopian monks had been chewing the bean for centuries,
and Sudanese slaves brought to Arabia through Ethiopia, mixed
the ground beans with butter to survive the arduous journey.
The traditional energy sustaining food stuff of ground beans
mixed with clarified butter (ghee), in the solid form of a
chocolate like block is still eaten in Kaffa and Sidamo, major
coffee producing regions. In Kaffa, even the drink is brewed
with butter.
Sacred coffee ceremony
The coffee ceremony is performed all over Ethiopia and is
an essential and beautiful element of the culture. If invited
into a home to take part, it is impolite to retire until one
has consumed at least three cups of the sweetened concoction.
Conducted by a young girl in traditional costume, the ceremonial
apparatus is placed on a bed of long grass. The green beans
are roasted over charcoal. The smell mixes with the incense
that burns throughout the ordeal. The beans are then ground
with a pestle and mortar, then brewed in a black pot with
a narrow spout. The coffee is strained through a fine sieve
several times.
The first brew from the grounds is drunk by the older members
of the entourage, the second by the younger adults, and the
third straining by the children. The sweet coffee is drunk
from handle-less cups and accompanied by a traditional snack
food, such as popcorn.
Coffee is not all that healthy for people, so be warned not
to over indulge. Farmers complain of gastritis, a result of
their fondness for salted coffee.
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