Ceremonies

[Duck59]

Has anyone ever attended a coffee ceremony (or anything similar)? I went to a couple in Ethiopia and it was an interesting experience.

It's a long process, but for somebody viewing it for the first time, it makes for intriguing watching. The woman (it is always a woman) performing it spreads grasses across the floor and burns incense. The clay coffee pot is heated on coals and the hot water is used to clean the raw beans. She then roasts the beans and grinds them using a kind of pestle and mortar device. Once the coffee is ready, the first round is dished out and a guest makes a little speech praising the hostess's skills at coffee-making (as a guest, I had to offer a few words). There are three rounds of coffee.

The whole thing can go on for about three hours, but it was a fascinating sight of something I'd only ever read and heard about.

I've never been to the Far East, where there are rituals surrounding tea. I did take part in a kind of tea ceremony in Jordan once, but it was all a bit touristy - the good thing about the Ethiopian coffee ceremonies was that I was doing it with people I worked with and lived among, so it felt more authentic.

 

[L_B]

This sounds very interesting and a very memorable experience. I have only read of such events. Thanks for sharing this experience with us. Your words were very descriptive so it was easy to picture it in my mind. I am not a world traveller so this is something I most likely will never have the chance of experiencing.

 

[Rosyrain]

I have a Japanese tea ceremony set, but have yet to actually do the ceremony. There are a lot of pieces to the set and I watched some videos on You Tube to try to get the hang of it. You have to pour tea all over everything and move the cups around.

 

[Corzhens]

I don't know if it can be considered a ceremony when I had attended a harvest festival of coffee in the province of Cavite. There's a part of that province that is cool where coffee plantations abound. In one harvest festival, we were treated to different brewing techniques and the particular blends of coffee beans. They also showed the proper grinding of the coffee beans before brewing the traditional way. The aroma of the brewing coffee will make you yearn for coffee especially when it is the cold season.

 

[Duck59]

It's quite interesting - well, it was for me - to see the raw coffee beans before they are roasted. I'd never seen a raw coffee bean before!

 

[SpongeyB]

Ethiopian coffee is unrivalled anywhere. I have been able to attend one such ceremony held in my country and the experience was great! The great thing about the process is the reverence with which the women prepare and serve the coffee. It is almost like a sacred ritual.

 

[Pat]

I have heard of Tea Ceremonies but have not been to one. Your words brought the activity to life for me, thank you for sharing.

 

[Duck59]

Ethiopian coffee is unrivalled anywhere. I have been able to attend one such ceremony held in my country and the experience was great! The great thing about the process is the reverence with which the women prepare and serve the coffee. It is almost like a sacred ritual.

I was given some coffee as a gift when I left Ethiopia. It's fair to say that it was excellent.

I don't drink a lot of coffee when I'm at home, but I usually have a cup or two at weekends. I've actually got some Ethiopian coffee in the house now - it's a Fairtrade one from Marks & Spencer and it's not bad at all.