A Crash Course in Ethiopian and Eritrean Coffee Tradition
Typically, the woman of the household (or waitress if you’re dining in a restaurant) performs the ceremony for her guests. First, fresh Ethiopian coffee beans roast over a small open furnace. In order to ensure an even roast, the host continuously turns the beans. As she turns the beans, your nose is filled with the aroma of fresh coffee intermingled with hints of fruit and flowers. Once the beans are evenly roasted, the host passes the pan of roasted beans in front of everyone’s face – giving you a better smell of the emitting fragrances. The smell is nothing like what you would expect. Unlike the smell of coffee from your local Starbucks, this Ethiopian coffee has a fruity, sweet smell that just warms your soul. The host then pours the beans into a wooden bowl called a mukecha. The mukecha is used to grind the beans by hand. Finally, the coffee grounds are poured into a jebena, which is a pot is made of thick clay and a long pouring spout. The jebena is extremely functional in that it ensures the coffee grounds don’t burn over the open furnace. Water is added to the jebena and then the mixture is boiled.
After a few minutes of boiling, the coffee is ready to be poured into small, decorative ceramic cups. The host pours the coffee into the cups in one single pour – by that I mean, the host does not put the jebana down in an upright position until every cup is filled with coffee, which I found extremely intriguing. There had to be some significance in pouring all the coffee at once, right? I was always taught to ask about things I don’t understand, so I just had to ask my waitress about the purpose of pouring all the cups of coffee simultaneously. My waitress explained that pouring the coffee all at once was a very important step in the ceremony. Doing so ensures that the coffee grounds do not mix back into the beverage and stay at the bottom of the jebena – giving you the perfect cup of fresh coffee.
The ceremony does not stop there, however. Shareable platters of himbasha (sweet bread), yellow raisins and popcorn were brought to the table. As I began to take pictures, my waitress told me to “enjoy the experience” and to “take pictures later”. I respectfully put my camera down and started to take it all in. Looking at the large plates filled with common snacks, it became prominently clear to me that family time and sharing was a very important piece of the Ethiopian and Eritrean culture. These ceremonies are a time when individuals tune the outside world out and get to know each other just a little better. This experience opened my eyes to how valuable our time is with those we love and care about.
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Yo...i think the ppl at dunkins have been giving me full caf coffee when ive been asking for decaf bc i realized they were not writing decaf on the cup nd every day my brainfog gets worse and worse nd today i am brainfoggy and like virtigo-y so curse u dunkin i just wanted decaf coffee nd now im suffering
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PINS ARE HOME!!!! 😭🤍✨
I’ll be designing backing cards for them today and packaging tonight to send out the preorders tomorrow!
I’ll be opening the Etsy listing for leftovers tonight or tomorrow!
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this could be a disaster
PAIRING: est. taehyun x oc fem
GENRE: smau, crack, university, slice of life (??)
WARNING(S): language (you already know me), i'll add when i re-read the story.
SYNOPSIS: what happens when two people who are completely blind and oblivious to the fact that they both reciprocate the same feelings for each other? their friends help them ofc.
FEATURING: all txt members, enhypen (heeseung, jay, jake and sunghoon) , aespa (karina and ningning), itzy (chaeryeong)
STATUS: DISCONTINUED
PLEASE NOTE: i do not own any of the pictures used and some things you will read are things i've seen from the internet so credit to all the original owners
PROFILES: #1 | #2
TEASER
chapters
#1: it's giving immature tasebuds
#2: swiper naur swiping
#3: i can fix him
#4: thought i was special
#5: disaster fr
#6: i haven't blinked in 4 hours
#7: okay miss psycho-analysis
#8: it's decaf
#9: 🤨📸
#10: boys are gross
#11: mad childish
#12: i like my girls a little ugly anyway [written]
#13: i'm sending you back to your mother
#14: these burgers from autozone are ass
#15: perpendicular fueling
#16: he's a runner he's a trackstar
#17: put that tomato back in your sandwich
#18: how do you apologize non-telephonically?
#19: i like you man, you lie a lot
#20: i dare you to go home
#21: oh. well deserved then
#22: writings not that easy...
#23: double homicide fr
#24: love and hip hop
#25: bitchless brigade
#26: miss spider's sunny patch friends
#27: HE'S A WORK OF ART YOUR HONOR
PLEASE KEEP IN MIND THAT THIS IS ALL FICTION AND THESE ARE CHARACTERS, THEREFORE, THE PERSONALITIES OF SAID CHARACTERS WILL NOT CORRELATE TO THOSE OF THE ACTUAL PEOPLE AS I DO NOT KNOW THEM PERSONALLY.
taglist [always open]:
@dainsleif-when-playable @hoonfever @alyssajavenss
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txt >> so i think we need to consider upping hikaru’s allowance.
txt >> ‘parently she restrained decaf at the shop while we were busy today.
txt >> poor guy cant catch a fuckin break
txt >> i almost feel bad for him
@the-composer && @dandybarista
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txt: i'm gonna head to go check on Decaf for an hour. something feels off. i'll keep in touch while I'm there. if everything good i'll head back and if it's not, i'll call.
txt: do you want me to bring back JB on the way home?
txt: good luck with that one. nothing eanas or i have tried has so much as made a dent, but your approach in a happy medium between us. maybe he’ll actually listen to you.
txt: yes, and three bottles of champagne
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