Ethiopia,
widely regarded as the cradle of coffee, is a nation devoted to the
stimulating beverage. The country is Africa's biggest producer and ranks
fifth globally. Last year it exported 190,000 tonnes of coffee beans,
earning around $700 million, and in 2016 Ethiopia's capital Addis Ababa
will host the 4th World Coffee Conference, a high-level gathering of
global experts.
Coffee connoisseurs
Far
from being just coffee exporters, Ethiopians are also major coffee
lovers. Cafes densely line the streets of the capital Addis Ababa, and
in 2013/14 3.6 million bags were consumed in the country, representing
71.6% of the total domestic consumption of Africa and 8% of all
exporting countries.
TO.MO.CA,
with six branches in Ethiopia's capital, is one of the most
recognizable cafe brands. It has been owned by three generations of the
same family for over 60 years, and now the company is opening its first
international outpost in Tokyo, Japan, this May.
"Ethiopians
are coffee drinkers with a history of drinking and enjoying coffee for
over 1,000 years," says Wondwossen Meshesha, the 28-year-old grandson of
TO.MO.CA's founder and the company's current chief operations officer.
"Here,
it's not just about getting a coffee on your way to work," he
continues. "Ethiopians socialize and meet their business partners in
coffee shops."
Meshesha says that only
20% of the coffee in the country is commercially farmed, with the rest
coming from small holder farmers, who harvest coffee mainly in forest.
"The specialty of Ethiopian coffee comes from the emphasis of
consistency in production of quality coffee rather than volume of coffee
production," the young businessman adds.
More than caffeine
In
Ethiopia, consuming coffee has traditionally been a ceremonial affair
with a deep, spiritual meaning, conducted at home. The beans are roasted
in an open pan so that their rich aroma draws family, neighbors and
other guests to gather.
After they are
ground with a mortar and pestle, the coffee is brewed in a jug and
poured into small cups from a height, with an up-and-down motion. Cups
are filled to the brim, representing a wish for "fullness of life" for
the guest, and there are three servings, the last of which is called
baraka, or blessing.
"[The]
traditional coffee ceremony is very sacred to the Ethiopian culture.
It's not just about the drinking of coffee but it's a spiritual
ceremony. Both Christians and Muslim practice it, and its purpose is
spirituality, and family and social gathering," says Meshesha.
Benan Barwick/CNN
He
feels certain that, in spite of the increasingly fast pace of life, the
coffee ceremony won't die out because of the special status it enjoys
in Ethiopian culture. However Meshesha adds that his company, and other
coffee shops which have sprouted across Ethiopia's cities in recent
years, try to present traditional coffee drinking in a modern way.
Away from abundant local consumption, the government is trying to promote Ethiopian coffee as a premium product abroad, and increase exports from 190,837 metric tonnes in 2013/14, to 200,000 which would generate $1 billion in revenue.
"We have 5,000 varieties of coffee in Ethiopia," says Meshesha. "It has huge potential."