Brewing Coffee the Ethiopian Way
For the coffee lovers, Ethiopia is a buzz word making Ethiopian coffee probably the most popular origin here in the UAE next to Brazil. As per legend, coffee was actually discovered in this African country by a goat herder named Kaldi when he found out his goats were more “jumpy” than usual after eating from a plant with small red fruits.
There’s no shortages of new cafes to try out in the UAE. By the time you end up visiting all of them, you will have a fresh batch of some more to plan, that’s for sure. Another coffee adventure and this time in Muweilah, Sharjah. I have said this before and I’ll say it again. This is the heart of specialty coffee in this Emirate.
Walk in to Wish Dessert and you are greeted by a traditional Ethiopian coffee ceremony setup of a woman roasting beans on an open pan. Ethiopians have this ceremony on special occasions or everyday as a means of unwinding and bringing the guests and the families closer together. It is performed in three stages: roasting, brewing and tasting.
The green beans are roasted on a thin pan, and stirred constantly to roast the beans evenly. I wanted to stop her as the color of the beans slowly started to brown, but I wanted to experience traditional Ethiopian coffee in it’s essence and I let her do what she does best. The beans were quite dark but not French roast dark. Some beans even had a glaze releasing those natural oils.
The fresh roast is now left to cool and then ground fresh using an automatic burr grinder. Traditionally, a wooden bowl and a thin stick similar to a mortar and pestle will be used to grind the beans into a fine powder. Quite understandable since the crushing and banging sound would be unpleasant for a cafe setting.
The coffee grind is now transferred into a jebena, a black clay pot with a long neck. Water is also poured in this pot and heated for a brief time. The coffee is then poured in to a colorful ceramic cup from a height adding a dramatic element to the pour.
The brew itself had an aroma of sweet cardamom, it was a cup with strength but surprisingly without any bitter elements. There was some similarity to Turkish coffee but lacking in body. And yes, as always, ordered a classic Brazilian Flat White and call it an end to the day.
