From Bay Are Bites

Ethiopian-born Samuelsson, who grew up in a loving adoptive family in Sweden after becoming an orphan at an early age, returned to Ethiopia only twelve years ago. He is an enthusiastic supporter of authentic ethnic culture for its “tradition, value and meaning.” He said "The way to understand a culture is to know what they eat and drink. I didn’t know very much about the Ethiopian coffee ritual when I visited Ethiopia, but now I want to introduce a friend who knows everything.”

So, Fetlework Tefferi of Oakland’s award-winning Café Colucci takes a bowl with lighted incense and gently waves it among the gathered visitors while a group of women from the East Bay Ethiopian community who work with Tefferi begin to roast the green coffee beans. Two ways of roasting the beans are demonstrated: stirring them on a flat bottomed pan or shaking them in a shallow pan until they sweat and turn a shiny dark brown, being careful not to let them burn. The hot roasted beans are poured onto a flat basket to cool and then passed around so the crowd can appreciate their deep, rich aroma. The next step in the ritual, as narrated by Tefferi, is grinding the cooled beans by hand with a wooden mortar and pestle.

Read the complete article from Bay Are Bites