The Ethiopian Coffee Ceremony
We’re all familiar with the English tea ceremony but have you heard of the Ethiopian coffee ceremony? You probably already know that Ethiopia is the birthplace of coffee. Naturally, they have some sort of ceremony to celebrate the wonders of this brew.
The Ethiopian coffee ceremony is part of their culture. In fact, whenever they entertain visitors, the ceremony is required. So how does it go?
Emily Doyle explains the ceremony:
The ceremony is usually conducted by one young woman, dressed in the traditional Ethiopian costume of a white dress with coloured woven borders. The long involved process starts with the ceremonial apparatus being arranged upon a bed of long scented grasses. The roasting of the coffee beans is done in a flat pan over a tiny charcoal stove, the pungent smell mingling with the heady scent of incense that is always burned during the ceremony. The lady who is conducting the ceremony gently washes a handful of coffee beans on the heated pan, then stirs and shakes the husks away.
When the coffee beans have turned black and shining and the aromatic oil is coaxed out of them, they are ground by a pestle and a long handled mortar. The ground coffee is slowly stirred into the black clay coffee pot locally known as ‘jebena’, which is round at the bottom with a straw lid. Due to the archaic method used by Ethiopians, the ground result can be called anything but even, so the coffee is strained through a fine sieve several times.
The youngest child is then sent out to announce when it is to be served and stands ready to bring a cup of coffee first to the eldest in the room and then to the others, connecting all the generations. The lady finally serves the coffee in tiny china cups to her family, friends and neighbours who have waited and watched the procedure for the past half-hour.
I have never experienced such a ceremony but just the thought of being part of one makes me want to go to Ethiopia.
Book Review: The Joy Of Coffee
How does one even begin to describe the joys associated with this bean, this brew? I honestly don’t know! Perhaps the best way would to be go ahead and concoct your own brew and share it with friends as you lounge around on a lazy Saturday afternoon. Or maybe, you can get this book by Corby Kummer and give it as a gift!
The Joy Of Coffee: The Essential Guide to Buying, Brewing, and Enjoying has been around for quite some time now. It has been recently updated and revised, though, to keep up with the changing landscape of the world of coffee. This book is an easy read with roundabouts 300 pages. From the growing of the beans to buying to roasting, storing, and brewing – all of these things are presented by Kummer.
I like how Kummer pays attention to the minutest details in his book as he recounts his experiences over the past several decades. I think it is his unique and authentic experience and knowledge that gives his book an edge over the countless other printed materials on coffee available in the market today. In the book, Kummer also shares tons of recipes which the average person – like you and me – can try out at home. For me, that is one of the best aspects of The Joy of Coffee.
So what are you waiting for? You can get a copy on Amazon for only about $10. Alternatively, if you want a preview before getting your own copy, you can check out Google Book Search.
Home Roasting
What? That may be the first thing that came into your mind when you read the title for this post. I am talking about roasting your own coffee beans at home as opposed to merely buying ground coffee beans from the supermarket or your coffee shop.
So why should you even think about roasting your own coffee beans? Why go through all that hassle? To be honest, I have not even tried it for myself yet but from what I have been hearing and reading from others, you do not really know what good coffee is until you make a batch from freshly roasted beans. I do not know how true it is but being the coffeeholic that I am – always in search for the best coffee – I am more than willing to give it a try.
You may be thinking that home roasting would entail a lot of effort, time, and money. Well I found this really great post from the CoffeeGeek which will allow almost anyone to roast his own coffee at home. Guess what his main tool is? A popcorn popper!
Ingenious, isn’t it? Seriously, I might not have thought of this idea had I not ran into the CoffeeGeek’s post. Well, I would suppose that a popcorn popper is not a difficult thing to acquire – plus the fact that it is quite affordable. You may even already have one at home!
If you are interested in trying this out, you should pay a visit to the step by step guide on how to roast coffee beans at home using a popcorn popper. Here’s to a successful endeavor for all of us! Happy New Year!
Simply Brew Coffee
My, how times have changed. In the olden days, people did everything manually. They ground the beans using a mortar and pestle, dumped the grounds in a pot with water, set it to boil and poured the resulting sludge in a mug and called it coffee. Now, people either go to the nearest cafe for their gourmet coffee or walk into their kitchen which may actually be better equipped than the local coffee shop.
The industry behind the coffee kitchen products have been churning out many gadgets that convince many that they can become instant coffee gourmets with a simple touch of a button. Some of them do work - and quite well indeed. Still there is something in knowing how to make a simple cup of coffee, without frills or fuss. It doesn’t require any gadgets or gizmos except for the coffee grinder. Many forget that the true test of coffee is in its simplest form - without the milk or sugar.
Rather than spending on a hi-tech coffee machine, why not invest in a french press or a simple drip coffee maker. Both are simple, inexpensive coffee making devices that can get the job done and give you a great brew. The rest of the steps is a matter of keeping your equipment clean and learning the proper techniques of grinding measuring and timing. It is an art as much as a science.
Remeber that sometimes, skill is more important than the equipment. Get your coffee basics down first and it won’t matter if you have a fancy machine or not, you’ll be able to make excellent coffee each time.
Foretelling the Future
Have you ever heard of having your future told using coffee? Yes, it really does exist. It is called tasseography, tasseomancy or kafemandela (Greek) and is interesting indeed. There is no science to it. It remains mystical and fun.
Like any act of fortune telling, it is a combination of knowledge and intuition. Interpretation is subjective which is why many people do not recommend reading one’s own future. If you would like to try anyway, here’s how to do it.
First off, you need to prepare your coffee. The future is foretold based on the coffee grounds left in your cup. Turkish coffee is excellent for this but you can use regular coffee though it may not taste as good. It is best if you use freshly ground coffee as well. You’ll need to boil water on the stovetop with about a tablespoon of coffee for every 6oz. of water.
Next, you need to be calm and enjoy your coffee. Chat with friends while you drink or simply sit, relax and drink slowly. The coffee must be drunk while you are calm or they say all the reader gets is sludge in a cup.
When you are done, turn your cup over onto the saucer and let the grounds dry. Note that it’s the cup being read not the saucer.
Take out a pen and sheet of paper. Look at the grounds and just write what comes to mind. Don’t look at the paper, just write what comes to mind. The answers will come to you. Don’t worry about what symbols you should see. As they say, it is in the eye of the beholder.
Technorati Tags: coffee, tasseomancy, fortune telling
Works of Art
Coffee is a wonder. It’s a delicious beverage that can warm the body on a really cold day. It helps get people up and running as they go about their day. It also inspires some coffee lovers to create works of art.
Take for example the painting above. This beautiful rendition of Van Gogh’s Starry Night was done entirely with coffee. Its painter, Karen Eland, is a self taught painter and coffee lover. She has a full gallery of coffee art which she created between working on restoring pieces for the Louvre.
Karen is by no means the only talented artist who has discovered the joy of painting using the source of our favorite brew. There are many others who have created works of art using coffee, some of whom, like Karen have their works available online.
It’s easy to get started on coffee art. It simply starts with loving coffee and having a love of painting.
Technorati Tags: coffee, paintings, coffee art, Louvre, Starry Night, Van Gogh
Coffee Carts, New York Streets and A Beautiful Film
The foreign film everyone is talking about today is about coffee. Well, actually its the poingnant story about a Pakistani man who pushes a coffee cart around Wall Street.
Written and directed by Ramin Bahrani, an Iranian-American who also worked as a coffee-cart-man himself, prestigious film festivals all over the world are touting this atmospheric film as a firm favourite of the year.
The film focuses on the life of Ahmad, a Pakistani immigrant who pulls his coffee-filled quilted metal cart around the Wall Street environs from dawn. He serves his coffee to friendly “suits”, but the story takes shape when he befriends a customer who is a fellow Pakistani.
“Man Push Cart” has a haunting score, brilliant cinematography and a universal message which transcends the boundaries of class and culture.
And most importantly, it will make you wonder, the next time you are at a coffee shop or more appropriately, coffee cart - about the person pouring your cup of java. Hopefully, you’ll end up asking him yourself.
The 4M’s of Espresso
The making of espresso is both a science and an art. Over the years they have found that precision is required to make a great espresso. There are four factors that affect the making of a great shot. They are also called the four M’s.
The first factor is Macinazione or the proper grinding of the beans. Great baristas in fact will only grind beans for an espresso right before using them. 30 seconds after they have been ground, the beans are already too stale for a good espresso. The proper grind is between fine and powdery. The grind has to be uniform in order to insure the best taste. Instant powder will definitely make an awful espresso.
The second factor is Miscela or the coffee blend. Good beans means better tasting coffee. Perfectly logical, right?
The third factor is the Macchina or the espresso machine. Thanks to many inventors, you now have eay to use tools to help you make your espresso. But it will not magically make perfect espresso if you don’t know how to use it properly. The Rancilio Silva is considered the best by most espresso lovers but feel free to shop around til you find the machine that you are comfortable with.
The last factor is Mano or the skill of the barista - that means you. More than half the battle is knowing how to use your equipment properly. You need to know how to properly fill your filter basket. Some espresso lovers will tell you to tamp the ground coffee, others will tell you not to. Like all skills, making the perfect espresso takes practice so that your every espresso shot has that beautiful crema that is the mark of true espresso.
Technorati Tags: coffee, espresso, coffee making, espresso machines, Rancilio SIlva
Coffee and the Arts
Cappuccino and Cafe Latte lovers, June 27, 2006 could be your lucky day! The movie “The Devil Wears Prada” has declared the 27th as “The Devil Wears Prada” National Coffee Break Day. You may just get one free cup of free coffee on this day, between two to four pm at selected shops in the following areas.
- Atlanta, GA
- Boston, MA
- Chicago, IL
- Los Angeles, CA
- New York, NY
- San Francisco, CA
- Seattle, WA
- Washington, DC
The offer is limited to one drink per person in the two hour period. Please be sure to check out the complete details of this great coffee deal here and do watch the movie as well.
How about a movie about coffee? There are some interesting clips over at coffee project some of you coffee-lovers may want to take a peek at. Anne Hathaway won’t be starring in these videos but for those who want to know more about coffee beans, it can be very informative.
Would you like to have some coffee and art at the same time? Then you’ll probably enjoy this video. I’m amazed at how simple and creative this person is. Really cool and fun to try, though I’m sure those of us who take coffee black would object. Looks like I’ll be playing with milk, cream and coffee for a while.
Hmmm….sounds like a good excuse for a coffee party. Invite your friends over, play with coffee and create your own art. Have fun, great company and some interesting designs with your brew.
Welcome To The Brewed Coffee Blog!
Welcome to The Brewed Coffee Blog!
Alexander King said it well enough: “Actually, this seems to be the basic need of the human heart in nearly every great crisis - a good hot cup of coffee“.
