Coffee

Quick Trivia Question: Where did coffee originate?

If you said Ethiopia, you’re correct! The history of coffee goes at least as far back as the thirteenth century. The story of Kaldi, the 9th-century Ethiopian goat herder who discovered coffee, did not appear in writing until 1671 AD.

  

Living in the country where coffee was “discovered” means that my daily activities revolve around consuming the popular caffeinated beverages. Most days I probably have 4-5 cups of coffee. A cup in the morning with my breakfast, a cup after lunch, and the newest fad is having coffee (cappuccinos and macchiatos) delivered to the office.

Everywhere you look there are small coffee boutiques. There are at least 6 on the strip outside of my office. The girl who sits next to me calls one of them, and they bring up the coffee and a bowl of sugar. They return about half an hour later to pick up the coffee cups (there are no disposable cups here), I pay him 6 birr (roughly .38 cents). Amazing! I could get used to this!

Roasting coffee beans at a traditional Ethiopian coffee ceremony