Homeland

Strong coffee is often drunk in Eritrea and Ethiopia in an elaborate ritual that brings families and guests together for hours.  It is a long ceremony at the end of a long work day or week. It is usually served in small size handle less cups and is accompanied by trays of fresh popcorn, biscuits, “hmbasha” (traditional home-made bread) and other local specialities.

Typically, the woman of the household wears traditional clothes and arranges the ceremony as follows:

1. She scatters strands of grass on the floor to provide freshness of the outdoors.
2. She roasts the coffee beans over a charcoal fire shaking them frequently to prevent burning.
3. Once they are roasted and blackened she grinds the beans into a powder.
4. The coffee is repeatedly heated to boil in a round clay pot.
5. The woman of the household is expected to serve all the participants at least three times.