Ethiopian coffee Ceremony
Ethiopia is the home of coffee. It is an integral part of Ethiopian culture. About 53 percent of Ethiopian coffee is consumed locally; everyone in the country drinks coffee, whether rich or poor. The coffee ceremony is an important feature of Ethiopian hospitality. The host washes the coffee beans, roasts them and grinds them with a pestle and mortar in front of the guests. The brewed coffee is served in tiny china cups with lots of sugar. Traditionally, the guest must accept at least three cups--the third in particular is considered to bestow a blessing.
Coffee, moreover, is the nucleus of the Ethiopian economy. It accounts for approximately 55 percent of the country's exports. There are about 1.2 million coffee farmers and about 15 million households either directly or indirectly dependent on coffee for their livelihoods. Small farmers grow 95 percent of the coffee; most of them work less than half a hectare of land.