Ethiopia is the birthplace of coffee, with Kaffa province lending its name to the beverage. I was quite surprised to find an Ethiopian coffee house on University Avenue in San Diego; not only that, but they make ceremonial coffee twice a week. This coffee takes time to make. The beans are usually roasted and ground fresh, then coffee and water are added to a clay coffee pot which is put onto hot charcoal or, in this case, a gas burner and boiled up three times or so until the lady in charge decides that the coffee is ready. She then tilts the pot and lets it sit for a while, so the coffee grounds sink to the bottom, before she pours it into cups and serves it with some green aromatic leaves called tena'adam that she grows in pots out back. Even though I was offered sugar, the coffee was so good that I hesitated to add anything else to it. It was dark and rich but not overly bitter, and the fresh herb gave it a taste that reminded me of cardamom. I enjoyed my coffee with a lentil sambusa, a pastry stuffed with cooked lentils flavored with Ethiopian spices. With the ceremonial experience, I thought I was adding up quite a tab, so I was pleasantly surprised when the bill came to less than a cup of coffee at Starbucks would have cost.
Location: Yohed Coffee, 4160 University Avenue, San Diego, California. Date: August 3, 2019.
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AuthorChef Roland has been a legal resident of seven countries and has travelled in over thirty, documenting food along the way. He currently resides in the desert in Southern California. Categories
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