Ethiopian Coffee Ceremony Highlight of Specialty Coffee Convention

Legend has it that coffee was discovered in Ethiopia in 850 A.D. when a herdsman noticed his goats hanging around a red berry bush and chatting happily. It's still happening--at this year's specialty coffee convention, crowds gathered around a live version of the fabled coffee ceremony held every day across Ethiopia, when family and friends sit around beans roasting and talk over rich cups of intense coffee.

The Specialty Coffee Association of America's convention, held in Charlotte, North Carolina from April 7-10, was packed with five hundred booths, most bright and fancy, showing the latest syrups, giant roasting machines, smoothie mixes and beans from all over the world. Ethiopia, a country of modesty and an ancient dedication to coffee, chose the old way.

Women in traditional dresses sat on low stools and, using pans over low flame, slowly roasted the most storied beans in the world from the Yirgacheffe, Sidamo, Oromia and Kafa regions.  The deep, complex aroma reached out to passers-by. When they saw it was coming from the ceremony they had read or heard about, they were captivated.

The crowd of 7,000, were a grand mix of buyers for US roasters, cafe operators ranging from single mom-n-pops to 5,000-location Starbucks and young hyped-up baristas there to compete for prizes. They all had their own personal coffee rituals. But they realized instantly this was the real one, the ancient altar of appreciation for their beloved drink and way of life.
..Sitting in a circle, they were transfixed, breathing in the roasting and grinding smells that mixed with the incense lit during the quiet ceremony. They watched, wide-eyed with anticipation. Suddenly, the bustle of the show was far away. The pans and ground-up beans were passed around, hand-to-hand, and eyebrows were raised and knowing smiles exchanged over finding the holy grail of the coffee trail.

Then it was time. The grind was steeped in tall-necked ceramic brewers of hot--not boiling--water and slowly poured into small ceramic cups and handed out individually, just like at home. The circle was quiet as they tasted and savored, sitting blissfully.
Then, relaxed from their hectic convention chores, people started chatting, happily, with new friends in the circle.

Some in the circle were Ethiopian exporters. Some were in the market for making their coffees better for their roasting businesses or main street cafes around the country. Business cards were exchanged. Orders were drawn up.

Diane Sterre, a cafe manager in Fayetteville NC, said, "I had a dream last night about Yirgacheffe. As I walked in the show, it called to me, and it's phenomenal."

Durham NC roaster Peter Giulano described why Ethiopia is the future, not just the past.  He explained that blending for a profile of an importer or roaster's request is the current way many exporters work. "Ethiopia has regional types, regional flavors not available anywhere else. It's like a giant fruit basket with all these different flavors." Elsewhere, he said, "flavors have been blended out."

He thinks change for the better is coming in what's done with those distinct flavors. "As a buyer, I think coffee is perfect on the tree. All people can do is make it worse on the way to the cup."

Giulano believes post-harvest bean-handling is the key. "They're making great progress in processing. If the washed processing of Yirgacheffe were extended to other small regions, it would have a mammoth impact."

Washed processing involves soaking the beans and removing the pulp by machine, as opposed to sun drying. Both can produce award-winning results, but the dry method takes longer.

As Giulano explains the possibilities with the wet process, he gets downright excited. " I think there could be a huge improvement in volume of their already excellent coffee. It would be transformational in the coffee world."
..Ethiopian beans have been getting easier to buy, too. "I would prefer taking coffee out of Ethiopia directly, bypassing the auction process. Tadesse Meskela, manager of the Oromia cooperative union, worked to let the coops bypass the auction."

The traditional route is for US roasters to order beans from exporters in Ethiopia, who select batches of beans at a central auction. They can accumulate a desired regional type or consolidate varieties to build a specific desired taste profile, and handle the paperwork and shipping details. Giulano buys from both. "Going direct is not always best. Middle steps are good in finance and logistics."

Coffee customers are also being educated about the human side of their drink. Cafe operators are hearing questions about whether beans were gathered by people paid a decent wage and working with dignity. Fair-trade certification organizations have sprung up, watching a number of food imports.

This year, at the show, TransFair, the US affiliate of the Fair Trade Labeling Organization (FLO), of Bonn. Germany, had a very large pavilion. They inspect the steps of the route the beans take from the field trough export, including business practices along the way.

TransFair selected fair-trade certified organizations producing coffee from all over the world to spotlight, and invited four regional coops from Ethiopia to participate. Each had a stand in the pavilion to display their beans, explain their processes and negotiate with US buyers.

As fair-trade awareness increases for coffee consumers, fueled by on-campus activism and increasing concern for the global effects of US product choices,  the market is responding. Ads for individual coffee shops are beginning to state that fair-trade beans are used. Even corporate Starbucks has instituted a humane practices program that steers purchases to ethically-gathered beans.

Ethiopia is poised to supply this demand. As Getinet Kelkle, secretary general of the Ethiopian Coffee Exporters Association explains, "We only export half of our coffee. The rest is for us. Other countries just sell all their coffee for business. But for us, it's our way of life. so we care about our farmer and we make the coffee better."

And Starbucks agrees. Dennis Macray, their director of corporate social responsibility, enjoyed a cup of Yirgacheffe coffee in the circle of seats. "It's great they do the ceremony. It's low key, not aggressive." Over coffee, he spoke with several exporters. "It's very gratifying to hear they know of our Coffee and Farmers Equity program. We don't have direct ties with them yet and it's great to meet the producers here."

He explained the depth of their feeling, "We owe our coffee success to Ethiopia and we know we owe it to them to keep them in business. It's a unique coffee and we have it in our core product lineup. It's important to let them know we want our customers to like them."

And the exporters were delighted to meet him, too.  "Black Gold", a documentary that premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January 2006, examines the world coffee trade.  Tadesse Meskela's attempts to get better prices for his 70,000 farmers and deal directly with the US market, as well as Starbucks' role, are central. As the film enters circulation, Starbucks hopes to step up purchases of Ethiopian coffees through their "CAFE" program, according to Macray. Starbucks has over $5 billion in worldwide annual sales.

The show worked out fine for everyone. The US Agency for International Development, working through the Growing Ethiopian markets program, assisted the Ethiopian delegation. The US market for specialty coffee is $11 billion annually and the buyers and sellers need each other.

ECEA's Getinet Kelkle summed it up: "We developed good intent with all the US brokers and buyers."

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