Coffee is the universal pick-me-up drink for most people. Depending on the culture, it is drunk on the go as in the case of most people in the USA or taken in espresso bars in Italy, taken with milk and a croissant in France, or taken leisurely mostly after meals in Ethiopia. Each culture values its coffee and sees it as a part of its daily ritual.
In Ethiopia, coffee drinking is a ceremony. Ethiopians place a high value on their
coffee. The drink is believed to have
been discovered in Ethiopia by a goat herder whose goats chewed the berries of
a nearby bush and became hyperactive after that, which piqued the herder’s
curiosity. The herder tasted the berries
and took them to monks in a monastery who believed that the berries were
devilish and threw them in the fire. The
berries burnt to the beans inside which produced an aroma that drew all the
monks to it. They removed the beans from
the fire and banged on them to put out the fire after which they stored in hot
water. The aroma appealed to the monks who drank the liquid and noticed that
they became unusually alert. They started
consuming the drink to keep them awake during their prayers.
Because Ethiopia is a coffee-growing country and most people
have the bush in their backyards, they get their beans from the bushes. The coffee-making process is a ritual that is
mostly performed after mealtimes. The
youngest lady in the family picks the ripened berries from the bush and peels
them to remove the beans. She then
roasts the beans over a fire until they turn from green to a brownish color. While roasting the beans she also has burning
frankincense or sandalwood which when combined with the roasting coffee beans
gives out a rich aroma. Once the beans
are roasted, she passes the tray of beans round to the people present to give
their approval. Once each individual has
approved, she boils water in a jug. She
grinds the beans in a pestle and mortar to a medium grind. She then puts the coffee grinds in the kettle
with water and places them on the fire to boil.
Once it has boiled she serves the coffee in small ceramic cups similar
to espresso cups. Sugar is added to the
coffee and it is usually taken with popcorn or roasted peanuts.
In the USA, coffee is seen as a pick-me-up drink. Most people take their coffee for breakfast
because the caffeine will give them a boost of energy to start their day. It is a very popular drink and according to
statista.com, Americans consume 400 million cups of coffee a day. Most people consume it in the morning hours
while 30% consume it in between meals.
Most Americans prefer specialty coffees which coffeehouses like
Starbucks have made popular. Americans
also popularized having coffee in to-go cups which allows them to have their
coffee while on their way to work, meetings, or while running errands.
Italians take their coffee in places called coffee bars. They usually go in the mornings to get their
espresso which they drink while standing at the counter or while sitting at the
tables provided. Coffee with milk or
cream that is cappuccino, caffe latte, and macchiato are taken before 11 am not
after that. They mostly take their
espresso which is simply known as caffe at any time of the day. They may also choose to have their morning
coffee with a pastry. They have a
variety of coffees such as caffe lungo, caffe doppio, caffe con pana, affogato
al caffe among others. Caffe lungo is
espresso with more than the usual amount of water, caffe doppio is a double
espresso, caffe con pana is espresso with whipped cream, and affogato al caffe
is espresso with ice cream.
Coffee is a drink that is loved in many countries and it has
also become part of the culture of those countries. When traveling to different countries it is a
treat to partake of their coffee drinking culture because it usually is a
memorable experience.
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