Ethiopian Coffee Tour you don't know the Ethiopian Coffee Story

Professional coffee knowledge exchange more coffee bean information please follow the coffee workshop (Wechat official account cafe_style)

Travels to Ethiopia 2018 (1) Amber Totem

Coffee is a magical crop.

Whether it is rice farmers in Thailand or sugar cane workers in Brazil, they work hard during sunrise and sunset and the turn of the four seasons, soaking sweat into the soil in return. To them, this kind of life is not only a habit for generations, but also the need of life. So they probably won't make any spiritual connection or worship to their crops. In my impression, Aomori's store likes to turn the local specialty (Apple) into cartoon characters and hold ceremonies during the harvest season to promote a series of by-products. I can't tell whether this is a business trick or whether they are sincerely sharing joy. But compared with Ethiopians, these are superficial. Because coffee is not only a crop, but also a part of existence.

I calculated in my mind, how many glasses of red wine will French wine owners drink every day? Even if you drink, it may be to greet the buyer, or test the quality of the product. People often ask me if I drink a lot of coffee every day in the coffee industry. I am usually vague, either because I don't give much of this answer, as if it's a little rude, or because it doesn't meet the expectations of the other person. Frankly speaking, coffee drinking is often monitored from a critical point of view. Even if you happen to drink coffee while traveling, you can't escape the attack of occupational disease. Use an invisible ruler from the bottom of your heart to measure and compare. I'm a little embarrassed to think of it.

Ethiopians, men and women, young and old, drink coffee every day. I have been exposed to this amber liquid since childhood. But the local people are more three-dimensional and daily than the image I was instilled with coffee in developed countries. Coffee is the movement and expression of the mother entertaining guests at home, or the residual temperature of the charcoal used to boil water when the setting sun sets. It may be part of the material used to build the outer wall of the house, or the hillside that surrounds the village and allows children to travel. In ancient times, coffee was not only a drink, but also an important accessory for sacrifice and red and white.

Originally, I wanted to compare things in life such as "eating Xiaolongbao needs vinegar" or "watching movies need to eat popcorn" as an analogy, but it always seemed to lack a deep connection. If you think about it, the situation is probably like the bright moon and moon cakes on the Mid-Autumn Festival: moon cakes are commodities, but the moon is part of the environment. I think coffee is like a permanent moon to Ethiopians, more than acquired moon cakes. It was not so much the Ethiopians who chose the coffee as the coffee chose the land of Ethiopia.

Although the country has not been colonized by European powers, ethnic hatred and conflicts occur from time to time. Last year I canceled my trip because many parts of the coffee producing area were damaged. From the perspective of the industry, I want to see how this country, which is regarded as the source of coffee, can adapt to the rapid changes in the development of the industry, and understand the significance of coffee to the local people, especially the primitive tribal people. and photograph the magnificent scenery of the Great Rift Valley of Africa. It happened that I was invited by a local friend to write a preface to his forthcoming book.

Travels to Ethiopia 2018 (2) Chart Grass in the Rift Valley

A travel program about Africa is broadcast in the waiting room of Qingquangang Airport.

In fact, I didn't wait and see that TV screen on purpose. What is recorded by the retina is the glittering box between the flight status display and the plane parked outside the glass window. the light released from it contains some lines and colors, which resonates with a certain scene in my memory file. reminds me of a number of landscapes.

I continued to bury myself in the yellow copy of the scorecard, remembering the taste of coffee. Within three days, we reviewed more than 80 works in Alishan. The smell that once stayed on the tip of the tongue is like the oil paint on the canvas, covered by layer after layer. The dense small print on the bottom page of carbon carbon paper is no longer clear (what is written on the occasion of electric flint cannot actually be described clearly). But looking at it as a whole (not reading, because it is not clear) seems to evoke the sensory feelings of a certain moment in memory. Printed in black ink, the line is as neat as a ruler engraved with marks on the left or right. I worked hard to find the coffee that shocked me in the preliminaries and finals. In what mood did I record the smell on the paper at that time? The handwriting on the carbon paper is like a shadow in the hot sun. From the outline, I do recognize myself, but just as the shadow changes with the position of the sun, the things written down will be different under the spiritual influence of coffee. For this observation, I believe that only I will notice it.

"Jasmine, bergamot, tropical fruit, honey, grapes, smooth taste." as I watched my comments on the coffee, I listened to the frightened sound of the TV host crossing a dried-up river.

It's rose summer, isn't it? A piece of memory is like a chain reaction caused by the moment a bowling bottle is knocked down. My subconscious mind probably recognized that the TV screen was showing the Great Rift Valley, which I had visited recently. This scene evokes the impression of African coffee, especially Rose Summer. So unconsciously, label the recently drunk coffee with that flavor. One answer is like a domino, solving another problem. As to whether this is the case, it may take a little more coffee to answer. Memories beat at random, and the cameras of TV programs hovered in the mountains. Finally, my eyes focused on a group of girls whose hair was painted with orange dirt. They were singing and dancing on the prairie, giving the rattan whips to boys of the same Turmi nationality with almost pleading expressions, whipping themselves and leaving scars symbolizing happiness on their bodies.

The male host introduced the local customs with an expression of surprise. On the other hand, I recalled the coffee bar that was not taken into the camera. Even if I told them that "coffee with jasmine, bergamot, tropical fruit, honey and grapes may be found near the village," they would probably be as confused as most consumers who are not interested in coffee. If you want to communicate with them, it is better to find a hot topic.

On that trip, I visited villages of different tribes. In addition to girls covered with scars, there are also different customs and cultures such as naked boys jumping and running on the backs of cows, and the need to lift dozens of jin of stones before they are qualified to marry. What is most shocking is the widespread cultivation of chartgrass. A few years ago, I heard a local producer say that because of the high quality of coffee in the Great Rift Valley, people had no incentive to give up and grow chartgrass instead. However, due to the huge demand from neighboring countries, such as Somalia, the continued decline in coffee prices and geopolitics. More and more local people choose to plant this plant, which consumes a lot of water and makes the soil sour.

Ethiopian travels 2018 (3) Coffee, at least boiled

In front of the jeep, a young shepherd boy was waving a whip to gather the cattle and sheep scattered all over the road. He did not open the way for us, but because not far away, there was another group that also occupied the whole road and approached us. In the tribes of the Great Rift Valley, the wealth is calculated according to the livestock they own. It is said that it takes 30 sheep to marry a wife, so the two batches in front of me are also a good match.

The leader is a brown cow. Its short corners are used as thread reels and tied with several circles of nylon rope, which looks like the white headband worn by the cartoon character when he cheers himself up. Rather than taking the lead, it is said that it just moves faster, and the companions do not mind following it. All the local cattle are thin and the outline of the ribs is clearly visible. Is it because of a lot of exercise or because there is no food? But when you think about it, it doesn't feel right. Should prairie grass be readily available, or should they only eat certain kinds of grass? It wagged its tail and walked leisurely forward. Until I came back, I didn't have a chance to discuss this matter with others. Anyway, people are more interested in coffee. But when friends look at the photos, they will notice a peak on the cow's back. It turns out that this cow is called Borana, which is endemic to the Oromia area and can survive in a harsh environment. That peak, like the camel's, is used to store water.

Two groups of more than a hundred cattle and sheep walked face-to-face on the narrow dirt road, brushing past each other for a moment, like the tide flowing smoothly over the stone, without splashing a bit. If they see me collide like a range ball with passengers who get off work every day on the MTR platform, in order to squeeze into the advantageous position of the train ahead of others, they will probably feel really superior.

The shepherd boy nodded gently with the opposite one, and the other's response was insipid. Each other only care to move forward, looking back to the animals. Maybe if you get used to it, you will regard this moment as part of the scenery. It's like the carelessness in the expression of a bus driver driving a circular lane when he sees his colleagues across the road. Under the sky of the prairie, the same route, the same animals, have been turning the same dust for generations.

When I was thinking about the boring question of "if a sheep secretly turned around and followed the opposite group to leave, it would be discovered by the shepherd", my train of thought was interrupted by a knock on the car door. Several children rushed out of the nearby jungle while the car was driving slowly, and they seemed to be used to identifying cars carrying tourists.

"Highland? Highland? " The leading boy kept shouting through the open half of the car window. The ill-fitting jersey was covered with mud. While trying to reach into the wrist of the car, there is a hand rope embroidered with the Ethiopian flag and made up of green, yellow and red. The toes without shoes are rough. Hiding behind him is a younger boy who is guarding a yellow square plastic tube. I think it is his brother. More and more children rushed to our car, and the scene was even more chaotic than the flock of cattle and sheep in front, similar to the subway platform at the end of the day.

The driver opened the window and threw the empty water bottle to one of the little girls outside the car. "Highland used to be a local brand of bottled water," he explains. "they're not asking for money, they just want more water containers. The people of the village set out before sunrise to fetch water from the nearby river. In a year or two, these children will also be involved. If you run out of water, give them the empty bottles. The yellow water bottle next to the little boy is the most commonly used in the area. If it is filled with water, it should weigh more than five kilograms, which is probably not something that children of this age can lift. When I was a child, when I watched documentaries, I always felt that Africa was hot and dry, and Ethiopia was like a desert. In fact, there are water sources in many places, but because of the backward infrastructure, people in many villages need to spend hours every day to get clean water. 45% of the school-age children there choose to stay on the street instead of going to primary school, which is to set aside time for their families' water needs. A United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) article in March mentioned that residents of backward areas around the world, especially women and children, spend 200 million hours a day (mostly on foot) to get potable water.

That day, I visited two villages and saw many unique customs. As in the past, the villagers greeted the guests with a coffee ceremony. Everyone sat in the open air next to the hay house. After the muddy ground was exposed by the hot sun, it emitted a residual temperature that was out of keeping with the twilight sky. When the water boiled, light smoke came out of the dark mouth of Jabena. Not far away, there was the noise of the safe return of the team that set out to fetch water in the morning. Colleagues are talking about technical issues such as whether local children can't sleep when drinking coffee, or whether the extraction ratio of coffee and the water temperature are too high. My eyes were on a child not far from the crowd. He was scooping up and drinking from a pool of water on the ground with half of the gourd shell in his hand. That pool of water was trampled by cattle and sheep not long ago.

The burning sensation came from the fingertips. While converting to "200 million hours is how many years", I fantasize about "how many civilizations can be built in these times". My conclusion is that it is healthy for local children to drink coffee from an early age, simply because the water used to make coffee has been boiling.

About the author: Patrick Tam

Hong Kong's first batch of European and American boutique coffee association baristas, cup testers, international judges of Cup of Excellence coffee competition, columnist, university guest lecturer, founder of boutique coffee shop Knockbox.

Not immune to caffeine, but not resistant to coffee in cafes; making a cup for yourself is very simple, but ask for no bitterness.

I was once obsessed with photography. A bunch of antique old mirrors are also reborn because of coffee: take pictures of the farm and use the photos as a bridge to shorten the distance between consumers and farmers.

Coffee is not only a hobby, but also a way.

Ethiopian coffee bean brand recommendation

The Ethiopian coffee beans baked in Qianjie Coffee are fully guaranteed in terms of brand and quality. And more importantly, the performance-to-price ratio is extremely high, a pack of half a pound 227 grams, the price is only about 90 yuan. According to the calculation of 15 grams of powder per cup of coffee, a bag of coffee can make 15 cups of coffee, which costs only about 6 yuan per cup, which is recommended by conscience compared to the price sold in cafes for hundreds of yuan a cup.

Related recommendation: Ethiopia YCFCU cooperative several characteristic varieties recommendation introduction flavor description