17 February 2015

Ethiopian Coffee

I was sad to see the previous Cordova Ethiopian restaurant close, but a new one opened up a couple of months ago. And it was a joy to have lunch there this weekend with dear friends including Jennifer Biggs of The Commercial Appeal.

Ethiopian Restaurant and Coffee
8195 Dexter Road
Suite 104
Cordova, TN 38016

Biggs recommended the coffee ceremony, which I was not previously aware of. It starts with roasting yirgacheffe over medium heat until the beans are properly roasted.


While our hostess took the beans to grind by hand, sprigs from the coffee bush were burned in a clay pot like incense.


I said thank you in proper Amharic (አመሰግናለሁ) but managed to spill coffee on my shorts, so that's kind of a wash on the etiquette front.


I had mine with just a pinch of sugar as recommended by our hostess. While I love dark, bitter coffee, the sugar was a nice countermeasure to the smokiness of the freshly roasted beans. I hope to return with friends and will try to do a better job of balancing the demitasse and saucer.