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.

Café Bustelo

About a year ago, the New York Times did a piece on the newfound popularity of Café Bustelo. Apparently it's trendy with hipsters at the moment, in that hilarious way that something that's been been a staple of Latino kitchens for 150 years is suddenly "discovered" by bored young people wearing stupid hats. I've always associated it with Cuban restaurants, where that little shot of dark sweet coffee at the end of the meal is so perfect. Got a ton of rice, black beans, plantains, and pork on your stomach? Chase it with a little café cubano to aid digestion. It's the more socially acceptable and time efficient alternative to a cigar, while packing a similar flavor.

Aside from the dark roasted espresso-style flavor, the main attraction of Bustelo is the fact that it's cheap. As in, really cheap. The 10 oz. can in the photo ran me about $3. In fact, it's a good thing to just grab and keep in the pantry for emergencies, or when you've got a recipe that calls for a few ounces of espresso and you don't have a steam pressure machine.

How is it? On its own, the coffee is strong, bitter, black, almost burnt. I crave and adore bitter flavors, so obviously I'm a fan, but I wouldn't recommend drinking several large cups of it first thing in the morning. It's really meant to be enjoyed in small dozes, or as café con leche in a one-to-one ratio with milk, plus sugar to taste. The sweetness of the sugar and the creamy/savory milk balance out the powerful flavors, but do not completely mask them as would happen with plain coffee. This concept is why Starbucks has historically been so successful: not selling coffee, but selling burnt concentrated coffee flavor diluted with a dozen other ingredients.

One bit of advice: the fine grind of Bustelo can be a little muddy if you're using a French press. If this bothers you, just give it a quick strain through a filter, or avoid pouring the last dregs from the carafe. Otherwise, cowboy up and drink the stray grounds like a real man.

Coffee Time

Saturday I popped in at Wild Oats on Poplar to attend the Slow Food Memphis presentation about coffee given by the guys from Ugly Mug Coffee Co. Lots of great info about organic and fair trade coffee, and the slower, better tasting processes that produce great coffee.

I don't drink coffee every day, but I do enjoy it especially when it's decent stuff. Ugly Mug produces many delicious brews and I'm anxious to try all of them.

I found out about the event from the Squirrels and was glad to see them there. Additionally I got to meet the writer behind the More Deliberate Every Day blog. I've been reading that for months and never got around to putting it in my blogroll. That has been rectified! I got to meet a few other readers of this blog, and was surprised to see it mentioned in the latest issue of Edible Memphis.

I'm glad that I finally got some business cards printed, as I got the opportunity to meet new and interesting people with a love of good food at this event. In my previous life as a graphic designer, I probably did layouts for two thousand different cards. Don't know why I waited so long to make some for myself: "The cobbler's children have no shoes", I suppose.


I pulled out my French press and tried Ugly Mug's Ethiopian coffee at home. The benefit of using a French Press or a gold filter instead of paper is that you get a colloidal suspension of the oils within the coffee and thus a richer flavor. This one is light and mild, while still having a great flavor to it. Nice little touch of acidity. The best part, and what distinguishes great coffee from a mere caffeine delivery system, is that an hour later you can still slightly taste the coffee but don't want to brush your teeth because it still tastes great. There's a creamier mouthfeel and more pleasant drinking experience when those oils are kept in the beverage.