THE LAND OF COFFEE

Coffee is Ethiopia’s number one export product, and - although being no huge coffee drinker myself - I have to say that a small cup of strong, Ethiopian coffee, made from beans that have just been ground, is really amazing!! Nobody makes coffee like the Ethiopians, they really know what they are doing. The pity is that the coffee farmers don’t get paid enough for their coffee, and this is not only an Ethiopian problem, but the core of a lot of problems in Africa, which, if changed and solved, would have given a huge number of people a better life. But it seems very difficult to change this whole trade-issue.........!

With coffee being such an important aspect of the Ethiopian society, I just had to take my friends to the place in Addis that is known for selling the best coffee in town. Tomoka café, one of the oldest cafés in Addis, is a tiny little place, but so full of soul and character. They even have a picture of two kissing mooses, which gave me a very homey feeling, having spent so many Octobers going moose-hunting in the forest at home:) They have one type of coffee called Swedish coffee, which is roasted like we, the Scandinavians, like it. And then there is Sidama type, Harar type, and others that I can’t remember the name of. You can buy the roasted beans, or you can buy the ground coffee, or you can just sit down and have a cup of macchiato, drinking from cups that are cleaned by just rinsing them in water. (that is when you just don’t want to think about the fact that you are in Addis, where there is such a high risk of getting contaminated from the water….take a pick – giardia, e-coli or ameeba…:)
Anyway, we had a nice cup of coffee there, none of us have gotten sick yet, and we had a nice chat to the man behind the counter, who was very interested in exporting coffee to thirsty Norwegians:)

Check out www.blackgoldmovie.com, and find out more about coffee in Ethiopia.

And hey, if you come to Addis, I’ll take you to Tomoka;)