What is an Ethiopian coffee?
The answer to the question "what is Ethiopian coffee?" is simple – any coffee from Ethiopia. Which you could argue, is all coffee as that's where the coffee plant originated.
The answer to the question "what is an Ethiopian coffee?" — Ethiopian coffee is a coffee drink made from brewed coffee, sugar, and the herb Tena Adam.
Ethiopian coffee is often drunk during Hebesha coffee ceremonies, coffee is brewed in a traditional earthenware flask called a ‘Jebena’ and served into small cups called ’Sini’ or ‘Funjal’.
Most Ethiopians drink this coffee with sugar, and sometimes dunk in a herb called ‘Tena Adam’ (Rue) to add flavour.
Ethiopian coffee origins
The coffee plant originated in and around Ethiopia. It's impossible to know exactly when and how people from Ethiopia began to brew it, or who decided to put a sprig of tena adam in it.
However, there is a legend that a goatherder named "Kaldi" noticed his goats dancing after they ate coffee and decided to experiment himself.
This is as close to an origin story we'll ever get and here at Honest Coffee Guide we have chosen to beleive it to be true.
You might have noticed the similarity between the word "coffee" and the name "Kaldi." You might have gone on to wonder if the etymology of coffee comes from the name of this legendary goatherd.
Well, you'd be disappointed, because the word coffee comes from the Arabic word for wine qahwah.