Experiences · Coffee
Coffee cupping & ceremony
Taste coffees from Sidama, Yirgacheffe, Jimma and Harar side by side, then share a ceremony in a family home.
Ethiopia is where Arabica coffee comes from, and its regions taste strikingly different. This tasting sets them side by side the way professionals do, then shows how Ethiopians themselves drink coffee — slowly, together, in three rounds.
A cupping is the coffee trade's tasting method: freshly ground coffee steeped in open cups, the crust broken, and each one slurped from a spoon. Side by side, the differences are clear — the bright, floral cups of Yirgacheffe, the fuller coffees of Sidama and Jimma, the fruity, wine-like naturals of Harar.
Then the ceremony. Green beans are roasted over coals in front of you, ground by hand, and brewed in a clay jebena, with incense burning and popcorn passed around. There are three rounds — abol, tona and baraka, the last meaning blessing — and staying for all three is part of the courtesy.
The tasting can run in Addis Ababa on any day, or on the farms themselves during one of our coffee journeys.
The details
- Time needed
- 2 – 3 hours
- Where
- Addis Ababa, or any coffee region
- When
- Year-round
What's included
- A guided cupping of coffees from several regions
- A full three-round coffee ceremony in a family home
- Tasting notes to take home
- Hotel pick-up and drop-off
Where It Happens
Places you can do this
Fits Well With
Journeys this slots into
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Add coffee cupping & ceremony to your journey
Tell us roughly when you're travelling and what else is on your list. We'll fit this in where it works best.
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