It all began......

My original Ethiopian Coffee Ceremony set up.

With the Ethiopian Coffee Ceremony.

After I became fascinated through my Eritrean friend’s restaurant and Eastern Catholic and African culture, I decided to buy some of the necessary equipment to make this coffee myself at home and share it with others. Through this experience it took me back to the 2 experiences I had working in a coffee shop. I always enjoyed the atmosphere of sipping coffee and having conversations. It was a sober bar for me, and far more productive atmosphere than the clubs or sports bars I use to spend time in.

From here I kept growing and learning through trial and error, mostly errors though, of the very basic roasting process. From these primitive understandings I began to appreciate coffee in the eyes of an individual culture, instead of the coffee snob ways that are often misguided. It’s always a humble experience, which humbles me to the blessings we have here in the states when it comes to technology. In addition I am humbled by the simple ways people live joyfully. It was this simple religious coffee practice that encouraged me.

The Ethiopian coffee ceremony is performed 4 times a days traditionally. The purpose of this is to stop the busyness of life, and to spend time with each other talking over coffee and popcorn. Yep, popcorn. For me this was a refreshing take on monks who pray in solitude 4-7 times a day, or a Muslim for that matter, who’s practice of prayer 5 times a day to give reverence to our Creator. In the end all these things are signs (sacramentals) of appreciation of life, God and each other. Moments like this is what gives me hope in life, connecting to what is real and what is experiencing life. It’s also a great reminder as well, when we talk to each other, we eventually find out the struggles we went through to get to where we are, and are going. It wasn’t just a cake walk. Through faith however, perseverance, and consistent work towards a goal, we make it to our aspirations in some capacity, just not always the way we planned. Like the old saying goes, “You want to make God laugh, tell Him your plans.”

This is the case always, just because things are going wrong, doesn’t mean you’re destined for failure, it just means you might be on the wrong path or understanding, and it’s time to lay the proper foundation stone by stone for a new path. Rome was never built in one night, this is the truth of any true sustainable success.