I love my morning coffee. I love the ritual I have made each morning that includes journaling, meditation and preparing for the day as I drink my extra large mug of coffee. Earlier this week, Headspace had a little video about Ethiopian Coffee Rituals. The whole point of the video was that rituals are something we choose to do because of how it makes us feel. One could even say many rituals are part of a spiritual activity. Very different from routines!

The Ethiopian Coffee ceremony is a spiritual ritual. It is also a gathering of family and friends. It is a high honor to be invited to! The ceremony takes about an hour to an hour and a half however, there is a huge amount of preparing of the coffee to drink prior to the gathering. I really enjoyed learning about the ceremony.

The raw coffee beans are prepared in the tradition of the family. It is washed, roasted, ground and then brewed in a very specific ritualistic manner that include prayer, spices, vessels and trays. The coffee is then brewed in a pot on a stove that looks like a Turkish Coffee pot. When serving, it is poured about a foot above the tray filled with little coffee cups without handles. The first cup of coffee is the strongest and is called abol. The grounds still in the bottom of the pot and it is then refilled with water and brewed again. The second cup of coffee is weaker and called tona. Both of these rounds of coffee are considered a time of spiritual transformation.

During the consumption of the coffee the guests are talking. It sounds like anything can be talked about! It is a time of connections and praising those who prepared the coffee. Snacks are served. The coffee itself can have sugar added. The last round of coffee is the weakest, it is called baraka and that means blessing. It is a blessing to all who drink it.

I love this ritual! The older I get the more I understand the need for rituals. I have specific rituals that I do over the holidays, and I think that adding more are a wonderful way to slow down and see the blessings in my life. They are a wonderful time of spiritual transformation and awakening of the mind. I am so glad that coffee rituals exist and that my morning coffee ritual seems to have a lot of similar experiences minus the ability to pour into a little cup a foot above it. I would love to see it, though.

This weekend I am going to a Christmas Market in the suburbs of Chicago , see our Son and have a family dinner with extended family on Sunday. I am looking forward to it all and the weather isn’t going to snow. Maybe a little rain but it’s the Midwest, the weather hardly ever cooperates fully!

Have a great weekend!

Vicki