Finding mind-blowing coffee in the most unusual places

If I had to pick one thing that makes Ethiopia one of the most unique traveling experiences, I would say it's all in the small Coffea arabica beans. I'm not one of those coffee crazed people who needs coffee to function but I do enjoy a fantastic cup of coffee every once in a while. The great thing about Ethiopia is that I found fabulous coffee everywhere. Instead of my usual three cups of tea a day habit, I started drinking coffee at least three times a day while visiting the former Abyssinia empire. Being completely surrounded by the wonderful frankincense, freshly roasted and freshly ground coffee smells made it impossible to refuse a cuppa. Cafes felt like magnets and we'd often find ourselves walking in and ordering macchiatos almost involuntarily. Even while we were trekking for a few weeks in the northern highlands of Ethiopia where there is absolutely no running water or electricity whatsoever, we found light, medium and dark roasts and still enjoyed coffee before and after almost every meal.

Good with our Sumatran breakfast but not the best coffee ever

I knew I wasn't going to drink good coffee either in Sri Lanka or in Maldives but I was genuinely excited about Sumatran coffee. I was actually quite disappointed with the coffee there and the best one I was able to find was an Illy roast served at a small cafe at Lake Toba. Everything else paled in comparison to Ethiopia's delightful coffee so I stuck to fresh coconut water instead.

Not the fanciest roasting equipment but it works!

I had not lost all hope on good coffee as I knew we'd spend all of September up in the Bay Area and I had heard very good things about new cafes that were doing exceptionally well. I decided to check them out and first went to Blue Bottle Coffee in Downtown San Francisco - the cafe is very hipster and they have all the chemistry experiments set up to brew what many people say is amazing coffee. Amazing in San Francisco comes with a price so Eliot and I ended up paying $9 for two iced coffees. I anxiously waited for my order and I grabbed the tall, skinny glass full of ice and coffee. I took my first sip and did not like it at all. Wait, what? My taste buds must have clearly been wrong. Everyone here seemed to love the coffee and even at 3pm, there was a line of at least 15 people going out the door and wrapping around one of the street corners. I took my second sip and I sighed. I sighed out of disappointment because my iced coffee just wasn't that good. For the price, it was actually bad. I have to admit I only had one of their drinks so I can't speak for the rest but I do not get what all the hype is about with Blue Bottle Coffee.

Later that week I decided to give San Francisco's hip and trendy coffee scene another shot. This time I went to Four Barrel Coffee in the mission and I decided to stay away from the iced coffee and just get their cup of coffee. For $2.50, I received a freshly brewed cup of coffee and didn't add any milk or sugar to it. Four Barrel Coffee roasts its own beans so I was hopeful that my coffee would be delightful. Again, pretty big disappointment with my first two sips. It wasn't the worst coffee I've ever had but it just wasn't spectacular - I left half of it behind and didn't even finish my cup. Four Barrel Coffee had a full house that day and it was 4pm. Everyone there seemed to love their drink except me.

Is exceptional coffee just that hard to find? Or is my particular and biased taste towards Ethiopian coffee ruining my coffee drinking experience now that I'm back in the US?

Colorado and amazing coffee, who would've guessed?

The answers seem to be maybe for the first one and thankfully no to the second question. Just was I mentally preparing for giving up on most cafe's, I happened to run into an amazing micro roaster and cafe in Leadville, Colorado out all places.

City on a Hill is one of the few cafes in this small mountain town. They pride themselves on roasting their own coffee and on serving great cappuccinos. I was a little skeptical based on my Bay Area experiences but decided to give it a go anyway. And my oh my was I glad I did! Finally! A fantastic cup of coffee! There was no bitterness whatsoever to my drink and it was neither too wet or too dry. Although the taste wasn't exactly like the coffee in Ethiopia, the quality was insanely high and I have a feeling it all had to do with the care City on a Hill takes when roasting their green coffee beans, just as Ethiopians care so much about taking 45 minutes aside to make a few cups of coffee from scratch. If you ever find yourself in the Leadville area, a trip to this coffee oasis will be worth the stop (hours and directions are here: http://www.cityonahillcoffee.com/about-us/).

Can non-export quality coffee beans still make good coffee just like they do in Ethiopia? Can you still get just "meh" coffee even if the beans are high, export quality?Is the secret to fabulous coffee in the roasting? I think it is, and I think I'm onto something...

Smell that heavenly goodness! 

Gourmet extraordinaire and desert camping in Nevada

Desert camping isn't for everyone. Conditions can be harsh, especially for peak heat times in the middle of summer. Without natural sources of water and shade, dehydration and sun poisoning could easily happen. Extreme self-reliance is the best way to survive and lack of preparation could have devastating consequences.

A very fancy desert (Dubai)

Good thing we're not everyone and we love extremes! For our first week back in the United States of America, we decided to go desert camping for a week, in the middle of the northern Nevada desert. We had actually planned on going there before we left on our 6-month sabbatical and paid $380 each to secure our spot for our tent. Usually, camping is never that expensive. However, this type of camping is as unique as it gets so we had to commit eight months in advance to it.

We're talking, of course, about Burning Man: absolutely, 100%, one of the most epic events we have ever attended in our lives. Burning Man is very hard to explain so it is best to just go see for yourself. The reason it's so hard is because the event becomes what you want it to be. Many people bring their children for a family experience, many people come to do ultramarathons and others, like us, come as foodies, not knowing what to expect but excited about everything.

Our two good friends spent all summer planning for Burning Man. One of them, in particular, planned everything in insane detail and we had everything from 1,000 baby wipes to superglued seals on every single car window to keep the majority of the playa dust out.

All four of us are total foodies so we went on very fun food shopping sprees and prepared meals in advance. We packed the 'obvious' camping food such as canned beans, corn, rice and curries in pouches, but we also packed exciting foodie treats. We were thrilled to find bacon jerky and purchased the Costco size bags of that amazing treasure. We brought two huge logs of goat cheese, a large wedge of Manchego cheese, an entire wooden box stuffed with smoked salmon from Seattle, garlic and jalapeño stuffed olives, a case of V-8 fruit and veggie juices and our home mix of hemp and almond granola with raisins.

Preparing the lasagna sauce

Eliot made a gallon of home-made cold brew coffee and Drea made cinnamon tea soda syrup. We also made two pans of home made lasagna with beef and de-cased Italian sausages (Drea did this by hand), an entire head of garlic and a dash of nutmeg to give it a Bologna twist. Our friends made an amazing summer gazpacho with tons of parsley, lemon, Tunisian olive oil and refreshing cucumbers plus at least two dozen juicy home-made meatballs in an amazing home-made tomato sauce (peeled AND seeded tomatoes!). Oh and let's not forget their tasty garbanzo, parsley, parmesan cheese salad.

We showed up at Burning Man and were in awe for at least 144 hours. The dry heat suppressed our appetites a bit but we still found time to indulge in decadent meals. Thanks to our extremely detail-oriented friend who planned 99% of our journey to the desert, we were able to keep our pre-made meals frozen solid with the 50 pounds of dry ice we stuffed in three coolers.

The Man

De-frosting was super easy: we took out the containers in the morning and by dinner time, they had naturally thawed. We ate the gazpacho and garbanzo salad cold and then heated up the lasagna and the meatballs on the propane camp stove. Our other campmates brought a healthy kale and broccoli salad and we destroyed it our first night. We also indulged in the best home-made grilled cheese sandwiches we've ever had! Part of the secret was toasting the bread on both sides and using three layers of cheese (we're getting hungry just writing this!).

Fire cyclones as the Man burns on Saturday

Burning Man thrives on a gift economy and we were lucky to have delicious treats along the way. At Burning Man, you give. The gifts we received were absolutely fabulous. As far as food goes, we had Montreal-style smoked meat sandwiches (think gourmet smoked/corned beef and spicy mustard) served by our Canadian neighbors, fresh ground coffee used to make legit Vietnamese iced coffee (ice is a highly coveted item at Burning Man), emperor's tea from China prepared in front of us at a formal tea ceremony (the tea had to be smuggled into the US because it is worth more than gold by weight!) and cheese fondue straight from a fondue pot!

We will try to make this a yearly event for us and we look forward to the foodie events we missed: bacon bloodys, morning hash browns, home-made pickles, massive barbecues and whatever else we are bound to walk or bike into.

Co-posted on www.eliotpeper.com

Robot Heart Party

Awesome Playa Sunset

Biking around, checking out art exhibitions everywhere

Unstoppable appetites during our 48 hour stay in The Little Red Dot

Isn't it amazing that there's such a place on earth that's only about 270 square miles in size (yes, this includes all the reclaimed land), can't really grow much of anything because the whole island is a rock, is home to about 5 million people and has more than 3,000 restaurants? That's approximately 11 restaurants per square mile!

A mighty and flavorful little city

With so many places offering so much food, it's the perfect destination for non-stop eating, drinking, savoring, sampling and tasting. Plus, every type of palate and wallet will find a suitable place: from the lavishly expensive at over $400++ for dinner for one (plus, plus, of course is for all the extra taxes on top of the restaurant price) according to a local blogger, to the deliciously cheap at just a buck fifty for one of the most famous local delicacies.


Ever since Drea first visited this foreign land back in 2005, it has always remained the best hub in the world for food and every time we visit, it never disappoints. Singapore offers just about every type of food and is the foodie's Shangri-La. Which is exactly why, if we can help it, we always try to make Singapore one of our long connections or short-term destinations when traveling throughout Asia.

So, what's the big deal with food in Singapore? Well, let us count the [eight] ways:

1. Thirsty much? Singapore has an amazing selection of tropical fruits so you can grab any type of exotic fruit juice no matter where you are: soursop, lime, mango or kumquat are extremely refreshing. Tea and coffee are great alternatives if you crave a little energy: grab yourself a kopi-o (black coffee), kopi-c (coffee with milk, "c" was originally for Carnation milk in a can) or Eliot's favorite, tea tarik (pulled tea). On a budget? pop into any 7-eleven and grab an iced milo or an unsweetened green tea.
   

   

   Tea Tarik with mushroom and cheese roti paratha and fish curry sauce: Breakfast!

   
   
2. Love fruit? So do we. In Singapore you can find the most amazing selection of tropical fruits including: the local favorite durian, which we still find repulsive and don't even recommend you try unless you're feeling very, very adventurous, the queen of all fruit, mangosteen, juicy rambutans, lychees and longan (or lamyai), jackfruit (tastes like Starbursts!), jambu which looks like an apple but tastes more like a pear, green guava with powdered plum or the magenta dragon fruit among dozens and dozens of others.
3. Breakfast time? Grab yourself a roti paratha stuffed with cheese, potatoes, mushrooms or bananas and dip it in your pick of chicken or fish curry sauce. Or go local and grab a kaya toast set. Kaya is a coconut based jam and you can eat it on seriously buttered toast and dip it in soft boiled eggs with a drop or two of dark soy sauce.

   

   Kaya toast with chunks of butter

4. On a budget? Two words: chicken rice. For less than $5 dollars, you can snack, lunch or dine on a plate of chicken rice: it's just roasted chicken on top of rice cooked in chicken broth. This national dish is sold at nearly every food court and its simplicity (similar to Italian food!) is what makes it so damn irresistible. Make sure you get it with the special spicy sauce!
   

   

   Chicken Rice! Don't forget the sauce!

5. Ready to have your mind blown? Grab yourself a pepper crab! Pepper crab is another national dish: whole crabs are served smothered in an insanely peppery, dark thick sauce that infiltrates every little crevice of the claws, legs and body making the crab meat amazingly juicy and flavorful.
   

   

   Peppery pepper crab

6. Ready to have your mind blown again? Three words: Xiao Long Bao (XLB)! Although not a national dish, we were just ecstatic that Singapore hosts Taiwan's famous Din Tai Fung at several locations. For those of you poor souls who have never gone through the XLB experience, make it one of your life's priorities. These dumplings are delicately stuffed with pork and soup. Yes, soup, so that once you bite into them, you experience an explosion of flavor and delight. XLB isn't unique to Singapore by any means but we just really wanted to write about it!
   

   

   The XLB experience

7. In the mood for soup? Grab a Laksa! This one is definitely Singaporean (and Malay) and it consists of a thick coconut broth typically served with shrimp, sliced fish cakes, boiled eggs, thick rice noodles and fresh sprouts. This is a heavy one so it's fun to share if you want to keep on eating.
8. Want to grab a light snack? Try popiah! This insanely crunchy but non-greasy spring roll is stuffed with fresh veggies, shrimp and dipped in peanut sauce. For a meatier snack, grab some satay. These meat skewers are originally Indonesian but are found everywhere. Enjoy with rice cakes, cucumbers, onions and dip it in spiced peanut sauce. For a more traditional Chinese snack, grab a simple rice bun stuffed with braised, tender juicy pork belly and a lettuce leaf (gotta make it healthy somehow!).
   

   

   Popiah

   

   Pork belly bun

   

   Satay

Believe it or not, we ate every single thing on our list above (and then some more!) during our 48 hour visit to Singapore. Next time you look at a world map, just remember that there is indeed a small country underneath that red dot capital marker where multitudes of lucky visitors and residents experience some of the best variety of quality food the world has to offer.

Co-posted on www.eliotpeper.com

And then some....

So lucky our visit coincided with Singapore's food festival!

Kwai Tiao - delicious noodles w/oysters

Feasting at Din Tai Fung in addition to our 30 XLB order!

Did we mention Singaporeans are really friendly?

Boiled, soft peanuts

Fancy chicken rice with crispy tofu and braised greens

Nile blues and mountain highs

The source of the Blue Nile

It was a bitch getting out of Addis Ababa. Because it was the week of [Coptic] Easter all the buses were booked in literally every direction.

"Want to take a bus to Bahir Dar? Not til next Thursday."
"How about Harar?"
"Sorry, booked til Friday."
"Do you have buses that go anywhere in the country for tomorrow?"
"No." [smile]

Travel infrastructure in Ethiopia is... limited. In a country of 80 million people, there are literally only TWO private bus companies. In spite of the high demand for private transportation, these companies refuse to buy more buses, hence our problems finding a way out of the city.

Anyway, we opted to take a cheap domestic flight on Ethiopian Airlines (the only domestic airline in the nation) to ensure we actually got to our destination. We were on a mission to explore the northern highlands.

We started out in Bahir Dar, perched on the banks of Lake Tana, the source of the Blue Nile. Bahir Dar was a laid back beach town and we really enjoyed the one night we stayed there. We took a boat out onto the lake and into the mouth of the Blue Nile, wondering at the prolific number of wetland bird species and water buffalo. We visited one of the ancient Coptic Christian churches that sit on the many islands scattered around the lake and we even had a dance battle, which we obviously lost, at a local wedding.

Blue Nile Falls

As we plied the waters out onto the lake we heard a scream from a passing boat. Our captain turned the boat around and we pulled up alongside. Turns out it was a happy scream! One of the passengers on the boat was a an absolutely wonderful woman we had met at a fruit juice place in Addis Ababa. She was in Bahir Dar for the weekend with her boyfriend and they insisted we join them that night for a traditional Ethiopian meal.

It turns out that the couple was actually staying in our very same guest house! They took us out to a local Ethiopian night club, beating back the tuk-tuk drivers who are always on the lookout to cheat foreigners on fares. The night club was a huge open space the size of a small warehouse. We arrived around seven and were a bit worried because it was nearly empty. We ordered food and waited. Before long, hundreds of people started to trickle in until the entire building was standing room only. As the food arrived, a troupe of music performers came up on stage and started belting out some traditional Ethiopian folk music. They were soon joined by a team of professional dancers. Ethiopian dancing is as unique as it is impressive. They move their shoulders in the way that salsa dancers move their hips. It's a sight to be seen and you can check it out here on Youtube.

The Simien Mountains

The next day we explored the Blue Nile Falls outside of Bahir Dar. It's a beautiful place and the water was impressive even in dry season. Then we piled onto a local minibus (a police officer was transporting a shackled prisoner on it too!) and made our way to Gondar, site of an ancient Ethiopian castle and jumping off point for our four-day trek in the Simien Mountains.

The mountains were absolutely fantastic. They were 110% different than the Himalayas. The Simiens are a UNESCO World Heritage Site and they look like a raised plateau that towers thousands of meters above the surrounding foothills. The sides of the plateau are sheer cliffs but the top is undulating hills. Our trek took us along the edge of the cliffs, circumnavigating the plateau. It felt like another world. We were always on the edge of a multi-thousand-meter drop and the views were mind-blowing. We spotted rare endemic species like Ethiopian wolves, ibexes, cliffspringers and tons of baboons.

Ibex vs. Baboon

The only downside of the Simiens are that they're quite expensive to visit and we feel that we got ripped off big time. You're required to hire a guide and a scout through a local operator in addition to all the camping equipment etc. The upshot is that they are well protected and that we got a truly luxury camping experience. Our tents were already set up for us when we arrived at the campsite and there was hot coffee/tea waiting for us. Not a bad way to experience the outdoors. We summited the third highest peak in Ethiopia and then moved on to our next trekking destination: Lalibela.

Lalibela is one of the most touristy places in Ethiopia. It's famous for its surfeit of ancient churches carved from solid rock. These feats of engineering rival Petra and are a big draw in a country with little tourism. The only problem is that the local priesthood who manages the churches charges criminally high entrance fees and pockets the cash, none of it goes to the community and there's a lot of local tension because of it (what would Jesus do, right?).

Shepherd kids hard at work

Anyway, we weren't interested in the churches, we were interested in the mountains. Lalibela lies in a deep valley and is surrounded by a semicircular mountain range. We had arranged to trek these mountains with a unique organization called Tesfa Tours. Tesfa means 'hope' in Amharic and the organization works with remote local villages in the mountains to host trekkers who want to traverse the terrain. It's a fantastic system that generates local employment, promotes positive interaction and provides an amazing experience at the same time.

We stayed in local-style cliff top huts, munched injera and sipped fresh roasted coffee at the end of every day of trekking. There was no running water and no electricity -- we were definitely in the middle of nowhere. The mountains are gorgeous, alternating between village farmland, rocky wilderness and wide open views of the entire Lalibela valley.

The Lalibela range

The experience was amazing but, after nine days of it, Eliot was sick and we were both completely exhausted (although Drea took an awesome local cooking class in town). We realized we had been burning the midnight oil a bit too fast in Ethiopia. We had planned back-to-back excursions across the Northern Highlands with no room for rest in between. And this was in a country with the worst transportation infrastructure we had encountered.

We had plans to visit the south and explore the Bale Mountains as well but we realized we needed to switch it up before we burnt out. Beware of the over-crowded itinerary in any long-term travel plans you may have. This was our mistake and we were determined to fix it. So we made a game-time decision to escape to Zanzibar for ten days...

Time to go exploring

co-posted on www.eliotpeper.com 

"What the #^@% are you going to do in Ethiopia?"

Who doesn't love the smell of roasting coffee? When you order coffee in Ethiopia, the green beans are roasted in front of you before being hand-ground and prepared. Ethiopia is the birthplace of coffee and their coffee remains the best in the world. When you smell roasting coffee, butchered meat and grilled mutton you know you're in the country's capital: Addis Ababa.

We arrived exhausted after a long layover in Dubai on our way from Kathmandu. Luckily enough, an Ethiopian friend of ours in San Diego had hooked us up with a home-stay in the capital so when we stepped out of the airport one of the family members was there to pick us up. The weather was cool and rainy. Contrary to popular perception, Ethiopia is a wet mountainous country. The climate is somewhat similar to Northern California or Oregon (the drought you may have read about in the news was mostly restricted to the remote region immediately adjacent to Somalia).

Roaring like an Abyssinian lion!

We soon discovered that we had arrived the day before Ethiopian Easter. Ethiopia has been a Coptic Christian country for millennia and their calendar is different from the Western one (Easter is in May rather than April). Not only that, their time is different as well. The clock starts at 6AM Western time so 10AM Western time is 4AM Ethiopian time. This was a never-ending hurdle for us because sometimes it was hard to know which time people were quoting us!

After unpacking in the family home we were staying in we explored a local open market and met three wonderful Ethiopians who became some of our dearest friends on the trip. The next morning at our home-stay mother served us a literal Easter feast. Five courses of fantastic local food washed down with a dark home brewed beer called tela. The feast continued for the rest of the day at the home of our newfound friends.

Spreece, taking Jamba Juice to the next level

We spent almost a week exploring the capital. The main university has a gorgeous campus and a museum that illustrates much of Ethiopia's roller coaster political history. Ethiopia sports the most beautiful women on Earth and the men aren't bad looking either, it made for great people watching. In addition to the local staple, injera, we discovered a number of culinary gems including spreece, a multi-fruit smoothie where each fruit juice gets it's own separate layer in the glass (delicious!). The city is in a state of constant construction. Ethiopia has the fastest growing economy in sub-Saharan Africa and Chinese contractors are everywhere building infrastructure (usually paid for by the Ethiopian government with aid money from the European Union, weird). We zipped around on jam-packed local minibuses and randomly discovered the mind-blowing Italian restaurant Castelli's which is apparently a favorite of Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie (best Italian food outside of Italy).  

Apparently we weren't the only ones to make friends here

The people of Ethiopia made the strongest impression on us of any country we've visited. On the one hand there are touts that are constantly pursuing you for money. We can't count the number of people who were trying to constantly sell us stuff or cheat us with a ridiculous 'foreigner' price. This was truly exhausting to deal with and jaded us very quickly. On the other hand Ethiopians were the most authentically open, generous and welcoming people we've encountered anywhere. Not only would they invite us into their homes and treat us to every luxury with enthusiasm, they were really genuine. We've visited countries with friendly people before. This was different. Ethiopians actually wanted to become you friends, not just be friendly. In so many other countries there's a social barrier that just can't be crossed. In Ethiopia, we wound up with friends for life.

Sunset rush hour

Co-posted on www.eliotpeper.com

The Ethiopian Coffee Craze

Ethiopian coffee - the best of the best. Period. 

Macchiato heavenly goodness

There. I said it. Yes, I'm Colombian and our coffee is fantastic and clearly (probably biasedly!) the best in the world. Or so I thought. After experiencing Ethiopia, I have to say that Ethiopian coffee is by far the best coffee I have ever had anywhere, ever. I'm just being honest here: nothing else that I have ever had comes close, and I think the secret to this wonderful taste and experience in the roasting. 

Traditional Ethiopian Coffee Ceremony

The Coffee Ceremony 

Sipping on home-roasted Ethiopian bunna (coffee) is much more than just a pleasant experience, it's beyond mind blowing! Just like injera, Ethiopians take their bunna very seriously. Coffee is typically drunk between three and four times a day and almost every single time before consumption, a coffee ceremony precedes. 

The raw, whole beans (which are likely not export quality) are roasted on a small pan over a fire. Darker roasts are roasted longer and lighter roasts don't get as much of the heat. The medium to darker roasts were the most common. After the roasting the beans, the roaster brings the pan to the drinkers so they can smell the freshly roasted beans. Then, the beans are ground by hand using a special mortar and pestel. The grounds are then added to hot water and frankincense is lit to create a nice atmosphere. After a few minutes, small coffee cups (simi) are rinsed and then the coffee is served. Usually, Ethiopians add quite a bit of sugar to their coffee but I always asked for mine black and proceeded to have at least three (and often more) servings. 

Frankincense

Macchiato vs. Cappuccino

Coffee ceremony coffee is usually black, with the option to add sugar, and milk is not an option. However, every restaurant and cafe offers espresso-type drinks with milk. The Ethiopian macchiato is the closest version to a 'western' cappuccino and it kicks 'western' cappuccino ass. The Ethiopian version of a cappuccino is its own thing and is basically just hot milk with a little bit of chocolate and a drizzle of coffee. Cappuccinos are not their best drink, macchiatos are definitely king. Ethiopian macchiato comes with a bit of steamed milk on top and, for about $0.40 USD per serving, is dangerously addictive. We'd usually have at least two macchiatos every time we sat down at a cafe… I mean, why not? I'm not generally a coffee drinker at all -- I'm a much bigger fan of tea -- but in Ethiopia, I completely reversed that and had coffee almost every single day 

Size matters

Sipping on coffee in the middle of nowhere

One of the nice things about coffee in Ethiopia is the serving size. Unlike crazy vent or 24 ounce sizes, bunna cups are very small and probably only hold about three ounces of coffee. Some of the macchiato cups can be a little bigger but probably wouldn't hold more than five ounces. Having more than one "cup" is therefore almost the norm. 

Origins

Legend has it that an Ethiopian farmer Kaldi discovered coffee. Many, many years ago, whenever the farmer's goats ate small red 'fruits' from a particular bush, they would be energized. The farmer noticed this only happened with the red 'fruit' so he decided to try it for himself and got the same reaction. Coffee was thus born but it wasn't until the Arabs began to trade it that coffee got really popular. Back in the day, Ethiopia was a much bigger country, known as Abyssinia and its territory included today's Eritrea, Djibouti, and parts of Somalia, Egypt, Sudan, Yemen and even Saudi Arabia. Coffee beans eventually made their way across the Red Sea to Yemen, hence the term arabica when it comes to some coffee beans. Today, Kaldi's is the Starbucks of Ethiopia, with stores all over the capital, Addis Ababa. 

Such a delicious aroma!

One of the most memorable things about Ethiopia is seeing every little cafe always full of people, no matter what time of day. The cafe culture is very strong in Ethiopia, especially in the big cities like Gondar and Addis Ababa. The other memorable experience was the fact that almost no matter where you go, whether you're on a bus or walking around, the scent of freshly roasted coffee beans follows you around. The unfortunate consequence is that I now feel very spoiled and will probably stick to tea to avoid disappointment... until Sumatra in late July!