Among the many quirky museums around the world, one of them is the Ethiopia Coffee Museum . Well, actually it will be, since it opens this year although it still does not have a fixed date since its creators want everything to be perfect since coffee is something very important in this country and drinking it becomes a ritual. . The city chosen to house this special museum is Bonga , capital of the region of the Nations, Nationalities and Peoples of the south, a place that is also said to be the origin of the cultivation of the coffee plant.
The City Council has reported that the cost of the realization of this museum could reach 1.2 million euros, a cost that has been fully covered with the donations that citizens made to carry it out and with the funds that the City council administration also put for this purpose.
In the Museum you can see all the varieties of coffee in the region and learn the history that this drink has in this country. Next to the building there will be a center for searches on coffee, a restaurant and various rooms for exhibitions and meetings. Without a doubt, a very special place that will make Bonga a much more attractive place for tourists. It will be the second Coffee Museum in the world after the one that opened in Guatemala in 2000.
In Ethiopia it is a real ceremony to drink coffee, regardless of where you drink it. First the table is prepared by burning incense, then the white grains are washed and crushed with the hands and then toasted. When it is ready, it is served boiling in a berekha, which is a special cup that does not have a handle, and it is filled to the brim, beginning to drink it a little at a time. There they usually drink at least three cups at a time, which is supposed to give you a special blessing.