“Coffee is a national pastime in Ethiopia,” Nazareth Kefle, chef and owner of Delina Kitchen tells us while roasting a small pan of Arabica beans over a charcoal flame.
As they turn from pastel green to brown, the familiar aroma combines with the sacred scent of frankincense.
“Incense is all part of the ritual,” Nazareth says, pointing to the burning pebbles of yellow resin.
Nazareth’s coffee ceremony is the final stop on a tour that promises to immerse guests in the culture and cuisine of Ethiopia – all without ever leaving London.
Ethiopian Flavors in Sheperd’s Bush is one of three special tours by Intrepid’s Urban Adventures.
All led by women who have overcome challenging circumstances, the tours are a chance to see London through the eyes of immigrant communities and were created in partnership with Women in Travel, a UK-based social enterprise that helps women find economic independence through opportunities in tourism .
Our two and a half-hour tour around London’s Little Ethiopia is run by Sefanit Mengiste, 37, who arrived in London at age 14.
Despite having lived in England for over two decades, she says that Ethiopia is still a big part of her life. “The colours, smells and community of my childhood are still with me and in me”.
It’s this passion for her culture, combined with fond anecdotes from her youth that effortlessly transport guests from the streets of West London to the highlands of her homeland.
From the precise number of cups to drink before you can leave a coffee ceremony – “at least three” – to memories of chewing raw frankincense tapped from a tree in her grandparents’ garden – “good for a sore throat” – her explanations are punctuated with the staff.
Shepherd’s Bush Market, a 108-year-old open air bazaar beside a railway viaduct in West London, offers everything from Greek deli plates to Transylvanian chimney cakes. But our tour follows the mental map of stalls and shops known only to the Ethiopian diaspora.
At Osman’s Market, Sefanit’s long-time Egyptian friend Osman presses fruit into fresh juices that he advertises as a “vaccine”. We knock back shots of ginger, as Sefanit explains the importance of the root in Ethiopia, for everything from cooking to washing hair.
At a jeweler’s a few stalls down, we admire the detailed designs unique to Ethiopian Orthodox crosses, their elaborate latticework meant to represent eternal life. And we hear wanderlust-inducing tales of the monastery of Abuna Yemata Guh in northern Ethiopia, perched 650 feet above the desert on a sheer cliff.
In Messi Abyssinia, a shop selling organic coffee and handmade ceramics, Sefanit reveals the spices specific to Ethiopian culture and cuisine; frankincense, “used to remove the evil eye”, cardamom, garlic and cinnamon. She tells us of Tej, a honey wine that will “get you high”, it is drunk at Ethiopian Christmas on 7 January along with Doro Wat, a spicy chicken stew.
We pass a clothing shop selling Bob Marley t-shirts and Sefanit stops to explain the unlikely faith that links Jamaica and Ethiopia.
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The group are surprised to hear that Rastafarianism sprung up in 1930s Kingston due to the coronation of an emperor in Ethiopia. Emperor Haile Selassie, also known as Prince Tafari or Ras Tafari, was worshiped as a God by followers of the new religion that called upon the African diaspora to leave the white man’s world of “Babylon” and return to Ethiopia or “Zion”. Few West Indians heeded the call to emigrate but surviving members of a small group that did, and their descendants, still live in Ethiopia today.
Our final stop is Delina Kitchen, a restaurant, café and cultural hub under a railway arch in the middle of the market.
Chef and owner Nazareth serves us injera, the staple food of Ethiopia, a sour, fermented flatbread with a spongy texture made from teff flour.
“Teff is a naturally gluten free ancient grain,” she explains.
“The fermentation gives it an umami flavour. There is nothing added, just a yeast starter, which we leave to work for two or three days depending on the temperature.”
We tuck into the pancake-shaped bread, using our hands to scoop up an array of stews called wetsincluding aromatic lamb and spicy lentils.
We then take part in the traditional coffee ceremony, in which a rich, dark roast served with clarified butter, spices, and popcorn.
In the country that gave the world coffee, we learn that brewing a cup of joe can be both a spiritual act and a social space to come together with friends, particularly for women.
“The ceremony is a woman thing. We get together to gossip about boyfriends, neighbors, the men,” Sefanit explains.
“But these days, the younger generation has changed. If a woman doesn’t have a daughter, the son will definitely make the coffee.”
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A private Women-Led: Ethiopian Flavors in Shepherd’s Bush with Coffee Ceremony tour is £82pp. Minimum two people per booking. Includes English-speaking Ethiopian guide, juice shot, tastings of Ethiopian foods (misir alicha, yebeg wot, atakilt, one roll of injera) and coffee ceremony. See urbanadventures.com.