At Habesha, the coffee is steeped in tradition

 

The new East African restaurant hosts a coffee ceremony at noon every Saturday. (Photos: Mathany Ahmed)

By Mathany Ahmed

A thousand-year-old traditional coffee ceremony has made its way from Ethiopia to Des Moines thanks to Bashatu Gutama and her husband, Abdissa Tumie.

The couple recently opened Habesha, a restaurant at 3500 Merle Hay Road, where they host coffee ceremonies from noon to 3 p.m. every Saturday. The experience is a slow and intentional performance, to encourage customers to absorb the coffee through all five senses by the end of their first cup.

Gutama (pictured) begins the ritual by lighting frankincense soaked in fragrant oils, before roasting organically grown Arabica coffee beans on a small burner at the front of the restaurant. Customers can hear the beans crackle and watch them turn from bright green to glistening brown as they release their oils.

The roasting process creates the first of three essential aromas in a true coffee ceremony, according to Tumie. “You smell the first aroma and feel refreshed,” he said. “Then you grind and boil it, and the house is filled with yet another fragrance.”

During the roasting, Gutama walks the pan through the space to waft the smoke toward her customers so they can take in the first scent. Then she grinds the beans and brings the grounds to boil in a traditional clay pot called a jebena. Next she pours the coffee into tiny cups called sini, made small to encourage multiple servings.

The third scent hits you as you take your first sip. The resulting drink has a bright flavor, with notes of berries and chocolate.

“The coffee ceremony is the center of gravity for society in Ethiopia,” Tumie said. “We gather there. We discuss family issues there. It’s the place where we share our feelings.”

The couple met in childhood but were separated for decades during the country’s ethnic wars. Gutama endured years in refugee camps in Kenya and Uganda before landing in the United States in 2009. Des Moines has been her home for 14 years, and after finally marrying Tumie in 2020, she’s found time and peace to pursue her true passions.

“My goal is to serve the community,” she said. “I love to cook. My dad and mom were pastors, and there were always a lot of guests. We were always cooking.”

So far, the community has responded well to the new offering on Merle Hay Road. The Rogers family stopped in one day expecting to enjoy a lunch from the restaurant that previously inhabited the space. But Jeremy Rogers and his daughter Kiana are both avid coffee drinkers and like trying local spots together, so they stuck around — and loved the coffee. “There’s a little sweetness to it that I don’t think is the sugar,” Jeremy said.

The hospitality Gutama and Tumie offer newcomers is as delicious as any part of the Ethiopian coffee experience. The shop’s name, Habesha (HA-buh-shuh), is a general term some Ethiopians and Eritreans use to describe themselves, to transcend tribal distinctions and celebrate regional unity.

Tradition says the longer the coffee takes to brew, the more time drinkers have to connect with one other. “Coffee is the center of meeting, it’s the center of socialization,” Tumie said. “We’re humans, we have something to say to each other.”

Contributing writer Mathany Ahmed grew up in Iowa City in a family with roots in Sudan. She now lives in Central Iowa and covers its diverse communities.