VENTURES AFRICA – From January to March 2014 customers will be able to drink Starbucks Ethiopia Origin Espresso, with its velvety notes of dark chocolate and sweet citrus. To celebrate Starbucks with the Ethiopian Embassy, hosted an event at one of their flagship stores in London’s Covent Garden, to honour the birthplace of coffee and everything Ethiopian.

Kris Engskov, President Starbucks EMEA said “it was fantastic to welcome members of the Ethiopian Embassy to the St Martins Lane store to celebrate Starbucks Origin Espresso Ethiopia with a traditional Ethiopian coffee ceremony. Ethiopia is the birthplace of Arabica coffee and we are proud to have sourced exceptional coffee from this country since Starbucks was founded in 1971. Our coffee experts chose this coffee for its defining flavour characteristics of dark chocolate and citrus that really distinguish its origin.”

Speaking on behalf of the Ambassador, Trade and Investment Counsellor, Hirut Zemene, said “Ethiopia is one of the top producers in the world, where close to 15 million farmers and stakeholders depend on the coffee sub-sector.” She thanked the Starbucks team for promoting Ethiopian coffee through a dedicated evening. “We hope to work together in similar promotion endeavours in the future,” she added.

At a traditional Ethiopian coffee ceremony, coffee was served with popcorn, bread and kolo (roast barley) to invited guests including the media.

Guests took part in a ‘cupping’ and ‘aroma lab’/ food pairing demonstration, led by Starbucks’ coffee ambassadors, which compared coffees from all over the world including Ethiopia, Kenya, South America and Asia. Guests came away with an enhanced understanding of the methods used to produce and roast coffee, and how in different regions, these processes impact taste profile.

The birthplace of coffee, the Kaffa Region in Ethiopia – which gave its name to coffee – grows only Arabica beans. Shared coffee remains central to Ethiopian culture and heritage.