Coffee in Ethiopia With a Typical Middle-Class Family

When I was in Ethiopia, I had the honor to be invited to a wonderful family's home for coffee. This household was a modern, urban, and in my judgment, thriving family, and probably in the top 10% of wealth in the country, probably approximately average by urban standards. This is not in a rural village but in a modern city.

I don't think there are any Starbuck's in Ethiopia. However, coffee is highly savored in the country (it is also one of the big crops grown domestically), and most every family gets together with friends every afternoon for the coffee ceremony, which is a very important tradition in Ethiopia.

This invitation offered a humungous opportunity for me to experience how a typical middle-class family in Ethiopia lives. The family consisted of a husband, a wife (SAHM, I think), and a young child. Also, a few neighbors came over to have coffee.

The most remarkable thing about this family was their house. It was approximately 100 square feet in area (about the same size as my old apartment in college), and about 1/3'rd was taken by the bed. At the foot of the bed were some storage containers for food (rice, etc.). The middle 1/3'rd was mostly open space, with a small cabinet which carried household utensils and other items. The last 1/3'rd was dedicated to the sofa, as well as clothing storage (in suitcases), plus a small TV (with satellite service).

There was no kitchen per se, but they used bucket of coals as stove for cooking stuff, and that could be done either indoors or outdoors. They had several basic kitchen appliances, which they used to prepare food, although far more primitive than what we have in America. Keep reading for more details.

There was no running water or sanitary facilities inside.

They owned few things. Not much junk or clutter, just the essentials plus a few goodies. Very well-organized home, and very space efficient.

Now, time to make coffee!

Roasting the coffee beans. This is done with a small coal stove inside the house (the blue metal bucket), with the beans in a pan.



Boiling the water, in a cast iron pot outside the front door, over coals:



Grinding the coffee beans:



Pouring the brewed coffee (also, popcorn!):



Everybody is happy after drinking coffee & eating popcorn!



The ironic thing about the coffee was during the whole time Pimp My Ride was playing on the TV (MTV Arabia). I wondered how a family who would never be able to afford even a beater car would respond to a show about people in the wealthiest country on the planet feeling sorry for themselves because they did not have the shiniest vehicle on the block. It ended up they weren't paying any attention to it. They were too busy enjoying the coffee and enjoying each other's company to take notice.

The big question for me is how much money did they make and what did their budget look like?

I don't know the answer to either question, but I'm going to guess, based on what I learned about how much they earned and approximate reading of general prices in that country. Note that these are not actual numbers but my estimates only and may be incorrect. They probably would have told me if I asked, but I didn't want to be too nosy.

• Income - $250 / mo.
• House Rent - $50 / mo.
• Food - $100 / mo.
• Satellite TV service - $20 / mo.
• Electricity - $10 / mo. (no refrigeration, no A/C)
• Fuel (Coal) - $10 / mo.
• Transportation - $20 / mo.
• Spending - $20 / mo.
• Cell phone service - $20 / mo.

In my view their low living cost was driven from their small house. Everything else derived from not having a million bedrooms to vacuum, a light bulb to change in every closet, an island kitchen with a granite countertop and a dozen different faucets, a humongous refrigerator sucking all sorts of power, a fancy bathroom with a thousand and one expensive tiles, or a two car garage. Think about that, and then ask: what do I have which they don't? My living expenses are way higher than theirs, but I don't really have any fundamental comfort in life which they don't. Think about anything you spend money on beyond the above categories and think about what it is buying you. What is preventing me from living like them? When I boil down what I truly value and want in life, they had it all, and then some.

Never heard them complain about high gas prices, or high food prices, or even a peep about times being tough. They seemed to be some of the most genuinely satisfied and genuinely happy people I've ever met anywhere. And they had a lot more love, and lot more family together time than most American families I know. Of course, they were newlyweds, with a young child.

I bet their general income level, lifestyle, and accommodations are probably shared by somewhere around 1 or 2 billion people on the planet - large swaths of urban Africa, plus Latin America, plus humongous population all over Asia which would make this level of living far more typical of human beings than the American style of living. Something to think about.

I now return you back to your regularly scheduled Supersized American Lifestyle ...