Promoting tradition as well as beans, Ethiopian coffee shops find fans far from home

By ALMAZ ABEDJE
Associated Press

LONDON (AP) — When Yared Markos moved to London a quarter century ago, he didn’t see any Ethiopian coffee shops. Now, there are more than a dozen all over a city where tea, coffee’s counterpart, has been a staple for centuries. Markos and other Ethiopian coffee sellers in London say they hope to convey to people outside Ethiopia that drinking coffee is a communal experience and an important tradition back home. And since the London-based International Coffee Organization has declared this Sunday, Oct. 1, as International Coffee Day, what better time and way to learn about its origins?