i was so lucky to meet a diplomat from the "coffee country"!
2024-09-23
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beijing, september 17 (xinhua) -- the 2024 china international fair for trade in services was held in beijing from september 12 to 16. as reporters covering this year's fair, my colleagues and i walked through the bustling exhibition halls, not wanting to miss anything interesting. a burst of rich coffee aroma aroused our interest.
following the scent, i saw an area in the ethiopian booth with low tables on the ground. the small coffee cups on the tables were printed with bright patterns, which attracted special attention. the organizers handed small cups of black coffee to visitors from time to time. after a light taste, the fruit acidity was soft and the floral and fruity aroma was rich. it was a high-quality medium-light roasted coffee.
a passerby who didn't speak english asked me to tell the lady who made the coffee that the coffee was delicious, so i naturally acted as an interpreter for them. we learned from the way the staff next to us addressed her that she was the minister extraordinary and plenipotentiary of the ethiopian embassy in china - monteha jemo.
in the "stereotyped" impression, diplomats are always associated with press conferences, celebration ceremonies, international affairs, etc. seeing my doubts, jemo patiently explained that diplomats do not always read documents and make speeches solemnly. the traditional ethiopian coffee ceremony is part of the tourism industry. making coffee at the services trade fair and promoting her country and culture to as many people as possible is also her job.
around the coffee table, local straw containers are placed in an orderly manner, containing popcorn snacks that can be tasted with coffee. jemo turned the booth of the services trade fair into a living room with ethiopian style.
on september 13, monteha jemo (right), minister extraordinary and plenipotentiary of the ethiopian embassy in china, promoted ethiopian coffee beans at the 2024 china international fair for trade in services (mobile phone photo). xinhua news agency reporter wang kewenethiopia is located in northeastern africa and is known as the "homeland of coffee". it is an important coffee producer in the world. jemo said that ethiopian coffee beans are famous for their high quality, but the entire process of planting, production, processing, transportation, and cross-border sales is relatively long. she hopes to promote ethiopian coffee beans through this services trade fair to increase product awareness and recognition. in addition, ethiopia's high-quality avocados, soybeans, sesame, and tourism are also worth mentioning.
workers sort roasted coffee beans at a coffee processing factory in addis ababa, the capital of ethiopia, on june 8 (mobile phone photo). xinhua news agency reporter liu fangqiangjemo said this was her first time attending the ciftis in china. she said the ciftis has brought new opportunities for the development of ethiopia's tourism industry and bilateral trade between ethiopia and china, and "doing business with china means opportunities", and ethiopia hopes to seize this opportunity.
ethiopia has made a lot of efforts to promote coffee. in march 2019, the ethiopian embassy established the ethiopian coffee culture center, which focuses on the dissemination of ethiopian coffee culture and services for the entire industry chain, increases the added value of coffee farmers' labor, and conducts offline cultural exchange and promotion activities in shanghai, qingdao, wuhan and other places.
on january 31, 2024, coffee shop staff were making coffee drinks at the african coffee trading center in gaoqiao market, hunan province. photo by xinhua news agency reporter chen sihanas we chatted, jemo took out the raw coffee beans, set up a small pot on the electric stove, and showed us how to roast the beans. the raw beans are grayish green in color, and they need to be constantly shaken and stir-fried after being put into the pot to allow them to be evenly heated. as time goes by, the beans gradually become darker in color, and they make fine "peep, pep" sounds in the pot, and the rich aroma gradually spreads. when the beans turn dark brown and the surface oozes oil, the roasting is complete.
jemo poured the roasted beans into a wooden mortar bowl, crushed the beans with a wooden pestle, and introduced us to ethiopia's coffee culture: drinking coffee is an important social outlet for ethiopians, "everyone gets together to enjoy it." it is a great occasion for friends and family to gather, communicate and share, and coffee has long become an important part of local people's lives.
on september 13, monteha jemo (left), minister extraordinary and plenipotentiary of the ethiopian embassy in china, was interviewed by xinhua news agency reporters at the 2024 china international fair for trade in services (mobile phone photo). xinhua news agency reporter wang nanaccording to ethiopian tradition, the ground coffee is poured into a traditional narrow-mouthed pot and then everyone sits around to taste it, accompanied by snacks such as popcorn and roasted chickpeas. i tasted the traditional ethiopian coffee made by the minister himself and was very curious about the whole process.
when asked what she thought of the popular drip coffee, jemo smiled and said, "i still prefer the traditional ethiopian coffee brewing method. this is our own culture."
when we were leaving, i praised her as a beautiful postcard of ethiopia, and she responded with a hearty laugh. she continued to sit at the crowded site of the services trade fair, introducing her country's specialties to visitors. although this year's services trade fair has closed, more exciting stories are happening because of it. (reporters: wang kewen, wang nan; video: dong yalei)
