Africans urged to drink more of their coffee

By Helen Nyambura

NAIROBI, March 9 (Reuters) - You must enjoy coffee and love while they are hot, the Ethiopians say.

They should know. As early converts to coffee, they drink about half the amount produced annually by Ethiopia.

The story is quite different in neighbouring producer countries where less than one percent of their coffee is consumed locally, industry figures show.

Ethiopia prides itself as the birthplace of coffee with many of its beans plucked from bushes growing in the wild.

"We encourage local consumption of coffee, because it is the driving force behind the industry," said Kassahun Hurtu, marketing manager of the Ethiopian Coffee and Tea Authority.

More...