You can buy a good cup of coffee almost anywhere in Israel. There are over 1,500 cafes scattered throughout the country, and that's without counting hotels, restaurants and our own homes. The indispensable morning cuppa already a warm memory, walk down any downtown street at around three in the afternoon, and you'll smell the delicious odor of fresh coffee wafting out from stores and offices: workers at every level reviving flagging energies with a healthy shot of caffeine. Israel doesn't produce coffee, but the coffee industry here is worth almost $1 billion a year, that is, NIS 3.5b. Ambassador Yitzhak Eldan produced that statistic at Diplocoffee, a multicultural, international meeting of diplomats from coffee-producing countries and local businessmen. An initiative of the Ambassador's Club of Israel, the exhibit brought together diplomatic representatives from 17 coffee-producing countries at a festive evening to talk about their coffee exports and show off their national pride in them. The event followed a new trend from France called gastrodiplomacy. “Food is part of diplomacy. A good way to get together, pass messages and socialize is to invite someone to eat with you and drink coffee. A country's gastronomy is also part of its image, affecting economy and tourism,” says Eldan. It all began with the Ambassadors' Club, founded five years ago by Eldan, who had a distinguished 41-year diplomatic career, including serving as Israel's ambassador to Denmark, UNESCO and the Council of Europe, as well as minister plenipotentiary in France. In North America, Eldan served as Israel's Consul in Houston, Montreal and Los Angeles. Members of the club are the 85 foreign envoys in Israel and the honorary consuls, who are all Israelis nominated by foreign countries. “In addition, we have honorary members who are businessmen,” says the soft-spoken Eldan. “One of our most important aims is to bring together the ambassadors with Israelis and Israeli businessmen, in order to encourage business activity and cultural and social activities – anything that can bring diplomats closer to Israel and the complex Israeli reality.” Tal Bodenstein, owner of the Loveat cafe chain, hosted the Diplocoffee event in his flagship branch at the Tel Aviv Port. On a chilly evening, with the dark sea splashing behind the boardwalk, hot, dark coffee poured by a diplomat was a welcome experience. Following the long tables set with coffee services and typical artifacts from each country, this reporter sipped her way through brews light and heavy, bitter and sweet. The Colombian delegation offered coffee spiked with a little rum. A lovely Panamanian girl in sweeping traditional dress posed with ruffled skirt held out. A Nepalese lady swathed in delicate shawls poured the coffee of her country into demitasse cups, while her daughter, wearing a sari and many bracelets, stood by smiling. It was a heady mix of nationalities and people of every color and accent, all in a spirit of friendliness. While it wasn't surprising to find Costa Rica, Ethiopia and Kenya represented, this reporter didn't know that coffee is an important export product of Vietnam and Thailand. And very good those coffees are, too. At the end of the hall, the Ethiopian exhibit caught everyone's attention. A lady in flowing white muslin sat on a low stool, brewing coffee on a clay brazier with live coals in it. She poured the hot, fragrant liquid from a black earthenware coffee pot that looked like it had emerged from Aladdin's cave. Francesco Maria Talò, the Italian ambassador, was guest of honor as representing a “coffee superpower.” A certificate of appreciation decorated with the 17 national flags was presented to each diplomat. “I intend to organize other events around the gastrodiplomacy theme,” says Eldad. “We are organizing a round-table event where seven foreign chefs will come to cook with Israeli chefs over several days. It will be a private initiative with the support of the Tel Aviv municipality and the Ambassador's Club. We are also planning a wine festival before Passover at Ramat Hanadiv in Zichron Ya'acov, inviting the international diplomatic community to participate. “We discovered that this kind of event, the first in Israel, promotes business, tourism and plain friendliness. Diplocoffee opens a window of opportunity for the coffee industry in Israel, where Jewish and Arab businessmen get to know the great coffee suppliers,” Eldad sums up.
