Ethiopian Food Tour Addis Ababa: Learn to Bake Injera

Shop Merkato's spice stalls, bake injera with a local family, taste what you make

A 6-hour food tour in Addis Ababa where you shop ingredients at Merkato market, learn to bake injera (Ethiopia's national flatbread) from a local cook at Mount Entoto, attend a traditional Ethiopian coffee ceremony, and eat a full meal at a typical restaurant. Hotel pickup is included, and the tour runs in English, Spanish, French or German with a professional guide.

Step-by-step itinerary

Explore Addis Ababa food culture

• Meet guide at hotel
• Drive to Atikilt Tera vegetable market
• Shop for ingredients at vegetable section
• Visit Merkato spice market
• See Kotcho bread ingredients
• Explore dairy products area
• Stop at Entoto Park for city views
• Drive to local family at Mount Entoto
• Learn to bake Injera flatbread
• Prepare Shiro Be Kibe dish
• Attend traditional Ethiopian Coffee Ceremony
• Dine at Taytu Hotel traditional restaurant
• Visit Tej Bet for honey wine tasting
• Optional stop at supermarket for coffee

The experience

The tour starts at your hotel and heads straight to Merkato, the continent's largest open-air market. You walk through the vegetable section buying produce for the cooking class, then move through the spice market where your guide explains the local flavors, and stop at the dairy area to see homemade cheese, butter and nitre kibe (clarified butter infused with spices). A ten-minute walk takes you to the section where Kotcho, a south Ethiopian bread made from enset root, is prepared and sold. By the time you leave Merkato, you've handled the actual ingredients Ethiopians use every day.

After a quick stop at Entoto Park for views over the city, you drive to a local family home at Mount Entoto. There you learn to bake injera. The spongy flatbread made from teff grain that serves as both plate and utensil in Ethiopian meals. You try baking it yourself the way locals do, then taste what you've made. Using the spices you picked at the market, you also learn to prepare Shiro Be Kibe, a traditional stew. Next comes the Ethiopian Coffee Ceremony: you watch the whole process from washing and roasting the beans to hand-pounding them, boiling, and the three rounds of service that are central to Ethiopian social life.

Lunch happens at Taytu Hotel or another traditional restaurant where you eat varieties of Ethiopian dishes from different regions of the country, using your hands and sharing from a communal platter. On the way back to your hotel, you stop at a tej bet to taste tej, a honey-based mead drink. The tour includes two glasses of tej per person, the coffee ceremony, home-cooked food at the family's home, and a professional English-speaking guide. Other languages are available on request.

What’s included

• Hotel or airport pickup and drop-off.
• entrance fee for the local family's home and food preparation class.
• Ethiopian Coffee Ceremony attendance and coffee service.
• two glasses of tej (Ethiopian honey wine) per person.
• home-cooked Ethiopian food at the family's home.
• full lunch at a traditional restaurant.
• professional English-speaking guide (other languages available).

Before you book

Days and timesEvery day5 departure times: the first at 08:30, the last at 12:00

Book up to12h before

GroupPrivate

Live guideEnglish, Spanish, French and German

Meeting point and pickupHotel pickup included.

Cancellation and refundsFree cancellation up to 24 h before the start. After that, no refund.

Prices and times updated today

Good to know

Easy physical levelInfants must sit on laps

Operated by Merit Ethiopian Experience Tours

Is this one for you?This tour works best for travelers who want hands-on cooking instruction rather than just tasting food. You're baking injera and preparing dishes yourself, not watching a demonstration. The pace mixes market walking, time at a family home, and restaurant dining, so it suits anyone comfortable with a mix of activity and sitting down to eat over the course of a morning and early afternoon.

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Top questions

What languages is the guide in?

Live guide in English, Spanish, French and German.

What exactly is injera and why do Ethiopians eat it with their hands?

Injera is a spongy flatbread made from teff, a gluten-free grain native to Ethiopia. It serves as both plate and utensil: you tear off pieces and use them to scoop up stews and other dishes, then eat the bread itself. On this tour you bake it at a local family home and taste it fresh.

How much walking is involved at Merkato market?

You walk through several sections of Merkato (the vegetable area, spice market, the enset bread section, and the dairy products area) covering roughly ten minutes of walking through the market itself. Comfortable shoes are recommended.

Is the Ethiopian Coffee Ceremony just watching, or do I participate?

You attend and experience the ceremony as a guest. The local family or guide walks you through the entire process: washing the beans, roasting them on an iron pan, hand-pounding, boiling, and serving three rounds of coffee, which is how the ceremony traditionally unfolds.

Is lunch included, and what if I have dietary restrictions?

Lunch at a traditional Ethiopian restaurant is included as part of the tour. You should advise any specific dietary requirements at the time of booking so the operator can arrange accordingly.