A libation of first coffee before drinking is a daily ceremonial offering

Evidence

When he lifts the coffeepot from the stove the morning bustle stops; we know without being told that it’s time to pay attention. He stands at the edge of camp with the coffeepot in his hands, holding the top in place with a folded pot holder. He pours coffee out on the ground in a thick brown stream. The sunlight catches the flow, striping it amber and brown and black as it falls to the earth and steams in the cool morning air. With his face to the morning sun, he pours and speaks into the stillness, “Here’s to the gods of Tahawus.” … Then and only then does he pour out steaming cups of coffee for himself and my mother, who stands at the stove making pancakes. So begins each morning in the north woods: the words that come before all else. — Robin Wall Kimmerer, Braiding Sweetgrass, 121

Categorization

• ADDENDUM: Directly relevant to the sacrifice article’s libation theme and to the gift-circulation economics of ch6: the first draught is given away before any is kept, an enactment of gift logic through liquid poured to the land.