Coffee ceremony
Buna
The Ethiopian coffee ceremony - roasted, ground and brewed at your table, poured across three rounds.
Origin
Coffee comes from Ethiopia
Coffea arabica originates in the forests of the Ethiopian highlands - that much is botanically established. The stories that grew around it, such as the goatherd Kaldi, are legend, and we pass them on as legend.
What is certain is that in Ethiopia coffee is not drunk in passing. It is prepared, and it is prepared together.
The process
What happens at the table
Roasting - the green beans are roasted in a shallow pan over a flame until they darken and begin to crack. The pan is carried around the table so everyone can take in the aroma.
Grinding - by hand, in a mortar or a mill, immediately afterwards.
Brewing - in the jebena, a round-bellied clay pot with a long neck. The coffee comes to the boil twice, resting in between.
Pouring - from a height into small handleless cups, in one continuous movement. Often accompanied by incense and roasted barley.
Abol, tona, baraka
Three rounds are poured. The first is the strongest; the third is considered a blessing. To leave after the first is to miss more than coffee.