Coffee Culture
Coffee Ceremony
A ritualized coffee preparation and serving tradition, most famously practiced in Ethiopia and Eritrea, where green beans are roasted, ground, and brewed in a clay pot (jebena) as a communal social event.
En détail
The Ethiopian coffee ceremony (buna) is a multi-hour affair involving three rounds of increasingly lighter brews from the same grounds, called abol, tona, and baraka. The host roasts green beans over charcoal in a flat pan, grinds them by hand with a mortar and pestle, and brews in a jebena—a round-bottomed clay pot with a narrow spout. Incense (often frankincense) is burned alongside the roasting. The ceremony is both a social institution and a spiritual practice, representing hospitality, community, and respect. Each round of coffee is accompanied by conversation, and leaving before the third round is considered impolite.