Buna ceremony

The Ethiopian coffee ceremony — buna — is coffee’s original ritual, performed in homes daily and lasting one to two hours.

The sequence

Roasting. Green beans are washed and roasted in a flat pan over coals, in front of the guests. The pan is carried around so everyone can smell the smoke.

Grinding. Traditionally with a wooden mortar and pestle, a mukecha.

Brewing. In a jebena — a round-bottomed clay pot with a long neck — brought to the boil, sometimes twice, then poured from height into small handleless cups.

Three rounds

Abol — the first and strongest. Tona — the second. Baraka — the third, meaning blessing.

Leaving before the third is impolite. The point is the duration, not the caffeine.

The accompaniments

Incense burning throughout, fresh grass strewn on the floor, and popcorn or roasted barley served alongside.

Making it elsewhere

A jebena is inexpensive and widely sold. What does not travel is the two hours.

Who performs it

The ceremony is usually led by a woman of the household, who sits low before a small table, the rekebot, set with the cups. Guests are invited with the words buna tetu, roughly “come and drink coffee”. Conversation is the point: news, disputes and decisions are talked over across the three rounds, and turning down the invitation is a small rudeness.

Doing it at home

• Roast a small handful of green coffee, about 50 g (1.8 oz), in a heavy pan over medium heat, shaking constantly, for ten to fifteen minutes until the beans are dark brown and glossy. Let the smoke drift through the room, as tradition demands.
• Grind fairly fine, by mortar and pestle or a burr grinder.
• Boil about 500 ml (17 oz) of water in the jebena, add the coffee, and let it rise to the boil again.
• Rest the pot on its side or on a ring for a few minutes so the grounds settle.
• Pour in a single steady stream from height into small cups, without stirring the pot. A tuft of horsehair or a small strainer in the spout holds back the grounds.

For the second and third rounds, water is added to the same grounds, so each round is lighter than the last.

How it is taken

Usually with sugar, sometimes with salt in the countryside, and in some regions with a little butter or a sprig of rue, called tena adam. The coffee is strong, unfiltered and thick, nearer Turkish coffee than filter coffee.