Ingredients
Coffee
- 250 ggreen coffee beans, unroasted
- water, for washing
- 1.5 litreswater, for brewing
To serve
- sugar, generously
- or salt, in some regions
- or a little niter kibbeh
Alongside
- popcorn
- or kolo, roasted barley
- or himbasha bread
- incense, to burn
- fresh grass, for the floor
Equipment
- a jebena, clay coffee pot
- a flat roasting pan
- a mukecha and zenezena, mortar and pestle
- small handleless cups, sini
Directions
- Rinse them well in cold water. Rub them between your two hands. Pick out any stones or damaged beans. Drain them thoroughly afterwards.
- Heat a flat pan over a charcoal brazier. A heavy dry frying pan works at home. Add the washed beans in a single layer. Stir them constantly with a flat tool. Never let them sit still at all.
- Oil begins to show on the surface. Judging when to stop takes practice. Take them off before they go black. It takes about fifteen minutes in total.
- Let the beans cool for a few minutes. Put them in the mukecha, a heavy mortar. Pound them with the zenezena, a long pestle. Pound rather than grind in circles.
- Keep going until it is a coarse powder. It takes several minutes of real work. Fill the jebena up with water. Set it on the coals and bring it to a boil. Add the ground coffee to the boiling water. Let it boil right up just once.
- Take it off before it boils over. That is done two or three times. Take the jebena off the heat now. Let it stand for several minutes. Pouring it is done with some ceremony.
- Salt is used in some regions instead. Add fresh water to the same grounds. Boil it again for the tona round.
Technique
- Arabica coffee is native to Ethiopia’s southwestern forests, with the Kaffa region often named as its home, so the ceremony belongs to the place the crop itself came from.
- The same grounds are brewed three times as abol, tona and baraka, the last meaning blessing, and leaving before the third round is impolite since the ceremony is not finished until it is drunk.
- The jebena is a round-bottomed clay pot whose shape holds the grounds at the bottom while the brewed coffee pours clear from the spout.
Substitutions
- A heavy dry frying pan stands in for the charcoal brazier and roasting pan.
- A grinder can replace the mukecha and zenezena, though it changes the ritual.
Variations
- Sugar is added generously in most of Ethiopia, salt in some regions and niter kibbeh in others.
- Popcorn, roasted barley or himbasha bread are served alongside.
- Similar coffee ceremonies are performed in Eritrea and among Ethiopian communities abroad.
History
Arabica coffee is native to Ethiopia’s southwestern forests; the ceremony roasts, pounds and brews it in a jebena through three rounds, abol, tona and baraka.
Frequently asked questions
What is Ethiopian coffee ceremony?
Ethiopian coffee ceremony is a drink from Ethiopia: beans roasted, ground and brewed in a jebena, served in three rounds. Arabica coffee is native to Ethiopia’s southwestern forests; the ceremony roasts, pounds and brews it in a jebena through three rounds, abol, tona and baraka.
How long does Ethiopian coffee ceremony take to make?
Ethiopian coffee ceremony takes 20 minutes of preparation and 1 hour of cooking. The recipe makes serves 6, three rounds. It is rated medium to make.
What can I substitute in Ethiopian coffee ceremony?
Yes, within limits. A heavy dry frying pan stands in for the charcoal brazier and roasting pan. A grinder can replace the mukecha and zenezena, though it changes the ritual.
What is the most important thing to get right in Ethiopian coffee ceremony?
Heat a flat pan over a charcoal brazier. A heavy dry frying pan works at home. Add the washed beans in a single layer. Stir them constantly with a flat tool. Never let them sit still at all.
