Ethiopian Buna
ቡናBOO-na
Green coffee roasted in a pan in front of the guests, crushed in a mortar, boiled in a clay pot and poured into small cups three times over two hours. The cup is strong, thick and fruity. The ceremony is the point, and the coffee is better for it.
At a glance
- Coffee : water
- 1:12
- Active time
- 20 min
- Total time
- 35 min
- Makes
- 6 small cups
- Serve
- Hot, three rounds
- Kit
- Jebena + pan
Ingredients
Note: Roasting your own green beans is the heart of the ceremony. If you start from roasted beans, use 55 g of a medium roast and skip to the grinding step.
Method
-
Wash and roast the beans
Rinse the green beans and shake them dry. Roast them in a heavy pan over medium heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, for twelve to fifteen minutes, until they crack and turn a glossy medium-dark brown.
In the ceremony the pan is carried round so every guest can smell the smoke. This is where the coffee's aroma is made.
Roast 12 to 15 minutes -
Cool and pound
Tip the beans onto a plate to cool for a few minutes, then crush them in a mortar to a medium-fine powder, finer than filter, coarser than Turkish.
-
Boil in the jebena
Bring the water to the boil in the jebena, or a small saucepan. Add the coffee, stir, and return it to the heat. Let it boil up, take it off, and do this two or three times until the coffee is thick and dark.
Boil 5 minutes -
Settle it
Rest the jebena on its ring stand at an angle, or let the saucepan stand, for five minutes so the grounds settle. Some people push a tuft of horsehair or a twist of cloth into the spout as a filter.
Settle 5 minutes -
Pour the first round, abol
Put sugar in each cup and pour in one steady stream from height, moving from cup to cup without stopping, so the grounds stay in the pot. This first round is abol, the strongest.
-
Second and third rounds
Add more water to the same grounds, boil again and pour the second round, tona. Repeat for the third, baraka, the blessing. Each is lighter than the last.
Leaving before the third round is impolite. It is the one that is meant to bless the house.
Each round 5 to 10 minutes
Why this works
Roasting at the start of the ceremony is not only theatre. Coffee is at its most aromatic in the first hours and days after roasting, while it is still releasing the volatile compounds formed in the Maillard reactions and caramelisation inside the bean. Roasting minutes before brewing gives a cup with more aroma than almost anything bought roasted. A pan roast is also uneven, with some beans darker than others, which gives the coffee a layered, slightly smoky flavour.
Boiling is right for this coffee in a way it would not be for a pour-over. The grind is fairly coarse and there is no pressure or filter, so the coffee needs high heat and several rises to extract enough. The repeated boiling and resting also settles the grounds, and the jebena's long neck and narrow spout keep most of them in the pot when the coffee is poured in one steady stream.
The three rounds extract the same grounds three times. Abol is concentrated and full, tona is lighter, and baraka is gentle and mostly ceremonial. The order matters less as chemistry than as a social structure: a single ceremony takes the better part of two hours, and it is where news is shared and disputes are settled.
Ethiopia is where Coffea arabica comes from. The plant grows wild in the forests of the south west, and the country still drinks about half of the coffee it grows. The story of Kaldi, a goatherd who noticed his goats dancing after eating coffee cherries, is a legend first written down centuries later. That coffee came from these forests is not.
Variations
- With salt: a pinch of salt in the cup instead of sugar, common in some rural areas.
- With butter: a small piece of niter kibbeh or butter in the cup, in parts of the south.
- With spices: korerima, cinnamon or a sprig of rue, the spiced buna.
- With milk: buna with milk is common in Addis cafés but never in the ceremony.
Roasting beans produces a lot of smoke, and a hot pan and charcoal are part of the ceremony. Ventilate well, keep the brazier on a heatproof surface, and never use charcoal indoors without good airflow.
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Questions
What is the Ethiopian coffee ceremony?
A ritual in which green coffee is roasted, ground and brewed in a clay jebena in front of guests, then served in three rounds called abol, tona and baraka, usually with incense and popcorn.
What are abol, tona and baraka?
The three rounds of the ceremony. Abol is the first and strongest, tona the second, and baraka the third, lighter round, which is said to bless the house.
How long does an Ethiopian coffee ceremony take?
Usually one and a half to two hours for all three rounds. It is a social occasion as much as a way of making coffee.
Can I make buna without a jebena?
Yes. A small saucepan for boiling and a jug for settling and pouring work well. The jebena's narrow spout helps keep the grounds back.
Why is popcorn served at the coffee ceremony?
It is the traditional snack, along with roasted barley or bread. It is easy to make while the coffee brews and is shared among the guests.