The Ethiopian coffee ceremony

What it is

The ceremony is usually led by a woman of the household. She spreads fresh grass on the floor, lights incense, and sits on a low stool beside a small charcoal stove. The beans are washed and roasted in a flat pan until dark and shiny. They are pounded in a mortar and added to water in a jebena, a round-bodied clay pot with a long neck. The coffee is poured in a thin stream from a height into small cups without handles.

Three rounds

The same grounds are brewed three times. The first round is called abol and is the strongest. The second is tona. The third is baraka, which means blessing. Staying for all three is the polite thing to do. Coffee is taken with sugar in most regions, with salt or spiced butter in some, and in the countryside sometimes with a sprig of rue. A snack comes with it, commonly popcorn, roasted barley or bread.

Why it matters

The ceremony is where neighbours meet, news is exchanged and disputes are settled. Elders are served first, and the youngest child often carries the cups. It marks visits, holidays and mourning alike. For a visitor it is the easiest way into an Ethiopian or Eritrean home, and traditional restaurants keep a corner set up for it. Coffee shops in the cities now sell quick espresso, but the ceremony at home has not been replaced.

How to do it

1. Sit where you are shown and greet the person making the coffee.
2. When the pan of roasted beans is brought round, waft the smoke toward you and breathe it in.
3. Take the cup with your right hand.
4. Praise the coffee. It is expected.
5. Stay for the third cup, the cup of blessing.

Good manners

• Do not leave after the first round unless you must. Explain if you do.
• Let elders be served before you.
• Do not ask for milk. Take it as it is offered.

What is eaten

HimbashaEthiopian and Eritrean sweet bread decorated with a wheel patternDabo koloSmall spiced fried dough pieces served as a snack in Ethiopia and EritreaInjeraLarge, spongy sour flatbread made from fermented teff flour

Also part of it, and being written: Popcorn.

Sources and further reading

• Coffee ceremony of Ethiopia and Eritrea on Wikipedia
• Ethiopia.travel: official tourism site of Ethiopia