Here’s to drinking good coffee. 

I love coffee (we call coffee “buna” in Ethiopia).

A traditional coffee ceremony reminds me of home. Culture. Family gathering. Connection.

I love coffee so much that I do not prepare it like I clear the dinner dishes. I prepare coffee as a Japanese person performs a tea ceremony, with a level of concentration and care.

Here’re the steps of a traditional coffee ceremony:

. A fresh green grass on the floor (this is said to keep bad spirits).

. Identical handle-less demitasse cups on a wide wooden tray.

. Some incense on the fire on which the coffee is cooked, enveloping the inside of your room with a nice smelling smoke.

. Wash the coffee beans not because they are dirty but because the skin of the beans needs to be scrubbed off.

. Roast the coffee beans until they become black and shiny.

. Grind the coffee beans with a pestle and mortar to make a powder (in the city, we use a coffee machine to grind the coffee beans).

. Brew the coffee in a jebena, a small pot for making coffee, over charcoal.

. Once the coffee boils, you can’t drink it right away. You put the jebena away from the fire and let it rest for a few minutes.

. Carefully pour the hot coffee from as high as possible into the cups.

The first cup goes to the oldest person in the room.

Coffee is served in three rounds in Ethiopia. The first round is the strongest one. The second round is less strong. The third round is the weakest.

If you come to Ethiopia, you will see this traditional coffee ceremony when you’re invited to someone’s home.

In Addis Ababa, in most big buildings, on the ground floor, a woman brews coffee. If you want to drink coffee, you sit on one of the small wooden chairs surrounding the woman. And you will have your coffee in minutes.

Here’s to drinking good coffee and savoring it.