Ethiopian Coffee tradition

Tell the story: a day like any other, back in six hundred, a shepherd named Kaldi who lived in Gimma, province of Kaffa in Ethiopia, he went out with his goats mountain. The mountains were lush, rich and full of colorful grasses that gave him a huge variety of plants. Kaldi awoke from a nap because his goats behaving strangely: They were nervous, They not stop jumping and stir. He watched the animals and found that everything began when they ate a tasty red berries growing in clusters on a bush.

He cut a branch of that kind of cherries and took a wise priest who had a convent in the valley. The priest, after hearing the story told Kaldi, He decided to cook those fleshy fruits. The result was so bitter that contemptuously threw branches Fire. But at that moment, the pleasant smell peeled roasted seeds to the embers of the fire, It made them think that animals could not be wrong when they returned again and again to eat fruit in the bushes ingrown.

That was as pastor and Abun (priest) Wise found that roasting seeds could make a rich and stimulating infusion, which they called “Bunna” (Café). The first use which gave the priests to this new infusion was to transcribe the Bible, and they did so handwritten. And the pastor and never failed -after forces to prepare an infusion of Bunna– climb the mountain with her goats.

Coffee in Ethiopia over the years became a beautiful ceremony performed by women in every household in times of celebration or welcome, with symbolism and aromas of incense to make it a magical and ancestral moment. Ethiopian coffee ceremony, O “fucking Bunna” as it is known in the Amharic language of Ethiopia, It is not designed for anyone in a hurry because the preparation takes time.

Women, usually dressed in traditional costumes, washed green coffee beans before roasting over the coals. After, carbon black beans are ground by hand in a mortar. Coffee and water are mixed together in the jar of black mud called “fucking“, which is located directly on the coals to that steam dispenser fucking.

The resulting coffee is dark, bitter and, as usual, It is sweetened with stacked teaspoons sugar. Almost always popcorn are served to accompany. If you have done right, the fucking Bunna it is delicious. But nevertheless, cups without handles extremely hot and filled beyond the limit, They are difficult to handle without burning.

tree“, the first cup, It is said to be the strongest and best. My coffee is light but full, Earthy and greasy at the same time. The second cup, “our“, It is made with the same coffee beans and reused which is weaker and the third, “division“, It is known as the "caminera".

If you are somewhere with someone who is preparing the Ethiopian coffee ceremony, do not hesitate to taste this delicious energy drink, you will enjoy the flavors and scents ancestral, well filled with energy.

Coffee is now a matter of state in Ethiopia, the way of life of a largely agrarian population and the basis of its foreign trade. Coffee originated in Ethiopia has, in the region of Kaffa, in the land of aromos where today the most prized varieties produced in the world: Sidamo, Yirgacheffe and Harar. Curiously called les Arabic, but, what could we do, Also for years he doubted that the Nile was born in Abissinia.

*For Ras Makuto *