Eritrean Coffee Ceremony

The Eritrean coffee ceremony is, in the words of Eritrea’s Ministry of Information, the country’s “undisputed, most revered domestic tradition”. Green coffee is roasted over coals in front of the guests, ground by hand, boiled in a clay jebena, often with crushed ginger, and poured from a height into small handleless cups called finjal. It’s served over three rounds, awel, kalay and bereka, and the whole thing takes one to two hours. It’s close to the Ethiopian ceremony, but it has its own tools, names and touches. Here’s how it unfolds.

The short version

• Roast, grind and boil, all in front of the guests.
• A one-spout jebena for filling and pouring, set over a charcoal brazier.
• Ginger is often crushed into the brew, more of it in the lowlands.
• Three rounds: awel (strongest), kalay and bereka (the blessing).
• One to two hours, with frankincense, fresh grass and snacks such as popcorn.

What happens in the Eritrean coffee ceremony?

The ministry describes it as an ancient social ritual that puts hospitality, community and conversation ahead of a quick caffeine fix. People gather to exchange news, talk over family matters and strengthen ties with neighbours, and it’s offered when friends visit, at festivities and as part of daily life. Wikipedia notes that if coffee is politely declined, tea (shahee) is usually served instead.

The setting matters. The ceremony takes place over a floor mat covered in fresh green grass, which the ministry says symbolises vitality and fruitfulness. Frankincense burns throughout; one Eritrean family account says some households won’t drink their coffee without frankincense and myrrh in the air. Snacks such as popcorn, roasted barley, raisins and fresh bread come round on trays.

What tools do you need?

The ministry calls the full set the akuhut bun, a set of household objects often passed down through generations or put together on marriage:

Tool	Tigrinya name	What it does
Roasting pan	Menkeshkesh	A long-handled metal pan for roasting green beans over coals
Cooling basket	Meshrefet	A small woven basket, shaken to release the chaff and pass the aroma round
Mortar and pestle	Megudi bun	Wooden or metal, for grinding the roasted beans by hand
Coffee pot	Jebena	The clay pot the coffee boils and settles in
Brazier	Fernielo	The charcoal stove the jebena sits on
Cups	Finjal	Small, handleless ceramic cups

Nearly every Eritrean home, the ministry says, has a low coffee cabinet for these things: finjal displayed on top, sugar, incense and spare tools in the drawers.

How is the Eritrean jebena different?

Both countries brew in a clay jebena, but the shape differs. Eritrea’s Ministry of Information says the Eritrean jebena is a spherical pot with a single spout used for both filling and pouring. Wikipedia’s jebena article agrees: Ethiopian jebenas usually have a separate, lower spout for pouring the coffee out, which most Eritrean jebenas don’t have. The ministry adds that metal vessels are also used in some places alongside clay ones.

How is the coffee made, step by step?

1. Roast the green beans in the menkeshkesh over hot coals. One family account says the roast is medium-dark, stopping just as the oils begin to show.
2. Cool the beans in the meshrefet and waft the smoke towards each guest, so everyone can enjoy the aroma.
3. Grind them in the mortar. The same account describes a medium-fine grind, finer than for drip coffee but not quite espresso.
4. Boil: mix the grounds with a little water, add them to the jebena, which already holds some water, and set it on the coals. Crushed ginger often goes in.
5. Pour off and return: each time it bubbles up, pour some out into a cup and back into the pot, then return it to the heat. The account says this happens perhaps five times.
6. Serve: pour into the finjal in one continuous stream from a foot or more above the cups, which the ministry says creates a delicate froth without spilling. Wikipedia notes the stream doesn’t stop between cups, which keeps the grounds out of the coffee, and that a filter of horsehair or another material is sometimes placed in the spout.

What are awel, kalay and bereka?

Round	Meaning	Character
Awel	First	The potent first brew, which the ministry says sets the tone for the conversation
Kalay (kale’i)	Second	Medium strength, from water added to the same grounds
Bereka	Blessing	The final, lightest cup, which brings a blessing of peace and good fortune to the household
Dereja	Fourth	Listed by Wikipedia as an extra round, not always poured, mostly when elders are present

The ministry describes the rounds moving from a thick, potent first cup to a lighter final one. In Ethiopia’s Amharic, the three rounds are called abol, tona and baraka.

Why ginger, and how does it vary?

The ministry says ginger is crushed directly into the brew in many regions, adding a spicy kick that cuts through the daily heat and leaves a warmth in the throat. In the warmer lowlands, it says, the coffee comes in slightly smaller finjal, with more ginger and a sharper taste, and the ceremony is held several times a day to break up the heat. The core ritual, it says, stays the same from Karora in the far north to Rahayta in the south.

There are omens too. Walk in just as the first round is being poured, and you’ll hear that your mother-in-law loves you, the ministry says, because you’ve arrived at the luckiest moment.

Is espresso popular in Eritrea too?

Yes, alongside the ceremony. Wikipedia notes that, after the Italian colonial period, Italian-style espresso and cappuccino are served in practically every bar and coffee shop in Asmara, the capital, often on original Italian machines. The ceremony remains the centre of coffee at home.

General guidance only. Roasting over coals and boiling in clay involve open flames, smoke and very hot pots: keep the area ventilated, never leave a brazier unattended, and handle the jebena with care.

Eritrean coffee ceremony vs other methods

• Ethiopian jebena buna: the closely related Ethiopian ceremony, with its two-spout jebena and abol, tona and baraka.
• Turkish coffee: another unfiltered coffee, boiled in a cezve.
• Arabic coffee: light-roast coffee with cardamom, poured from a dallah.
• Yemeni qishr: coffee husks brewed with ginger.

Explore every boiled method in the boiled chapter.