# Ethiopian Jebena Buna Source: https://dailyextraction.com/methods/jebena-buna/ Last updated: 2026-10-19 > Jebena buna is the Ethiopian coffee ceremony. Green coffee is roasted in a pan in front of the guests, ground by hand with a mortar and pestle, and boiled with water in a clay pot, the jebena. The coffee is poured from a height into small handleless cups, leaving the grounds in the pot, over three rounds: abol, tona and baraka. It usually takes an hour or more. ## At a glance - Grind: Fine - Water temperature: Boiled in the jebena - Category: Boiled & Traditional (Boiled) - Difficulty: Intermediate - Origin: Ethiopia - Also known as: Ethiopian coffee ceremony, buna, bunna, jebena coffee ## Steps 1. **Wash and roast the beans**: Wash the green coffee beans, then roast them in a pan over coals or a flame, in front of the guests, until anywhere from medium brown to nearly black. The pan is often carried round so everyone can take in the smoke. 2. **Grind by hand**: Grind the roasted beans by hand with a mortar and pestle, the mukecha and zenezena. 3. **Boil in the jebena**: Heat water in the clay jebena, add the ground coffee and bring it to the boil. 4. **Let it settle**: Take it off the heat and let the grounds settle in the jebena. 5. **Pour the first round**: Pour from a height into small handleless cups, the sini, in one unbroken stream, leaving the grounds in the jebena, for abol, the first round. 6. **Second and third rounds**: Add more water to the same grounds and boil again for tona, the second round, and again for baraka, the third. **Jebena buna** is the **Ethiopian coffee ceremony**: coffee made from scratch, in front of guests, and shared slowly. Green coffee is **roasted** in a pan, **ground by hand**, and **boiled** with water in a clay pot with a long neck, the **jebena**. It's poured from a height into small cups, leaving the grounds behind, over **three rounds**, each weaker than the last: **abol**, **tona** and **baraka**. It usually takes an hour or more, and it's as much about conversation and welcome as about coffee. Here's how it works. ## The short version - **Roasted, ground and brewed** in front of the guests. - **A clay jebena**, boiled over charcoal or a flame. - **The grounds settle** in the jebena; some hosts also put a horsehair filter in the spout. - **Three rounds**: abol, tona and baraka, from the same grounds. - **An hour or more**, and it's polite to stay for all three. - **Incense and snacks**: often frankincense, with popcorn, peanuts or himbasha bread. ## What happens in the coffee ceremony? 1. **Setting the scene.** Fresh grass is often spread on the floor and **incense** is burned. Snacks such as **popcorn**, peanuts or *himbasha*, a lightly sweet bread, are passed round. 2. **Roasting.** Green coffee beans are washed and roasted in a flat pan over coals or a flame, in front of everyone, until anywhere from medium brown to glossy and nearly black. The pan is often **carried round** so guests can take in the smoke. 3. **Grinding.** The roasted beans are ground by hand with a **mortar and pestle**, the *mukecha* and *zenezena*. 4. **Brewing.** Water is heated in the clay **jebena**, the ground coffee goes in, and it's brought to the boil, then left so the grounds settle. In the household the MAA Digital Lab describes, the coffee is poured off into a decanter and back into the jebena and boiled again, twice, before serving. 5. **Pouring.** The coffee is poured from about a foot above the cups, in one continuous stream, into small handleless cups, the **sini**. The grounds stay in the jebena; some hosts put a **horsehair filter** in the spout, and Wikipedia notes that the coffee may be sieved. 6. **Three rounds.** More water is added to the same grounds for each round. ## What are abol, tona and baraka? | Round | Name | Strength | | --- | --- | --- | | First | Abol | Strongest | | Second | Tona | Milder | | Third | Baraka | Weakest; associated with blessing | Sources agree on the names and order, though they describe the strength of tona a little differently. Many hosts see **baraka** as the natural end of the visit, so if you can, stay for the third cup. In Tigrinya, the first two rounds are called **awel** and **kale'i**. ## What do you need? - **Green coffee beans** and a **flat roasting pan** - **A mortar and pestle** - **A clay jebena** and a heat source, traditionally **charcoal** - **Small handleless cups**, the sini, on a tray - **Incense**, often frankincense, and snacks such as popcorn - **Sugar**, or salt or butter in some regions ![Chart of coffee grind sizes from extra fine to extra coarse, with fine highlighted for jebena buna](https://dailyextraction.com/diagrams/grind-size.svg#fine "Ceremony coffee is ground fine by hand.") ## Can you make jebena buna at home? You can follow the same shape at home: roast or buy freshly roasted Ethiopian coffee, grind it fine, boil it with water in a jebena or a small pot, let it settle and pour it off the grounds, then add water for a second and third round. The traditional ceremony is unhurried: one Ethiopian coffee exporter puts the whole thing at **60 to 90 minutes**. ## What do Ethiopians add to their coffee? **Sugar** is common. In some regions, **salt** or **butter** is added instead. ## Is the ceremony also Eritrean? Yes. A very similar ceremony is held in **Eritrea**, where the rounds are called awel, kale'i and baraka in Tigrinya; see the [Eritrean coffee ceremony](https://dailyextraction.com/methods/eritrean-coffee-ceremony/). *General guidance only. Roasting over open coals and boiling in clay involve open flames, smoke and very hot pots: keep the area ventilated, never leave a fire unattended, and handle the jebena with care.* ## Jebena buna vs other methods - **[Turkish coffee](https://dailyextraction.com/methods/turkish-coffee/):** another unfiltered coffee, made in a cezve. - **[Arabic coffee](https://dailyextraction.com/methods/arabic-qahwa/):** light-roast coffee with cardamom, poured from a dallah. - **[Yemeni qishr](https://dailyextraction.com/methods/yemeni-qishr/):** a drink made from coffee husks. - **[Kuti](https://dailyextraction.com/methods/kuti-coffee-leaf-tea/):** Ethiopia's coffee leaf tea. Explore every boiled method in the [boiled chapter](https://dailyextraction.com/methods/boiled/). ## Words used in this guide - [Total dissolved solids (TDS)](https://dailyextraction.com/glossary/tds/): Total dissolved solids (TDS) measures how much coffee is dissolved in the cup, shown as a percentage. ## FAQs ### What are the three rounds of the Ethiopian coffee ceremony? Abol, tona and baraka. Abol is the first and strongest. More water is added to the same grounds for tona, the second, and baraka, the third, which is associated with blessing. ### What is a jebena? A clay coffee pot with a round base, a long neck and a spout, used to boil and pour the coffee in the Ethiopian and Eritrean coffee ceremony. ### How long does the coffee ceremony take? Usually an hour or more; one Ethiopian coffee exporter puts it at 60 to 90 minutes. Many hosts see the third round, baraka, as the natural end of the visit, so it's polite to stay for all three. ### What do Ethiopians add to their coffee? Sugar is common. In some regions, salt or butter is added instead. ### Is the ceremony also Eritrean? Yes. A very similar coffee ceremony is held in Eritrea, which has its own customs and names. In Tigrinya the rounds are awel, kale'i and baraka. ## Sources - [Coffee ceremony of Ethiopia and Eritrea](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coffee_ceremony_of_Ethiopia_and_Eritrea) - [At the heart of the jebena bunna: the Ethiopian coffee ceremony](https://www.maadigitallab.org/blog/2023/08/22/at-the-heart-of-the-jebena-bunna-the-ethiopian-coffee-ceremony/) - [Ethiopian coffee ceremony: tradition, steps and why it matters](https://www.ethiocoffee.co/insights/ethiopian-coffee-ceremony) - [The Ethiopian coffee ceremony (buna) explained](https://guji-coffee.com/blog/ethiopian-coffee-ceremony/) - [Ethiopian coffee ceremony: what happens and what to do](https://ethiopiadriver.com/ethiopia/what-is-the-ethiopian-coffee-ceremony)