Three rounds. Hours of time. No phones. A clear message: this is not about efficiency. This is about presence.
The structure of the ceremony
The Ethiopian coffee ceremony — known as Bunna Tetu, meaning 'drink coffee' — begins with the host roasting green coffee beans over charcoal in a flat pan called a menkeshkesh. The beans are hand-stirred until they reach the right colour, then walked around the room for guests to smell.
The beans are then ground in a wooden mortar called a mukecha, transferred to a clay pot (jebena) with hot water, and brought to a boil multiple times. The coffee is poured into small handleless cups called sini, often served with sugar or salt depending on the region.
The three rounds
Abol is the first and most potent cup. Tona, made by adding more water to the same grounds, is lighter. Baraka — meaning blessing — is the final cup and the completion of the ceremony. Each round carries meaning. To leave early is to decline the blessing.
You do not attend a coffee ceremony. You participate in one.
What the diaspora carries forward
For Ethiopians and Eritreans living abroad, the coffee ceremony is one of the most enduring cultural practices. It does not require a specific space or expensive equipment. It requires time, intention, and people. That is what Buna House is built around — the understanding that coffee, at its best, is an act of gathering.