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Ethiopian Christmas, called Gena in Amharic, is a day of festivity. On this day Christians from all denomination gather to celebrate and eat together. On this day a country that is politically and ethnically divided comes together. Drinking coffee— or Buna as is called in Amharic— is customary during Christmas. However, people also drink coffee in special gatherings and birthdays. Ethiopians usually drink coffee with a side of roasted grain mix snack called Kolo.
Ingredients
- Gebena (An Ethiopian pot for brewing coffee)
- 6 Ceni (Ethiopian small cups)
- 2 cups of water
- Ethiopian Coffee roasting pan (can order online or can just use a regular pan)
- Coffee grinder
- 2/3 cup of green beans (Ethiopian Yirgacheffe used here)
- 1 tablespoon of salt
- 1 tablespoon of sugar
Steps
Roasting the Coffee
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1Open windows/door. You don’t want to trigger the smoke detector.
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2Clean coffee grinder, ceni, and the roasting pan. Any left over flavor from other foods will change the taste of the coffee.Advertisement
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3Wash the green coffee beans 3 times with water.
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4Turn on the stove top and set it to medium.
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5Place the washed coffee beans on the coffee pan and start.
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6Continuously move your hand back and forth while holding the pan for 10 minutes. You want to make sure all the beans are roasted equally.
- Never leave the coffee on the oven top while the gas is still on. The coffee beans will get burnt, and the taste of the coffee will be bitter.
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7When all of the coffee beans have turned dark golden brown, take them off the stovetop.
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8Take the pan to everyone in the house so that they can smell the sweet smell of roasted coffee beans. This is customary in Ethiopian culture.
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9Place the pan with the roasted coffee beans in a place where it can cool at room temperature (takes~5 minutes).
Brewing the Coffee
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1Grind the roasted coffee beans using the coffee grinder.
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2Pour 2 cups of water into the gebena.
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3Add the grinded coffee into the gebena.
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4Set the stovetop to medium heat.
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5Let the gebena sit on the stove for 10 minutes.
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6Turn off the gas as the coffee rises above the top of the gebena.
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7Place the gebena slanted, so the grounded coffee can settle down into the bottom layer.
- Be careful not to move the gebena once placed; moving can cause the bottom layer of grounded coffee to be mixed with the top layer of your coffee.
Serving the Coffee
Community Q&A
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QuestionWhat is gebena in English?Community AnswerThere isn't a specific English word to refer to the Ethiopian coffee-brewing jug, but you could refer to it as a coffeepot.