The transformation of this bean into use as a beverage began in the Kaffa region of Ethiopia centuries ago and a tremendous amount of the country’s economy depends on it today. As with most other beverage ceremonies throughout the world, there is a close tie with religion, in this case Ethiopian Orthodox Christianity, practiced in the area since the third century AD and still the majority religion among Ethiopians. The ornate brass or silver processional crosses and cross-shaped churches carved out of solid rock in the town of Lalibela bear witness to the richness of Church history. The bunna ceremony and the plant at the center of it have been major elements of Ethiopian cultural life for a great deal of that time, although there have been periods during which the Church elders sought to ban its use as it was at times considered too closely associated with Islam.

The most popular legend goes back to the 3rd century. Here it is said that a young goat herder, named Kaldi in oriental literature, noticed to his amazement that after chewing the bright red berries from a tree his goats pranced in an unusually frisky manner. Kaldi tried the berries and enjoyed their stimulating effect. A monk noticed Kaldi and decided to try the berries with his friars. They all felt alert during their night prayers. As news of the stimulating effect of the berry spread, people began chewing the berry before prayer…

- from this article

In the Bunna ceremony, milk is never used, but sugar is added generously. Sometimes salt is added to the cup instead. Food items such as roasted popcorn, barley or bread are served as an accompaniment throughout. After each of the rounds is ready, the woman hosting the ceremony pours the liquid from a height of at last a foot above each round, handle-less ceramic cup, using a method similar to the Moroccan style of pour for mint tea, aerating the brew and creating a fine foam on the top. The result is a wonderfully subtle, fragrant and complex brew, as far from that unpleasant stuff that comes out of a machine at your local Seven-11 as it could possibly be.

For additional information on the Bunna Ceremony read this article on Epicurean.com and this article on iKhofi Roasters’ website.

photo above by Adriana Lukas, used under the Creative Commons license

The ginger root tea is interesting to drink, although I do not believe that there is anything distinctive about ginger root tea from Ethiopia versus ginger root tea from anywhere else. The ingredients are not listed in English on the package, but I believe that it is entirely dried ginger root. It is finely powdered and best brewed in a cloth bag. It has a very strong bite to it – pleasant, but not a drink one would typically drink more than one glass of during the course of a day unless it was a component of a medical treatment. It seems that it would serve as a nice beverage for occasional times where an alternative to tea is desired or for a respiratory aid.

The Black Lion tea (pictured above) is a traditional leaf tea, very red in color and very broken and powdery. I am unsure of what the processing of this tea involves, but it must be brutal. The flavor of the tea holds up through the breaking of its leaves, though. I found it to be quite pleasant with a smooth, warm flavor without the slightest hint of bitterness. It would be best brewed using methods that contain all of that powder and tea dust, otherwise it would get a little grainy in the mouth and produce a rather messy situation to clean up after.

A note on tea production from this informational site about Ethiopian export products:

The quality of tea mainly depends on climatic conditions, the type of soil upon which the plant grows and the method of processing. In Ethiopia, tea is mostly grown in the highland dense forest regions where the land is fertile and thus the use of fertilizer is very minimal.

Moreover, the availability of abundant and cheap labor in the Country has made the use of manual weeding, instead of chemical weeding, possible. Because of this mostly organic cultivation, Ethiopian tea is increasingly sought for its aroma and natural flavors. This is confirmed by the “International Gold Star” award for quality recently given by B.D.I. in Madrid, Spain to one of the major Ethiopian tea exporters, Tea Production and Marketing Enterprise.