Coffee’s sacred places
Ethiopia’s territories host tribes of different origins, languages and religions.
In the north there is a prevalence of the Amhara and Tigrati people, who are Semites and
Christians, whilst the south is home to the Oromo people, of Islamic faith, who represent 50% of
the population. And it is within this tribal group that there still survive today ancestral
ceremonial traditions and customs regarding the ways in which the coffee plant is consumed: from
Kuti — an infusion of leaves —, to hoja — a decoction diluted with milk —, to the buna — a ceremony
for preparing the black beverage.
The use of every edible part of the Coffeea arabica dates back to distant times and places, more
precisely to the Ethiopian region of Kaffa, the name from which "coffee" derives, and its gradual
consecration as the official beverage of Islam led it its adoption by the Ethiopian Muslim
communities. In fact, between 1600 and 1700 Harar, a white-walled stronghold and fourth holy city
of the Islamic world, became an important cultural and strategic centre for handling the coffee
trade with the Yemen.
