According to possibly-true legend, in the ninth century an Ethiopian goatherd in the region of Kaffa named Kaldi noticed his goats acting energetically and unable to sleep after eating bright red berries from a local shrub. After tasting them for himself and feeling similar effects, Kaldi rushed to show a local monk, who condemned the fruit as the work of the devil and threw them into a fire. The enchanting smell of the roasting coffee beans was impossible to ignore; historians debate over what happened next, but someone came up with the idea of pouring boiling water on top of the new delicacy to produce a beverage that has since spread around the world to become one of its most common drinks, fueling great ideas and early mornings ever since. Recognizing its importance as the birthplace of coffee, Ethiopians continue to this day to use the traditional mukecha, a wooden mortar and pestle, and jebena, a clay pot, to present a coffee ceremony, in which once again scents – from the aroma of the beans, going from green to roasted to your cup in less than an hour, as well as incense – play a starring role as the hot, fresh elixir is served in three rounds. Miheret Mindaye wants to bring both the ceremony and Ethiopian hospitality, with which she had plenty of practice in her fifteen years as a flight attendant in commercial business class and private jets, to Charlottenburg, and opened Buna, named after the word for “coffee” in Amharic, the language of Ethiopia.
Her coffee beans, used for the traditional ceremony as well as the more standard specialty coffee shop drinks, are shipped from Ethiopia and small-batch roasted in Berlin; her cakes are all organic and change regularly – currently on offer are lemon cheesecake, chocolate truffle, and apricot, with a vegan option. “When we were children we hung around our mothers and they gave us coffee,” Miheret says. “I started presenting the ceremony myself when I was eleven. We don’t even think about giving caffeine to kids at that age; it’s just a part of the culture,” she said. “In Ethiopia, when you make coffee, you have to call over the whole neighborhood – you never drink it alone. My goal is to have a harmonious place where everyone is welcome, has a good experience and their expectations met. And to share my culture, and love of coffee, from how it’s sourced to served – with Berlin.” As for the ceremony itself, she promises a virtuosic performance.
Text: Adam Berry / Photos: Adam Berry, Isabelle Marten
Adam Berry is a freelance photographer, photojournalist & television news producer, living in Prenzlauer Berg in the same apartment for over two decades. He’s training for marathons, mastering his own coffee technique, and supporting the many businesses offering delicious vegetarian options in Berlin.
Buna, Knesebeckstr.15, 10623 Berlin–Charlottenburg; map
@buna.berlin
