page_title: Coffee ceremony
section_title: Serving
hierarchical_section_title: Coffee ceremony / Serving
caption_attribution_description: Himbasha a traditional Eritrean celebration bread.
context_page_description: A coffee ceremony is a ritualized form of making and drinking coffee. The coffee ceremony was first practiced by the south western Ethiopians people. There is a routine of serving coffee on a daily basis, mainly for the purpose of getting together with relatives, neighbors, or other visitors. If coffee is politely declined, then tea will most likely be served.
  Loose grass is spread on the floor where the coffee ceremony is held, often decorated with small yellow flowers. Composite flowers are sometimes used, especially around the celebration of Meskel.
context_section_description: The host pours the coffee for all participants by moving the tilted boiling pot over a tray with small, handleless cups from a height of one foot without stop until each cup is full. The grounds are brewed three times: the first round of coffee is called awel in Tigrinya, the second kale'i and the third baraka ('to be blessed'). In Amharic it's አቦል abol, the second ቶና tona and the third በረካ baraka . The coffee ceremony may also include burning of various traditional incense. People add sugar to their coffee, or in the countryside, sometimes salt or traditional butter (see niter kibbeh). The beverage is accompanied by a small snack such as popcorn, peanuts or himbasha (also called ambasha).
caption: Ambasha is sometimes used as snack during the ceremonies
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