The Bunna Ceremony

Dhaka Dough is known for its organic products. Even though their concept is to purchase only 'deshi' supplies, the only one thing they purchase from abroad is coffee beans, and they only get the Ethiopian variety as it's the birthplace of coffee.

To introduce local coffee enthusiasts to authentic flavours from Ethiopia, Dhaka Dough came up with an innovative idea of bringing “The Bunna Ceremony”. 

Bunna is the term used for coffee in Ethiopia. This is an age old ceremony that is celebrated by the people of Ethiopia, but nobody is certain about when the tradition actually started. The Bunna Ceremony at Dhaka Dough was inaugurated by shedding some light on the myth of discovering coffee, about Kaldi, an Ethiopian goatherd, who noticed his flock nibbling on bright red berries of a particular bush and became more energetic. 

Later, Kaldi tried the fruit himself and his excitement led him to take the beans to a monastery, where it was thrown into a fire by the monk. The roasted beans were quickly taken out, grounded and dissolved in hot water, yielding the world's first cup of coffee. 

Afterwards, the ceremony was explained in the terms of how the Ethiopians celebrated it in three parts; “Abol”, the first part, where the coffee is the strongest, secondly, “Tona”, where the coffee is milder, and the third part, “Baraqh”, in which coffee is the mildest. 

After the presentation it was time to brew some coffee beans, and a Dhaka Dough barista roasted coffee beans live, which gave a strong, exquisite aroma, filling the entire room. After roasting, they were put on a mortar and pestle, grounded finely, and put into a traditional pot, also used by Ethiopians, called “jebena”. 

Hot water was added and rested, until coffee was ready to be served.  For the limited number of guests, the Bunna Ceremony at Dhaka Dough gave a chance to personally participate in a one of a kind ceremony, unique, thoughtful and informative!

By Mahee Azreen