First Coffee
For millennia the bright red cherries of the indigenous forest tree, Coffea arabica, have been harvested and their worldly gifts eaten and drunk by Ethiopians. Coffee has embroidered itself into the fabric of the Ethiopian people creating the ABOL (first) BUNNA (coffee) society with one of the highest per capita coffee consumers. Only 50% of the annual crop is available for export. Unlike in other countries where Coffea arabica is an alien species, only 5% of Ethiopian coffee comes from commercial plantations. ABOL BUNNA is primarily indigenous garden, semi-forest or wild forest coffee tended, harvested and drunk by peasant farmers, employing centuries old natural sustainable organic methods. By nature alone it comes from the world's most organically pure coffee growing regions.
Although having one of the world's oldest written languages, Amharic, how coffee came to the Ethiopians has been lost in the mists of time. A popular Ethiopian legend tries to explain. A young goat herder, Kaldi, ate some bright red cherries after noticing that his herd became unusually frisky after eating them. This effect was duplicated in Kaldi and observed by a monk from a nearby monastery. Interested in their effect he also tried them and additionally became aware that their consumption kept him awake during long night prayers. Thus the eating of coffee cherries became popular. With time processing and roasting methods developed to produce a satisfying dark brew which still had the same stimulating effect.
Ethiopians initiated coffee's global appeal by introducing it to southern Arabia in 525.
Here it became extremely popular and with the spread of Islam it was introduced to Europe. European colonization spread coffee cultivation and consumption throughout the world. Today it is claimed by some traders to be the second most traded commodity (in US Dollar terms), only eclipsed by oil. Although knowledge of Coffea arabica's Ethiopian heritage has long been lost in the global community, maybe just the utterance of the word should remind us. Some people claim the word "coffee" originated from Kaffa, a region of Ethiopia to which coffee is indigenous. This might be the reason why the pronunciation of "coffee" is so similar in many of the world's languages. Our specialty coffee company, iKhofi, which is the Zulu word for coffee, additionally reminds us of coffee's African roots and that some of the world's most acclaimed coffee can be obtained from its homeland.
iKhofi's
ABOL BUNNA comes from the southern, eastern and western Ethiopian coffee growing regions.
Each region produces coffee with its own distinctive taste and aroma. Many of the regional coffees have international acclaim and are highly sought after in the specialty coffee trade. ABOL BUNNA from Harrar, Sidamo, Yirgacheffe and Limu are probably the best known, but the lesser known regions often produce coffee which can match or better that of their famous cousins.
Generally, ABOL BUNNA can be
described as medium- to full-bodied with an exuberance of flavour and aroma. It only comes from the best lots which can meet our stringent definitions for exemplary 
specialty coffee.
Exclusively from these, ABOL BUNNA acquires its legendary winey and pungent Mocha flavour characteristics with a lingering floral- almost perfumy- aroma. Their superior aromatic characteristics are immediately evident when grinding ABOL
BUNNA. We like many in the coffee trade believe gourmet Ethiopian coffee to be the most distinctive, varied and some of the best.
Most Ethiopian hotels and coffee houses serve excellent espresso. However, a visitor
to Ethiopia should not miss the opportunity to partake in the traditional coffee ceremony which is an essential and beautiful element of the culture. People take their seats around a carpet of freshly cut grass and flowers as depicted on every packet of ABOL BUNNA.
The coffee is freshly roasted and brewed in a special clay pot locally known as a jebena, over burning charcoal. Frankincense is burned to compliment the smell of the roasted coffee. Three rounds of coffee are poured from the jebena into small handle less cups. After each round the jebena
is refilled with water and boiled prior to serving. The first and most flavourful round of coffee is known as abol 
bunna, the second tona (second) bunna and the final round as baraka
(the blessing). Unlike the Ethiopian coffee ceremony, modern coffee preparations only make use of the abol bunna round. iKhofi's ABOL BUNNA is therefore aptly named in celebration of the world's first coffee and its drinkers.
