Our Story | Black Jebena · Ethiopian Coffee Roasted in Seville

I was only 4 when my grandmother taught me how to roast.

We were in the mountains of Ethiopia. In a small village, surrounded by nature, far from everything. And she — the woman who raised me, my role model, my world — taught me what no one else had yet: that coffee is not made in a hurry. That it's roasted slowly, stirring constantly, until the bean releases its aroma and tells you it's ready. That it's then ground, boiled, served. And that making it for someone — with care, with attention, with time — is a way of loving them. That smell, that gesture, that woman. Unforgettable.

In Ethiopia, it's not just a drink, coffee is a ceremony.

It is prepared several times a day, in community, calmly. Cups are placed, incense is burned, people sit together. With friends, with family, with neighbors. No special reason is needed—coffee is the reason. It is the center of social life, the moment when time stops and people truly look at each other. Ethiopia is the birthplace of coffee, and we have been honoring it this way for centuries. That's what I learned since I was six years old. That's what I carry within me.

Then Spain came.

Family, life, years. And then COVID — the pause, the silence, the time to return to the essentials. And during that time, the inevitable search for that coffee. The one I remembered. The one that smelled like mornings in the mountains, like my grandmother's kitchen, like something indescribable but recognizable the moment you find it. I couldn't find it anywhere — because it didn't exist. So I started bringing it myself. First for home. Then for friends. Then for family. We roasted it, we gave it away, we shared it. And people kept asking for more. They always kept asking for more.

There, Black Jebena was born.

What started as a personal need grew into something bigger: bringing specialty Ethiopian coffee to Spain, which didn't exist here. Importing it directly, with knowledge of its origin, with respect for the farmer. Roasting it artisanally in Seville, giving each bean the time it needs. With real traceability - knowing exactly where it comes from, who cultivated it, how it grew. No shortcuts. No unnecessary intermediaries. With value flowing back to those who produce it.

This is no ordinary roaster.

It's a treasure. The true privilege of having someone here in Spain who learned to roast coffee from their grandmother in the mountains of Ethiopia — and who now does it for you. With the same care. With the same gesture. With the same intention as always: that whoever receives this coffee feels that someone prepared it with them in mind.

That's Black Jebena.

Welcome to the ritual.

What is your story?

We are looking forward to meeting you!

Tell us who you are? What do you do? What inspires you? What are you looking for? Write to us at info@blackjebena.com and I will answer you personally. Or tell us on social media with the hashtag #mycoffeestory

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You won't regret it!

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