Origin & History

Coffee Leaf Tea — known in Ethiopia as ‘Kuti’ or ‘Kuti Shai’ — is a beverage brewed from the dried or fresh leaves of the Coffea arabica plant rather than from its roasted seeds. It is one of the world’s oldest documented uses of the coffee plant and is believed to predate the roasting and brewing of coffee beans by several centuries. The preparation is most commonly associated with the Harari people of eastern Ethiopia, the Oromo communities of the Kaffa and Jimma regions, and rural communities in southwestern Ethiopia where wild Coffea arabica grows naturally.

Coffee Leaf Tea was documented by the British explorer and linguist Richard Burton during his 1855 expedition to Harar — the first recorded visit by a European to that walled city — who observed residents drinking an infusion of coffee leaves as a quotidian beverage distinct from brewed coffee. In Yemen, a parallel tradition called ‘qishr’ (using coffee husks) exists, and in Sulawesi, Indonesia, coffee leaf tea (known as ‘kawa daun’) has been consumed for centuries in regions where roasted coffee was historically exported rather than retained for local use. The Ethiopian tradition, however, appears to be independently developed and likely represents the oldest practice of the three.

Etymology

The term ‘Kuti’ in the Harari language refers specifically to the coffee leaf tea preparation. ‘Kuti Shai’ combines ‘Kuti’ with ‘shai’ — the word for tea in Amharic and several other Ethiopian languages, derived from the Arabic ‘shay’ — reflecting the drink’s tea-like preparation method and appearance. In Oromo communities, the drink may be called ‘buna shai’ (coffee tea) or identified by regional descriptive terms. The use of ‘shai’ underscores that the drink occupies a conceptual category distinct from ‘buna’ (brewed bean coffee) in the Ethiopian cultural lexicon — it is understood as a separate beverage, not a weaker form of coffee.

The Science of the Brew

Coffee Leaf Tea is prepared by steeping dried or fresh coffee leaves in hot water, sometimes with the addition of ginger, cinnamon, or honey. The leaves are dried in the sun for several days before use, a process that allows enzymatic oxidation to develop color and flavor compounds, similar to the processing of black tea.

Coffea arabica leaves contain caffeine — though at lower concentrations than the seeds — along with significant levels of mangiferin, a C-glucosyl xanthone with documented antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and anti-diabetic properties. A 2013 study published in the journal Food Chemistry found that coffee leaf tea contains higher antioxidant activity than green tea, white tea, or standard brewed coffee when measured by FRAP (Ferric Reducing Antioxidant Power) assay. The caffeine content is approximately 0.5–1.0% of dry leaf weight, compared to 1.2–1.5% in green coffee beans, yielding a milder stimulant effect per cup.

Taste & Sensory Profile

Coffee Leaf Tea is mild, slightly grassy, and gently bitter — nothing like brewed coffee in flavor. Its closest sensory comparisons are light green tea or a mild herbal infusion. The color is pale golden to amber, depending on oxidation level. Dried, oxidized leaves produce a warmer, slightly richer infusion; fresh leaves yield a greener, more vegetal cup.

When ginger is added — a common preparation in Harar — the drink becomes warming and mildly spiced, with ginger’s zingerone-driven heat complementing the tea’s gentle earthiness. Honey sweetening is common and suits the delicate flavor profile. The absence of coffee’s roasted bitterness makes Coffee Leaf Tea accessible to individuals who find conventional coffee too intense or acidic.

Variations

In the Kaffa and Jimma regions, coffee leaves are sometimes prepared as a decoction rather than an infusion — boiled for 10–15 minutes rather than steeped — producing a darker, more intensely flavored liquid closer to a strong herbal brew. The Harari version typically involves dried leaves, ginger, and a significant amount of sugar, reflecting the city’s sweet-spiced culinary heritage. A minority preparation in rural Oromia uses the leaves of wild forest Coffea arabica plants, which have a distinct chemical profile from cultivated varieties and reportedly produce a more complex, slightly fermented infusion.

Notable Facts

Coffee Leaf Tea came to international attention in 2013 when a paper in Food Chemistry, co-authored by researchers from the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, documented its exceptional antioxidant properties. The finding sparked brief but significant media coverage and interest from the specialty beverage industry. Several commercial coffee leaf tea products subsequently appeared in European and North American markets — yet in Ethiopia, where the drink has been consumed for centuries, it remains almost entirely absent from urban café menus and specialty export channels.

Wild Coffea arabica trees in the forests of southwestern Ethiopia can live for 50 to 100 years, and their leaves are harvested seasonally by forest communities who practice an agroforestry system called ‘forest coffee’ cultivation — one of the world’s oldest documented forms of sustainable forest management. Coffee Leaf Tea from these ancient trees is pharmacologically distinct from plantation-grown leaf tea, though this distinction has not yet been commercialized.

Related Drinks

• Buna Qalaa — another non-roasted Ethiopian coffee plant preparation, using the dried whole cherry
• Buna — the roasted bean preparation that represents the dominant Ethiopian coffee tradition
• Kuti — in some usage, ‘Kuti’ refers specifically to the third, lightest pour of the jebena ceremony; the shared name reflects the Ethiopian concept of lightness and re-use
• Qishr — the Yemeni coffee husk tea, a parallel tradition from the other historic coffee culture