Persia's (today's Iran) coffee kettle, made of cast iron, is used to cook coffee powder directly on the stove. Enjoying coffee is an indispensable ritual in the social and cultural life of Persian. Attending a coffee ritual is an expression of friendship, respect, and hospitality. The coffee ritual can be conducted at any time at home to welcome friends.
Women play a key role in practising the coffee making ritual and setting up table. They wear traditional white clothes and perform rituals from roasting and grinding coffee. The ritual area is strewn with herbs and fresh flowers. The female celebrant burns incense to purify the atmosphere and ward off evil spirits.
Clean water is measured and poured into an earthenware pot or a black ceramic pot, with a round bottom (called Jebena) and then placed it on embers. Fresh coffee beans are washed and roasted in a cast iron pan that has a long wooden handle. The coffee is roasted slowly with a very even fire and stirred by hands to let aromatic oil released but not to be burnt black. The faint aroma of coffee when roasted also contributes to the atmosphere of the ritual.
When the coffee is roasted and pounded and the water is hot enough, the responsible woman adds aromatic coffee to the kettle, reheating until the coffee is extracted just right and ready to be poured out for guests. A tray of glass or ceramic (Cini) cups without a handle placed side by side poured once uniformly from a height of more than an arm's length. Coffee grounds are still in the kettle without being poured into the cups.