Arabic Coffee

For centuries, coffee has played a central part in Arabic culture and traditions. It is interwoven in the Arab world’s history, poems, proverbs and stories.

The earliest credible evidence of coffee drinking appears in the middle of the 15th century, in Yemen’s Sufi monasteries. Sufis used it to keep themselves alert during their nighttime devotions. In 1511, it was forbidden for its stimulating effect by conservative forces. In 1524 the Ottoman Turkish Sultan Suleiman I allowedby fatwa the consumption of coffee, but at the same time closed coffeehouses and warehouses containing coffee beans. In 1532 the Arabic coffee arrived to Lebanon, Palestine and Syria specially, the Syrian Badia, northern, Horan and Sweida in the south, which is khown as “AhwaMurra” and considered a traditional sign of respect and a way to bring people together or when receiving guests.

There is a tradition for serving:

When coffee is made the first cup goes to the maker, to ensure that the coffee is made to perfection and fit to be served to the guests.

The second cup is served to the guest, as an expression of hospitality, generosity and celebration. The guest in return must drink it to show respect and appreciation for the host. This host and guest dance is highlighted on special occasions like a proposal. When a man comes officially to propose to a woman’s family he is served coffee but he puts down the cup and says that he can’t drink the coffee till his request is met with approval. If the family of the bride approves, the head of the family will tell him to drink his coffee implying the acceptance of the proposal

The third cup is for pleasure meaning that it is served when the visit is long and people are enjoying their time and each other’s company

The fourth is for the sword and that means that the guest has become part of the family and he is now obliged to defend and help them even if it comes to using his sword. Though swords are definitely a thing of the past in the Arab world now, the strength of the bonds formed over those little cups of coffee still stands.

Arabic coffee is a type of the coffee that is popular in the Arab world especially during the month of Ramadan. Two main differences set Arabic coffee apart from your everyday American coffee. The first is that the coffee beans are only roasted when they are golden brown as opposed to the deep rich brown that borders on black for other forms of coffee.

The second is that Arabic coffee is heavily infused with cardamom. Some people even like to go the extra mile and prefer to add saffron, ginger and cloves to their coffee making it an aromatic fiesta of flavors.

Since it plays such an important part in the Arabic culture it should come as no surprise that there are dedicated pots for serving coffee. They are called Dallah and traditionally they were either white decorated pottery or were made out of copper.  Nowadays dallahs come in all shapes, colors, and sizes.

How to serve Coffee?

This type of coffee is never sweetened, it is always bitter, served in small cups and one should always hold the serving pot with the left hand and the cup in the right. Pour in the coffee and hand it to the guest with a smile. If there are multiple guests start with the eldest or the one on the right.

Always offer to refill the guests’ cups when they’re done. If they want more they will extend the cup, if not they will tilt it gently from left to right indicating that they’ve had enough.

Lara Khouli.