Qatari Kahwa (coffee)
It is almost impossible to come by this drink in Qatar unless you get invited to a Qatari's house or his/her Majlis. This is one of those drink that you will rarely find at a cafe in D-town and preparing it is also not as easy Nescafe coffee. There are a lot more ingredients to it than just the coffee powder.
There are, however, shops in Souq Waqif that sell Kahwa instant powders, but it is not yet popular.
Searching online I could only find receipes in arabic - so here is a translation for any one interesting in dabbling.
Ingredients:
3 cups of water – or half of thermos
2 teaspoon powdered cardamom
quarter teaspoon saffron threads
quarter teaspoon coffee mate
- Boil 3 cups of water – or equivalent to half of the kettle.
- Once it boils add 2 kahwa cups of coffee – boil for a few minutes on medium heat.
- Add powdered cardamom
- Add cup of warm water and leave for 1 minute.
- Then siphon into thermos that has saffron threads added to it.
- Leave for a few minutes minutes until coffee mixes with the saffron.
Serve in the special kahwa cups.
Do you have any different versions of this coffee? I had one lady suggest using half of the little rainbow milk containers.
Tip: Due to the bitter taste of the coffee, it is usually served with Arabic sweets or dates. Never add sugar to Kahwa. Enjoy your authentic Qatari coffee. Let's hope Kahwa does not get McDonaldized.
Is there any one in qatar who is ready to join our team . i am currently looking for a Qatari Coffee Maker.
I usually get at ladies section bazar at souq waqif for 2 riyals, is it the same?
My brother gave me a package of Alsolan Coffee after spending 9 months in Doha. It has a sandy color and texture and smells like it already contains cardamon, so I'm wondering if your 5-minute boiling method may be the way to prepare it. Should I sieve/filter out any particulates? (Or are they supposed to be part of the "experience"?)
Or should/could one just put boiling water into a French press carafe and let it steep for the usual 4 minutes? (I put 7 heaping teaspoons of the Alsolan into my Bodum FP flask, and it tasts much more of cardamon; very little coffee taste.)
Thankyou for posting the ingredients for your version of kahwa.
I've now also been adding 1/2 teaspoon of mixed kahwa spices in the thermos that gives it a nice flavour.
Any other receipes?
6 cups of water
half teaspoon dry ginger powder
1 pinch of saffaron threads
half teaspoon cardamom
2 teaspoons of coffee powder
Mix all the ingredients and put them in a flask.Then boil the water for 5 mins and then pour this boiling water in the flask
KAHWA is ready!!
Arabic coffee existed for centuries, so coffee mate, which was invented in the 60s and made it to Qatar prolly 20 years ago cannot be an ingredient in it.
Plus as a Qatari myself….I have NEVER EVER EVERRRRRR heard of coffee mate being added to Arabic coffee!!!
The same coffee beans are used for all coffees,, it is just the way they are roasted. Very lightly roasted for arabic qahwa and much more for turkish coffee.
A tea spoon of coffee mate is added to the dallah ( thermos) not to each cup, as some people might be thinking. But again, each family has their way of making qahwah, some like it stronger, some like it with more cardamom, more or no saffran,,
I didn't try for it yet....
Is the Qatari Kahwa made with green coffee beans?
Just on a different note have you heard about the craze of green coffee beans and how they are the latest in losing weight? Apparently there was a study done where people took 2 tablets of green coffee bean extract about 1/2 hour before eating and lost 10kg in a month!! (without changing their diet or exercising)
It's on Dr Oz! Don't know to believe or not!
Anyone had any experience?
It is different. Turkish coffee is that blackish one which comes with a special small kettle to prepare it. Normally it is a middle east stuff. While gahwa is like a tea kind and the advantage of it is for digestion. You can get this in katara. qatari offer them from free.
Isn't there a difference between Turkish coffee (as per recipe above) and Gahwa? From what I understand, Gahwa is made with green coffee beans. What I have been served as Gahwa (Qatari coffee) tastes very different from Turkish coffee .
Probably they have never seen kahwa and just bluffing. You are right.
Me too never heard of any Qatari adding milk to Kahwa.
I never ever put milk in kahwa. I don't know anyone who does that.
Ok so I've tried my above mentioned receipe and found the coffee to have a bitter after taste. The "latest" receipe involves placing bit of rainbow milk and saffron threads (or saffron colour) in a kettle and adding water (usually already hot from the kettle) until it boils. then placing 1 1/2 kahwa cups of kahwa and letting it boil for 5 minutes. Once the kahwa settles (a couple of minutes) this is then pour into a thermos that has 2 teaspoons of cardamom in it.
The taste in great!! No bitter after taste - apparently that was happening because I was boiling the kahwa for too long!
About the coffee mate / rainbow milk issue. I don't think all the qatari's add it to the kahwa - but it results in lightening the colour of the kahwa which is nice.
are you talking about the turkish coffee or the Kahwa. in kahwa no coffee mate is added, in the turkish there is a possibility.
to t_coffee..
So it is obvious that we don't drink gahwah in the same house,, Next time ask your friends before saying never.
I like to keep it pure: no cardamon, just coffee and water!
Been here 30+ years and always drinking in Qatari house but never saw any one adding Coffee mate.
to t_coffee_or _me,,
maybe the arabic coffee you have drank had no coffee mate.
But don't say that NO qatari will add coffee mate to arabic coffee. Some people have experienced it, as well as i did,,
Why should we put false informations here?
No Qatari will add Coffee mate to Arabic coffee.
I prefer to keep it pure...ie no coffee mate! In mine I have saffron, clove, cardamom and cinnamon.
that looks like a lot of work. can i get a "kawa to go" at starbucks?
Adding coffee mate is a matter of taste and makes the colour a bit lighter. Some houses do and some don't.
Some also add a bit of clove powder in winter time.
Coffee mate is never added to Arabic coffee.
TFS.....................:)
Coffee mate is er added to Arabic coffee.
I dont like coffee mate in arabic coffee, better without it. It's a matter of taste.
You have the correct ingredients, but the whole process is taking too much time.
Boil the water, add the kahwa, let it boil 5 minutes.
Put all the dry ingredients into the thermos and pour the hot kahwa. Let it stand for 5 minutes and your kahwa is ready.
You have not recommended suitable side dish for this drink. Altogether 24 +++ minutes are spent in lab for making just 3 cups of so called "kahwa". No wonder why many of the office boys left their jobs before their first salary. good Keep it up, give us more info on such researches.