☕ Arabic coffee (gahwa)
Arabic coffee, or gahwa, is lightly roasted coffee boiled in water with crushed cardamom and a few threads of saffron. It comes out pale golden, fragrant and lightly bitter, with no sugar or milk. It is poured from a dallah pot into small handleless cups, a few sips at a time, and usually served with dates.
Diets
Allergens
None of the 14 major allergens in a typical recipe.
What it is made of
Recipe
Ingredients
- 500 ml water
- 3 tbsp lightly roasted coffee, ground medium-coarse
- 1 tbsp green cardamom pods, lightly crushed
- A pinch of saffron threads
Method
- Bring the water to the boil in a pot or dallah, stir in the coffee and simmer gently for 10–12 minutes.
- Take it off the heat for a minute so the grounds settle.
- Put the cardamom and saffron in a thermos or serving pot and carefully pour the coffee over, leaving the grounds behind. Let it steep 5 minutes.
- Pour a small amount into each cup and serve with dates.
How to make it lighter
- Plain gahwa is only a few kcal per cup; the dates served alongside are what count — each date is roughly 20–65 kcal depending on size and variety.
- Stick to two or three dates per round of coffee rather than reaching for the plate between sips.
- Keep it unsweetened, as it is traditionally served, so the cup stays almost calorie-free.
History
Coffee drinking spread across the Arabian Peninsula from Yemen from around the 15th century, and serving coffee to guests became a central part of hospitality in the region. In 2015 UNESCO added Arabic coffee as a symbol of generosity to its list of intangible cultural heritage, in a joint nomination by the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Oman and Qatar.
Count it in one photo
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Values are estimates per 100 g for a typical recipe; home and restaurant versions vary. Diets and allergens are worked out from the ingredients of a typical recipe — always check with whoever cooked the dish. Not medical advice. Nutrition data: Me Nutrition dish database v13. How we count →