# Arabic Coffee (Qahwa)

Source: https://dailyextraction.com/methods/arabic-qahwa/
Last updated: 2026-10-19

> Gulf-style qahwa uses very lightly roasted coffee. Simmer about 3 tablespoons of ground light roast in 3 cups of water for around 15 minutes, add 1 to 1½ tablespoons of freshly ground cardamom near the end, and a pinch of saffron if you like. Let it settle for about 5 minutes, then pour it into a dallah and serve in small handleless cups with dates.

## At a glance

- Ratio: 3 tbsp coffee per 3 cups water
- Grind: Medium-fine (table salt)
- Water temperature: Simmering
- Brew time: about 15:00
- Category: Boiled & Traditional (Boiled)
- Difficulty: Intermediate
- Origin: Saudi Arabia & the Gulf
- Also known as: qahwa, gahwa, qahwa arabiya, Saudi coffee, dallah coffee, Gulf coffee

## Steps

1. **Bring the water to the boil**: Bring about 3 cups of water to the boil in a pot or brewing dallah.
2. **Add the coffee**: Add about 3 tablespoons of ground, very lightly roasted Arabic coffee.
3. **Simmer**: Lower the heat and simmer for about 15 minutes.
4. **Add the cardamom**: Near the end, add 1 to 1½ tablespoons of freshly ground cardamom, and a pinch of saffron soaked in a little warm water, if you like.
5. **Let it settle**: Take it off the heat and let it settle for about 5 minutes.
6. **Pour and serve**: Pour the coffee off the grounds into a serving dallah, and serve in small handleless cups, with dates.

**Arabic coffee**, *qahwa* or *gahwa*, is coffee as hospitality. In the Gulf it's made from **very lightly roasted** beans, simmered and spiced with **cardamom**, and often **saffron**, until it's a **pale gold**. It's poured from a long-spouted **dallah** into small handleless cups, a little at a time, and served with **dates**. In **2015**, UNESCO added Arabic coffee and its traditions of hospitality to its list of the **Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity**. Here's how to make it.

## The short version

- **Very lightly roasted coffee**, not the dark roast of Turkish coffee.
- **Simmered about 15 minutes**, then left to settle.
- **Cardamom**, added near the end; **saffron** often; cloves or rose water sometimes.
- **Poured from a dallah** into small handleless cups.
- **Served with dates**, as a sign of welcome.



## How is Arabic coffee different?

| | Gulf qahwa | [Lebanese coffee](https://dailyextraction.com/methods/lebanese-coffee/) | [Turkish coffee](https://dailyextraction.com/methods/turkish-coffee/) |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Roast | Very light | Dark, or a blend | Medium to dark |
| Grind | Ground, then left to settle | Powder-fine | Powder-fine |
| Spice | Cardamom, often saffron | Often cardamom | Usually none |
| Served | Poured off the grounds, from a dallah | With the grounds in the cup | With the grounds in the cup |
| Colour | Pale gold | Dark | Dark |

Even within Arabia the roast varies. Wikipedia describes the light, golden roast of the Najd and Hejaz, a darker *qahwah shamāliyya* ("northern coffee") further north, and Gulf *qahwa khaleeji*, bright yellow from very light roasts and plenty of saffron and cardamom. Traditionally the beans were roasted in a *mihmas*, a flat, long-handled iron or bronze pan, and pounded in a *mihbaj*, a large mortar and pestle.

## How much coffee and cardamom?

One guide, from Lezzet Coffee, uses these amounts for a pot of about 8 small cups:

| | Amount |
| --- | --- |
| Water | 3 cups (720 ml) |
| Lightly roasted Arabic coffee | 3 tablespoons, medium-fine ground |
| Cardamom | 1 to 1½ tablespoons, freshly ground |
| Saffron | A small pinch, soaked in a spoonful of warm water (optional) |
| Cloves | 2 or 3 whole (optional) |
| Rose water | ½ teaspoon, stirred in at the end (optional) |

Every family and region has its own balance. Some Saudi recipes use only cardamom.

![Chart of coffee grind sizes from extra fine to extra coarse, with medium-fine highlighted for Arabic coffee](https://dailyextraction.com/diagrams/grind-size.svg#medium-fine "Arabic coffee is ground and left to settle, then poured off.")

## How do you make qahwa, step by step?

1. **Bring about 3 cups of water to the boil.**
2. **Add about 3 tablespoons** of ground, lightly roasted coffee.
3. **Simmer for about 15 minutes.**
4. **Add the cardamom** near the end, and the soaked **saffron** if using. Lezzet takes the pot off the heat for a minute first, then gives the spices 3 to 5 minutes at a gentle simmer.
5. **Let it settle** off the heat for about 5 minutes.
6. **Pour it off the grounds** into a serving dallah.

Brew mode on this page times the simmer and the settling for you.

## How is Arabic coffee served?

From a **dallah**, the traditional coffee pot with a long curved spout, into small **handleless cups**, usually only a little at a time, with **dates** alongside. The coffee is offered as a welcome, and pouring and accepting it are part of the hospitality that UNESCO's listing recognises.

UNESCO's listing sets out some of the etiquette: **older people and guests are served first**, the coffee is poured with the **right hand**, and when you've had enough you **shake your cup** gently from side to side. Cups are only filled partway, and Wikipedia notes that the habit is to drink **three cups**. In 2024, **Jordan** joined the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Oman and Qatar on the listing.

## What is a dallah?

The **dallah** is the traditional Arabic coffee pot, with a rounded body, a long curved spout and a tall lid. Coffee is often brewed in one pot, then poured off its grounds into an ornamental dallah for serving.

*General guidance only. Take care with simmering water and a hot dallah, and let the grounds settle before pouring.*

## Arabic coffee vs other methods

- **[Bedouin coffee](https://dailyextraction.com/methods/kahwa-bedouin/):** the desert tradition of Arabic coffee.
- **[Yemeni qishr](https://dailyextraction.com/methods/yemeni-qishr/):** a spiced drink made from coffee husks.
- **[Lebanese coffee](https://dailyextraction.com/methods/lebanese-coffee/):** dark, powder-fine coffee from the Levant.
- **[Turkish coffee](https://dailyextraction.com/methods/turkish-coffee/):** powder-fine coffee heated in a cezve.

Explore every boiled method in the [boiled chapter](https://dailyextraction.com/methods/boiled/).

## Words used in this guide

- [Roast level](https://dailyextraction.com/glossary/roast-level/): Roast level describes how long and how hot coffee beans were roasted, usually labelled light, medium or dark.
- [Body](https://dailyextraction.com/glossary/body/): Body is how heavy and textured coffee feels in your mouth, from light and tea-like to thick and syrupy.

## FAQs

### What is Arabic coffee?

Qahwa, or gahwa, is coffee brewed from lightly roasted beans and spiced, above all with cardamom. In the Gulf it's pale gold, served from a dallah in small handleless cups, usually with dates.

### Does Arabic coffee have saffron?

Often, but not always. Sources describe Saudi qahwa with cardamom, saffron and sometimes cloves or rose water; others list only cardamom. Recipes vary by region and family.

### Is Arabic coffee the same as Turkish or Lebanese coffee?

No. Gulf qahwa uses a very light roast, is simmered and poured off its grounds, and tastes of cardamom. Levantine coffee, like Lebanese coffee, is made from dark-roasted, finely ground coffee, closer to Turkish coffee.

### Is Arabic coffee on the UNESCO list?

Yes. In 2015, UNESCO inscribed "Arabic coffee, a symbol of generosity" on its Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, in a file from the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Oman and Qatar. Jordan joined the listing in 2024.

### What is a dallah?

The traditional Arabic coffee pot, with a long, curved spout. Coffee is often brewed in one pot and poured into an ornamental dallah to serve.

## Sources

- [Arabic coffee](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arabic_coffee)
- [Dallah (coffee pot)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dallah_(coffee_pot))
- [Arabic coffee (qahwa): gahwa and Lebanese coffee recipes](https://www.lezzetcoffee.com/blog/arabic-coffee/)
- [Arabic coffee, a symbol of generosity](https://ich.unesco.org/en/RL/arabic-coffee-a-symbol-of-generosity-01074)
- [What is qahwa coffee](https://www.coffeeness.de/en/qahwa-coffee/)