Arabic Coffee (Qahwa)

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	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.

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: the desert tradition of Arabic coffee.
• Yemeni qishr: a spiced drink made from coffee husks.
• Lebanese coffee: dark, powder-fine coffee from the Levant.
• Turkish coffee: powder-fine coffee heated in a cezve.

Explore every boiled method in the boiled chapter.