# Moroccan Spiced Coffee

Source: https://dailyextraction.com/methods/moroccan-spiced-coffee/
Last updated: 2026-10-20

> Boil water, take it off the heat and stir in ground coffee with whole spices such as cinnamon, cloves, black pepper, fennel seed and ginger. Leave it to infuse for about 10 minutes, strain, and sweeten with honey or brown sugar. Abdel Alaoui's recipe uses 150 g of coffee to 1 litre of water for four people.

## At a glance

- Ratio: About 1:7 (infused, then strained) (150 g coffee : 1000 g water)
- Water temperature: Off the boil
- Brew time: about 10:00
- Category: Boiled & Traditional (Boiled)
- Difficulty: Beginner
- Origin: Morocco
- Also known as: qahwa ma’atra, café aux épices, Moroccan coffee with spices

## Steps

1. **Boil the water**: Bring 1 litre of water to the boil.
2. **Add coffee and spices off the heat**: Take the pan off the heat and stir in 150 g of ground coffee with 4 cloves, 5 black peppercorns, 1 teaspoon of fennel seeds, 3 cinnamon sticks and 1 teaspoon of ground ginger.
3. **Infuse**: Leave it to infuse for 10 minutes.
4. **Strain and sweeten**: Strain the coffee and serve it with a little honey or brown sugar.

**Moroccan spiced coffee**, called **qahwa ma'atra** by Tasting Table and **café aux épices** in French, is coffee brewed or blended with warm spices: typically **cinnamon, cloves, cardamom and nutmeg**, and sometimes **ginger, black pepper, anise or fennel**. In Morocco it's mainly a **home drink**, poured by the woman of the house for her guests, rather than something you order in a café. There's no single recipe, because every family has its own blend. Here's how it's made, with a published recipe and the spice mixes people use.

## The short version

- **Coffee plus five or more spices**, chosen by family taste.
- **Two ways to make it:** infuse whole spices with the coffee and strain, or grind the spices into the coffee and brew as usual.
- **One recipe:** 150 g of coffee, whole spices and 1 litre of water, infused off the heat for 10 minutes.
- **Sweetened** with honey, sugar or brown sugar; sometimes served with milk.
- **A home tradition**: guests are served first, and there are often several rounds.



## What spices go in Moroccan coffee?

There's no fixed blend. Tasting Table says qahwa ma'atra often has **five or more spices**, and that the mix depends on the drinker and on family tradition. Here's how three published versions compare:

| Source | Spices |
| --- | --- |
| Tasting Table (typical) | Cloves, cardamom, cinnamon, nutmeg; less often black pepper, ginger, anise, vanilla |
| Abdel Alaoui's recipe | 4 cloves, 5 black peppercorns, 1 tsp fennel seeds, 3 cinnamon sticks, 1 tsp ground ginger |
| Paperblog blend (for about 250 g of coffee) | Toasted sesame, anise seed, cinnamon, ginger, black pepper, optional thyme, a pinch each of cardamom and nutmeg, a little gum arabic |
| Salima's Kitchen | Cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cardamom, clove, black pepper, star anise |

Paperblog's writer says Moroccans add spices for a subtle taste and a reviving drink: "a cup of coffee lightly peppered wakes you up very well".

## How do you make Moroccan spiced coffee?

### Infused (Abdel Alaoui's recipe)

This recipe, from **Abdel Alaoui's** book *Alimentation générale* as published by Do It in Paris, serves **four**:

| Ingredient | Amount |
| --- | --- |
| Ground coffee | 150 g |
| Water | 1 litre |
| Cloves | 4 |
| Black peppercorns | 5 |
| Fennel seeds | 1 teaspoon |
| Cinnamon sticks | 3 |
| Ground ginger | 1 teaspoon |
| To sweeten | Honey or brown sugar |

1. **Boil 1 litre of water.**
2. **Take it off the heat** and stir in the coffee and all the spices.
3. **Infuse for 10 minutes.**
4. **Strain**, and serve with a little honey or brown sugar.

That's a strong ratio, about **1:7** coffee to water, so it makes a rich, concentrated cup. Add a splash of hot water if you'd like it lighter.

### Blended (spice your coffee, then brew as normal)

The other approach is to **mix ground spices into ground coffee** and brew it however you like. Salima's Kitchen grinds whole spices with the beans, or stirs ground spices into pre-ground coffee, then brews as usual and serves it with **warm milk and sugar**. Tasting Table notes you can use anything from a drip machine or [French press](https://dailyextraction.com/methods/french-press/) to the traditional pot method, and warns that grinding spices in your coffee grinder will leave their flavour behind in it, so a spice mill or mortar and pestle is kinder to your grinder.

## How is it served?

Tasting Table describes a home ritual: the coffee is **poured by the female head of the household**, **guests are served first**, and there are often **several rounds**. Simply holding your cup out signals that you'd like a refill.

## How did coffee come to Morocco?

Morocco is a **mint tea** country first. According to Tasting Table, Moroccan Islamic scholars debated whether coffee should be allowed in the 17th century, and some leaders banned it. Coffee beans reached Morocco in the **18th century**, but cafés only spread in the **20th century**, during French colonial rule. Spiced coffee developed as a domestic drink, which is why visitors rarely find it in cafés.

*General guidance only. Use spices in the small amounts recipes give, and take care with boiling water.*

## Moroccan spiced coffee vs other methods

- **[Café de olla](https://dailyextraction.com/methods/cafe-de-olla/):** Mexico's coffee simmered with cinnamon and piloncillo.
- **[Arabic coffee](https://dailyextraction.com/methods/arabic-qahwa/):** light-roast coffee boiled with cardamom.
- **[Café Touba](https://dailyextraction.com/methods/cafe-touba/):** Senegal's coffee spiced with Guinea pepper.
- **[Yemeni qishr](https://dailyextraction.com/methods/yemeni-qishr/):** coffee husks brewed with ginger.

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

## FAQs

### What is Moroccan spiced coffee called?

Tasting Table calls it qahwa ma'atra; in French it's often called café aux épices. It's mostly made at home rather than ordered in cafés.

### What spices go in Moroccan coffee?

It varies by family. Tasting Table says recipes typically include cloves, cardamom, cinnamon and nutmeg, with black pepper, ginger, anise and vanilla as less common, more pungent additions. Abdel Alaoui's recipe uses cloves, black pepper, fennel seed, cinnamon and ginger.

### Do you grind the spices with the coffee?

You can. Some recipes grind whole spices with the beans, or mix ground spices into ground coffee to make a blend. Others infuse whole spices with the coffee and strain them out. Tasting Table notes that grinding spices in your coffee grinder leaves their flavour behind in it.

### Is Moroccan coffee drunk with milk?

It can be. Salima's Kitchen serves its spiced coffee with warm milk and sugar; Abdel Alaoui's recipe is sweetened with honey or brown sugar instead.

### Is coffee a traditional drink in Morocco?

Less than mint tea. Tasting Table says coffee reached Morocco in the 18th century but cafés only spread in the 20th century, under French colonial rule, and spiced coffee is mainly a home drink.

## Sources

- [The robust way coffee is spiced up in Morocco](https://www.tastingtable.com/1210463/the-robust-way-coffee-is-spiced-up-in-morocco)
- [Le café aux épices comme au bled (recipe from Abdel Alaoui, Alimentation générale)](https://www.doitinparis.com/fr/recette-kawa-aux-epices-23263)
- [Café épicé marocain](https://www.paperblog.fr/3343862/cafe-epice-marocain-ses-bienfaits-cote-beaute/)
- [Authentic Moroccan coffee](https://salimaskitchen.com/moroccan-coffee/)