# Yemeni Qishr

Source: https://dailyextraction.com/methods/yemeni-qishr/
Last updated: 2026-10-19

> Qishr is a traditional Yemeni drink made by brewing the dried husks of the coffee cherry, rather than the beans, usually with ginger and often with cinnamon or cardamom and sugar. It's tea-like, spicy and fruity, and has long been an everyday drink in Yemen. One Yemeni recipe steeps 5 g of husks per cup of hot water for 6 minutes. Recipes vary from household to household.

## At a glance

- Ratio: About 5 g husks per cup of water
- Category: Boiled & Traditional (Boiled)
- Difficulty: Beginner
- Origin: Yemen
- Also known as: qishr, qishir, coffee husk tea, cascara drink, Yemeni ginger coffee

## Steps

1. **Gather the husks and spices**: For one cup, take about 5 g (a tablespoon) of dried coffee husks, a sliver of fresh ginger, half a crushed cardamom pod and a third of a cinnamon stick.
2. **Steep**: Steep the husks and spices in a cup of hot water for about 6 minutes, or simmer them gently if you like it stronger.
3. **Sweeten**: Add sugar to taste, as many Yemeni households do.
4. **Strain and serve**: Strain out the husks and spices, and serve the qishr hot in small cups.

**Qishr** is Yemen's other coffee drink. Instead of the beans, it's made from the **dried husks** of the coffee cherry, the fruit around the bean, brewed with **ginger** and often **cinnamon**, **cardamom** and **sugar**. The result is **tea-like, spicy and fruity**. The husks are cheaper than the beans and need no roasting, which helped make qishr an everyday drink in Yemen, the country whose port of **Mocha** gave its name to coffee's early trade. Here's what it is and how it's made.

## The short version

- **Made from coffee husks**, not the beans.
- **Spiced**, above all with **ginger**; sometimes cinnamon or cardamom.
- **Usually sweetened** with sugar.
- **Tea-like and fruity**, more like a spiced tea than a coffee.
- **An everyday drink** in Yemen.



## What is qishr made from?

The **coffee cherry** is a fruit: the bean is its seed, wrapped in a pulpy layer and a skin. When coffee is processed, the beans are separated from the dried fruit, the **husk**. In Yemen, those husks are brewed into **qishr**. Because they don't need roasting and cost less than the beans, they've long been an affordable everyday drink.

## How is qishr made?

Recipes vary by region and household, so there's no single method. The common pattern is:

1. **Steep or simmer dried coffee husks** in water with **ginger**, and sometimes **cinnamon** or **cardamom**.
2. **Sweeten** it with sugar, to taste.
3. **Strain** and serve hot.

Al Mokha, a Yemeni coffee importer, publishes a traditional recipe from the Rayyan Mill. For **one cup of water**, it uses:

| | Amount |
| --- | --- |
| Dried qishr (coffee husks) | 5 g, about 1 tablespoon |
| Cardamom | ½ pod, crushed, not ground |
| Fresh ginger | 1 sliver |
| Cinnamon | ⅓ of a stick |
| Steep in hot water | 6 minutes |

Al-Bab describes qishr made with **ginger, sometimes cinnamon, and sugar**. Husks sold for qishr can also be brewed plain, which Al Mokha describes as giving a fruity, slightly sweet tea with a body like black tea.

## What does qishr taste like?

**Tea-like rather than coffee-like**: fruity and lightly sweet from the husks, warm and spicy from the ginger. Aramco World called it "a delicately flavored, tea-like infusion", and Al Mokha says its body and mouthfeel are **akin to black tea**.

## A short history of qishr

Yemen was the first great centre of the coffee trade, shipping through the port of **Mocha**. Yemenis have long used the coffee fruit as well as the bean. Travellers noticed: an account of San'a' in 1823 describes guests being given "an infusion of coffee husk called 'keshr'", and in 1947 the explorer Wilfred Thesiger wrote that qishr was drunk "particularly in the Tihamat al 'Asir". A **1997 Aramco World** article described qishr as the drink of choice among Yemenis from mid-morning on, and noted that, unlike other coffee-growing countries where the husks are thrown away, **Yemen uses them to make qishr**. The same article says this has led to the false impression that Yemenis no longer drink their own coffee. Wikipedia says the earliest qishr was a kind of wine made from fermented coffee fruit, used in religious ceremonies; the details of that early history are uncertain.

## Qishr vs coffee vs cascara

| | Qishr | Coffee | Cascara |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Made from | Dried coffee husks | Roasted coffee beans | Dried coffee husks |
| Spiced | Yes, usually ginger | Sometimes | Usually plain |
| Taste | Fruity, spicy, tea-like | Roasted, bitter-sweet | Fruity, tea-like |

*General guidance only. Take care with simmering water, and check that husks are sold as food, from a reputable supplier.*

## Qishr vs other methods

- **[Arabic coffee](https://dailyextraction.com/methods/arabic-qahwa/):** light-roast coffee with cardamom, from the same region.
- **[Ethiopian jebena buna](https://dailyextraction.com/methods/jebena-buna/):** the coffee ceremony across the Red Sea.
- **[Kuti](https://dailyextraction.com/methods/kuti-coffee-leaf-tea/):** a tea made from coffee leaves.
- **[Turkish coffee](https://dailyextraction.com/methods/turkish-coffee/):** powder-fine coffee from the Ottoman tradition.

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

## Words used in this guide

- [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 qishr made from?

The dried husks of the coffee cherry, the fruit around the coffee bean, brewed with spices, usually ginger, and often sugar. The beans themselves aren't used.

### Is qishr the same as cascara?

Both are made from dried coffee cherry husks. Cascara is usually brewed plain, like a tea, while Yemeni qishr is traditionally spiced, above all with ginger.

### Why is qishr popular in Yemen?

The husks are cheaper than the beans, and they don't need roasting. A 1997 Aramco World article described it as the drink of choice among Yemenis from mid-morning on.

### What spices go in qishr?

Ginger above all, and sometimes cinnamon or cardamom. One traditional recipe from Yemen's Rayyan Mill uses a sliver of fresh ginger, half a crushed cardamom pod and a third of a cinnamon stick per cup. Every household has its own.

## Sources

- [Qishr](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qishr)
- [Yemen’s well-travelled bean](https://archive.aramcoworld.com/issue/199705/yemen.s.well-traveled.bean.htm)
- [Mukha (Mocha), Yemen’s historic coffee port](https://al-bab.com/node/3530)
- [Qishr (coffee cherry tea)](https://www.almokha.com/products/qishr)