What Souvenirs to Bring from Saudi Arabia – Part Five of the Top 15 Ideas for Gift Shopping.
Arabic coffee or Qahwa.
Making and serving coffee in Saudi Arabia is considered “a ceremonial act of generosity”, and the process is inscribed in the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
Saudi man pouring coffee
Arabic-style coffee is not the type of coffee you are used to. The beans are roasted just slightly (or sometimes not roasted at all), therefore the color is really light and greenish, and you might think its tea you are offered to drink. It’s traditionally made without sugar, but always served with something sweet, often with dates.
Green cardamom, an expensive and exotic aromatic spice originated in India and brought to Saudi Arabia via the Silk Road, adds to the lovely flavor profile. Saffron, rosewater and cloves are optional.
A traditional Arabic coffee setting consists of a dallah, which is an hourglass-shaped coffee pot with a domed lid and a long spout designed specifically for serving Arabic coffee, a plate with dates, and little delicate coffee cups called finjaans, stacked up on a tray. While in older times dallahs were made of bronze (to brew coffee over open fire), today coffee is prepared on stove tops and transferred into thermos flasks to keep it warm.
Traditional Arabic coffee setting
Image source unknown
Out of courteousness the guest will always accept at least one cup (traditionally three). Coffee will be poured with the right hand, and the guest will also use the right hand to receive the cup and drink the coffee. Cups will be filled no more than halfway so coffee cools fast, and the host meanwhile demonstrates respect and focused attention to the guest by continuously offering to refill the cup. By jiggling the cup the guest shows that he/she doesn’t wish a refill anymore.
Etiquette tip: if you are at a gathering with many strangers around, follow the sequence in which the coffee is being offered, and you will figure out the hierarchy of the visitors. If you are a guest of honor, you will be offered the first cup. Make a polite gesture to offer the cup to the next in rank or the eldest.
This is how modern designer dallahs look like. Modern, stylish yet traditional.
By the way, the above coffee set is sold by Aura Living. It’s a really cool lifestyle brand, and I highly recommend to check them out.
Back to our shopping quest. Ground Arabic coffee can be found in supermarkets. Some brands already have cardamom added.
Siafa Arabic coffee with cardamom and saffron. Pay attention to the nice tins!
Image source: collage made of pictures found here
Now what is the way to brew Arabic coffee? I found a comprehensive and detailed guide here
If you are not into coffee brewing, Nescafe (and other brands) has a solution for you. They sell instant coffee Arabic style!
Arabic style instant coffee sticks, cardamom added, by Nescafe
Nescafe offers two different boxes: one box contains 20 sticks, each stick makes 3 Arabic cups of coffee (remember? three cups is a standard consumption number) and the other box has 3 large sticks, each stick will fill one dallah.
You probably think that a traditional Saudi dallah will be a good gift idea? Read our next post!
