Arabic coffee is a case where even the name sounds delicious. It's not too difficult to prepare, but doing it right is an art. The subtleties of preparation lie not only in how much Arabic coffee needs to be brewed, but also in the choice of beans, the amount of water and spices. Plus, there are many options: from sophisticated classics to spicy new ones. Recipes are developed, new unique tastes are created with a pronounced touch of the east.
What is the difference between an Arabic invigorating drink?
In eastern countries, coffee with a pleasant aroma is poured into small cups. It is not prepared using a coffee machine. The ground cardamom seeds turn into dust, which clogs the filter of the device.
The main distinguishing feature of Arabic coffee is its rich, bitter taste. It is prepared with the addition of spices.
To ensure a rich taste of the drink, several varieties of coffee beans are used. Residents of European countries do not know exactly what raw materials are used to cook it. It is only known that Arabs often use Arabica and Robusta to prepare it.
For proper cooking, use cold water. It turns into steam, which colors the grains yellowish.
You cannot turn coffee beans into dust by hand. For this purpose, a special grinding device is used - an electric mill.
The combination of Robusta and Arabica makes this drink delicious. The fruits of the first type of tree give the drink strength and bitterness, while the fruits of the second type give it subtle and delicate notes.
According to Arab gourmets, to get delicious coffee, you need to brew it using different types of beans. It is advisable that they be taken from different plantations.
One of the favorite Arabic coffee varieties is Mocha, grown in the city of Moho. These grains are easy to grind and have a pleasant taste and aroma. Drinking a drink made from mocha fruits invigorates the body. To feel a surge of strength and energy, just drink 1 small cup.
What is the secret of coffee taste?
It’s not difficult to make coffee with a hint of bitterness, a sharp aftertaste and the spicy aroma of oriental spices. Cardamom gives the drink a tart and persistent aroma. If you do not calculate the amount of additive per serving, the taste will be lost. If you are using the spice for the first time, it is recommended to start with a small pinch per cup.
The supplement contains complex substances, both essential and aromatic. They are responsible for the exquisite taste of coffee. But when exposed to high temperatures of 80 degrees or more, they are destroyed. In this regard, when preparing a tasty drink, the technology must include a process of cooking over low heat.
For you:
Ice cold coffee for a hot summer day
Cardamom is not much different from any other spices and can lose its aroma and taste during storage. Therefore, to drink real coffee, use freshly ground and whole fruits.
Combinations with other spices are possible for its grains. So for this drink you can use cinnamon sticks, pieces of fresh ginger or star anise. Peas of pink or black pepper will add unusual notes. Nutmeg will also add a wonderful combination.
You need to add cardamom to coffee at the very beginning. This way the spice will be able to give off the whole bouquet of esters and bitterness.
Interesting to know: This drink is in great demand in coffee shops in Rome, but it differs from this option. Cardamom is ground with citrus juice, and then added to ready-made coffee powder. The resulting tropical infusion is very popular.
Rules for brewing Arabic coffee
The main requirement for cooking is a good mood and a pleasant atmosphere. To enjoy the unusual taste of Arabic coffee, you don’t have to go to another continent in search of a unique recipe; you just need to collect the right ingredients.
Anyone can brew coffee, but to make it tasty, it must be done according to the rules. The main tool you will need is a Turk. The average cooking time is 5-7 minutes.
Cooking rules:
- The grains must be finely ground. You need to cook the dust obtained during the processing of raw materials.
- An acceptable option is grinding cardamom along with the grains.
- Use whatever spices and herbs you like.
- You can use any type of coffee as the basis for the drink.
- Brew it only in a quiet and calm atmosphere.
The ideal option is to turn on relaxing music beforehand.
If you like sweet drinks, we recommend adding a few tablespoons of granulated sugar to the raw materials for cooking.
Black diamond from Europe: Viennese coffee
At the turn of the 18th century, the European capital was taught to drink coffee by the enterprising merchant Yuri Franz Kulchitsky. Viennese coffee is a noble duet of coffee and whipped cream, sprinkled with chocolate and/or orange zest. At that time, Europeans did not like the brown, bitter liquid. Kulchitsky, who received several bags of coffee and, of course, had to find a use for them, came up with the idea of combining coffee with a creamy milky taste, chocolate and honey. He offered the townspeople a free taste of sweet coffee with cream and a bagel to boot.
Making coffee Viennese style
So, we need to brew strong coffee. We take varieties with dark roasting.
While we are conjuring the coffee, throw a little grated chocolate into the cup, add honey to taste, preferably fresh, cinnamon on the tip of a knife and just a little freshly ground black pepper. Mix everything and add to the cup.
Top with whipped cream. For Viennese coffee you need cream with a fat content of 30-35%, whipped into a homogeneous and plastic foam; it is poured rather than spooned.
All that remains is to sprinkle with cinnamon, grated chocolate or finely grated orange zest - and Viennese coffee is ready.
Please note that Viennese coffee is not a cocktail; it must contain more coffee base than cream. You can improve the taste by replacing regular sugar with cane sugar.
What to take for Viennese coffee?
We recommend trying Salvador Bourbon, a highland Arabica from Central America, dark roasted. Cream and pepper go well with it. Balanced, moderately sweet, with a pleasant tart sourness and notes of tropical fruits in the taste.
The peculiarity of coffee from El Salvador is its characteristic taste. Coffee beans ripen in beneficial shade, protected from direct sunlight, which gives them softness, richness and berry polyphony in taste.
Classic recipe
You can prepare classic Arabic coffee in any kitchen where you feel comfortable. To do this you need to take 3 components:
- ground coffee;
- granulated sugar;
- cold water.
Step-by-step cooking method:
- A good Turka is the main tool for creating an exquisite Arabic drink. You need to put granulated sugar on its bottom. You should not put it “with a reserve”, as in this case the drink will turn out very sweet. Place the Turk on low heat.
- After 2-3 minutes you will be able to observe caramelization - the process of sugar hardening. As soon as this starts to happen, pour water into the Turk.
- After the water boils, remove the Turk from the heat and pour coffee into it along with the selected spices. The cooking process can be completed after boiling again. All that remains is to pour into cups.
It is believed that Arabic coffee is a gourmet drink. But in fact, anyone can appreciate its excellent taste.
In order not to spoil the impression of the ceremony, it should be consumed hot. It is recommended to do this with slow sips. Coffee connoisseurs advise brewing and drinking it first of all after waking up in the morning. In their opinion, this will give a boost of energy for the whole day.
Manufacturing Features
The Arabs have the strictest attitude towards coffee, therefore its production cannot be treated with disdain. Even the most seemingly insignificant little things are important.
- It is impossible to prepare Arabic coffee in a coffee machine; a coffee maker will not help in this case. You can only use the cezve.
- The coffee is selected with the smallest grind. When you buy it in a store, you can see marks on the packages that it is intended for brewing in a Turkish tea pot (or cezve). If you grind coffee at home, you need to grind it in a coffee grinder to a powder state.
- It is best to grind coffee at home, just before production. In this case, it will retain all its own smell.
- The Arabs use a unique mixture of coffee types to make the drink, the recipe of which is kept secret. Baristas are advised to use mocha coffee to brew an Arabic coffee drink, believing that its taste is very close to unique.
- The Arabs believe that a special design and manufacture helps to reveal the taste and smell of coffee, when water is poured into the Turk in parts. With all this, it is necessary to bring the coffee to a boil three times, but it is not recommended to boil it for even a minute.
- The main ingredient in Arabic coffee is cardamom. It is ground and combined with ground coffee before pouring it into the Turk. Additionally, if the design of the container in which the coffee drink is brewed allows this, several cardamom grains are placed in the spout. Cardamom not only gives the drink a unique smell, but also softens the effect of caffeine.
- Sugar, which is heated in the first step, helps soften the taste of the drink, which is why the drink acquires caramel notes. You need to add very little sugar, approximately 2-3 g per serving. If you overdo it, it will no longer be Arabic coffee, but some other drink.
- Water quality matters too. The softer it is, the tastier it will be. But boiled water cannot be used for Arabic coffee. To reduce the hardness of water, it can be passed through a special filter.
Obviously, to achieve an ideal result, you must follow all the proportions indicated in the recipe.
Cardamom treat
To prepare Arabic coffee, you can use different herbs and spices. The most commonly used are:
- cardamom;
- red pepper;
- lemon juice;
- salt.
The taste and aroma of this coffee with cardamom is unforgettable. The recipe for such a delicacy is one of the most useful. Cardamom is a component that improves the functioning of the cardiovascular system. It cleanses the blood and stimulates its flow to the internal organs. This spice also has pain-relieving properties.
Regular consumption of this type of coffee will help relieve fatigue and insomnia. It is also an excellent aphrodesiac. But this is not all of his “advantages”.
Benefits of the spice:
- Cleanses the oral mucosa from pathogenic microflora.
- Stabilizes the functioning of the nervous system, helps relieve stress and improve the quality of sleep.
- Helps strengthen the immune system.
- Relieves pain that occurs in different parts of the body.
- Improves the functioning of the gastrointestinal tract.
Cardamom helps reduce the effects of caffeine on the body, so even hypertensive patients can drink a drink with it.
This coffee is brewed in a Turk. For 1 spoon of ground grains there is 1 cardamom fruit. To obtain a homogeneous composition of the drink, it is recommended to grind this spice together with grains.
To enjoy this drink more, let it steep for 10 minutes. It is also advisable to serve it with oriental sweets.
History of the geyser coffee maker
The idea of making coffee by passing hot water through a layer of ground beans was tried by many inventors back in the 19th century. For example, in 1889, the American Hans Goodrich patented a percolator - a coffee pot with a tube located in the center. When heated, hot water rises through the tube and irrigates a layer of ground coffee in a filter installed on top. Passing through the coffee grounds, the water returns to the reservoir. The longer you heat the percolator, the stronger the coffee, however, due to the high temperature of the water, the drink loses most of the subtle nuances in the aroma, but may acquire a burnt taste.
Percolator
A more advanced version of the coffee maker was invented in 1933 by the Italian Alfonso Bialetti. The design was simple to the point of genius, and therefore has remained unchanged to this day.
Bialetti called his creation Moka Express. Abroad, geyser coffee makers are simply called “Moka” (in English-speaking countries - Moka Pot).
Alfonso Bialetti (right) – creator of the geyser coffee maker
Since Bialetti owned a small company producing aluminum blanks, the first geyser coffee makers were made of aluminum. The choice of material turned out to be very successful: aluminum absorbs the aroma of the drink after preparing several servings of coffee. Until now, many branded Bialetti coffee makers are made from food-grade aluminum.
Signor Bialetti was more of an artistic person than an entrepreneur. He spent a long time perfecting the design of his invention and hardly cared about advertising. The Moka Express is so impressive and original that today it is exhibited in museums as an example of perfect design. However, before the war, Moka Express coffee makers were produced only in small quantities and were sold mainly in the Italian province of Verbania.
The man who brought the Italians home
The real success of the Bialetti company is associated with the name of the son of its founder, Renato Bialetti, who began working in the family business in 1946. Señor Renato actively advertised Moka Express on television. There were so many advertising videos that one of the newspapers even published a cartoon of the owner of the company. Renato Bialetti made this cartoon the trademark of his company.
Renato Bialetti
It was a fortunate coincidence that it was during that period that espresso coffee became extremely fashionable. But due to the high cost of the coffee machine, it could only be prepared in a bar. Many Italian men disappeared into bars until nightfall.
Bialetti advertised his coffee maker as a device that allows you to brew espresso at home. In the lower container of the Moka Express, a pressure of up to 3 atmospheres is created (for comparison, in a carob coffee maker - 9 atmospheres), so there really is some similarity between the taste of espresso and coffee prepared in a geyser coffee maker.
Caricature by Renato Bialetti The caricature became the prototype for the company logo
Renato Bialetti went down in history as the man who brought Italian men home from bars: any housewife could make delicious, strong coffee. Over time, the fashion for Moka Express has spread far beyond Italy. Already in the middle of the 20th century, sales of geyser coffee makers reached a million a year. Today, about 7 million of them are sold per year, and over the entire period since 1933, about 250 million Bialetti geyser coffee makers have been sold. Moka Express is listed in the Guinness Book of Records as the most famous coffee maker in the world.
How to serve Arabic coffee correctly
According to oriental etiquette, a guest can ask for coffee in Arabic no more than 3 times. Recommendations for serving the drink:
- Never pour it into large cups. Small dishes will do.
- Pour the prepared Turkish drink immediately after removing it from the heat.
- It is advisable to use ceramic or porcelain dishes.
- To give the drink a caramel flavor, we recommend melting the granulated sugar first.
- If you are serving Arabic coffee to several people, use cups from the same set.
It is important to drink this drink in a relaxed home atmosphere. During the ceremony, you should not sort things out, negotiate or plan events. Remember that a cup of aromatic Arabic coffee is a great way to relax and throw away anxious thoughts.
Secrets
There are three factors that influence the cooking result:
- Coffee. Choose the best quality coffee, ground or whole beans, if you have a coffee grinder at home. By choosing the most expensive Turkish coffee on the shelf, you will still save significantly compared to buying coffee in capsules, for example. Do not buy large packages: coffee has the best aroma in the first week after opening the package. There are so many types of coffee available, so choose your best coffee. For Turks, they usually use finely ground “dust” coffee, but many people prefer a slightly coarser grind;
- Dishes. The best Turks are made of copper. There are also clay and ceramic ones. A high-quality stainless steel Turk will also work perfectly. The best spoon for stirring is silver;
- Water. Spring, from a well, or at least filtered. Never boiled. Iced is best. Can be at room temperature. Under no circumstances – hot.
It is recommended to heat coffee cups - this way the taste of the drink is better revealed. They are either placed in a warm place or doused with hot boiling water before pouring coffee.
What is “cezva” and how did it appear?
The mysterious word “cezve” can baffle even advanced coffee lovers. In fact, this is what the coffee utensils were originally called. Only in Russia, for ease of pronunciation, the name was changed to the word “Turk”, familiar to our ears.
According to historical data, African nomadic tribes first started brewing coffee.
They did this in copper pots, however, due to frequent movement from place to place, the volume of the container began to gradually decrease. Eventually, the cooking vessel became a jug with a long handle and a narrow spout. This device was called a dalla.
Once on the Arabian Peninsula, the dalla was improved: the handle was lengthened, the neck of the jug was narrowed and its volume was reduced. In such a vessel, the valuable drink stopped spilling onto the coals, and it became much more convenient to prepare. This is how the cezve appeared.
