How to Make Arabic Coffee (Saudi Gahwa) with Cardamom

Here is how to make Arabic coffee with nothing more than a small saucepan: simmer lightly roasted, finely ground coffee in water for 10–15 minutes, add ground cardamom (and a pinch of saffron or cloves if you like), let the grounds settle, then pour off the pale golden coffee. In Saudi Arabia it is called gahwa, or Saudi coffee, and it is served black in small cups, a little at a time, with dates.

What is Arabic coffee?

Arabic coffee (qahwa, or gahwa in the Gulf) is brewed in a pot from lightly roasted beans and flavoured with cardamom. Saudipedia, the Saudi Ministry of Media’s encyclopedia, names coffee beans and cardamom as the two main ingredients of Saudi coffee and says light, “blonde” coffee is preferred in most provinces, so gahwa is usually pale golden rather than dark.

Recipes vary. According to Saudipedia’s guide to Saudi coffee recipes, central Saudi Arabia roasts its coffee golden and occasionally adds cloves and saffron, the south uses the widest mix of spices, including ginger, cinnamon and fennel, and coffee in the north is darker.

In 2015, UNESCO inscribed Arabic coffee, a symbol of generosity on its Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, nominated by Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Oman and Qatar; the listing was extended to include Jordan in 2024.

How to make Arabic coffee in a saucepan

Starting ratio for one pot

• Water: 500ml.
• Coffee: 2 tablespoons (about 15g) of lightly roasted, finely ground Arabic coffee, or up to 3 for a stronger pot.
• Cardamom: 1 teaspoon of ground cardamom, or the seeds of a few freshly cracked green pods.
• Optional: a small pinch of saffron threads, and 2 whole cloves or a tiny pinch of ground cloves.

Adjust to taste next time. Traditional Saudi recipes use far more cardamom: Saudipedia gives an average of 40g of ground coffee and 30g of ground cardamom to 0.8 litres of water.

Method

1. Boil the water in a small saucepan.
2. Add the coffee and turn the heat down at once; fresh grounds foam up fast and can boil over.
3. Simmer gently for 10–15 minutes. Keep it to a lazy bubble: Saudipedia notes that long boiling makes coffee darker and more bitter.
4. Add the cardamom, plus saffron or cloves if using, for the last few minutes.
5. Let it settle off the heat for a minute or two, so the grounds sink.
6. Pour off the coffee slowly into a warmed flask, jug or dallah (the traditional Arabic coffee pot), leaving the sediment behind, or use a fine tea strainer.
7. Serve straight away in small cups, with dates.

Take care with hot liquids: turn the pan handle away from the front of the hob, and keep children well back while you brew and pour.

If you roast and grind your own beans

In UNESCO’s 2015 description, the beans are lightly roasted in a shallow pan over a fire, then pounded in a copper mortar. At home, stir green coffee beans in a heavy, dry frying pan over a medium heat until evenly light golden-brown (it is smoky, so open a window), then cool, grind finely and brew as above. Ready-ground Arabic coffee, often sold as Arabic coffee powder, skips both steps.

How to brew our Madina Arabic coffee

Our Madina Arabic coffees come lightly roasted and finely ground, and two of the three options already contain their spices. Each 200g pouch makes around 12–15 pots.

Both coffees are brewed the same way, according to our product pages: bring about 500ml of water to the boil, stir in 2 tablespoons (around 15g), simmer gently for 10–15 minutes, then let the grounds settle off the heat for a minute and pour into a dallah or flask, leaving the grounds behind. For the Plain blend, add ground cardamom (and a pinch of saffron) in the last few minutes.

To spice the Plain option, use Abido Whole Green Cardamom Pods, roughly 50–60 to a 20g sachet, or Ground Cardamom, plus a pinch of Ground Cloves, which are very strong. Abido’s pack says the pods may contain traces of wheat (gluten), sesame and mustard. Both coffees are in our tea and coffee range.

How to serve Arabic coffee

Customs vary by region and family, but these are widely shared:

• Arabic coffee cups: gahwa goes into a finjan, which the National Museum of Qatar describes as a small, handleless coffee cup. A quarter to a third of a cup is a typical pour.
• Who comes first: UNESCO notes that older people and guests are served first and that the coffee is poured with the right hand. Saudipedia adds that the pourer holds the pot in the left hand and the cups in the right.
• Refills: the host keeps refilling until the guest gives the empty cup a gentle shake. UNESCO’s 2015 description says common practice is at least one cup but no more than three.
• Dates alongside: Saudipedia describes dates and Saudi coffee as central to hospitality, with the dates set beside the coffee. Gahwa is drunk black, so dates, or maamoul from our sweets and bakery range, bring the sweetness.

No finjan? Any small cup will do: our Kochmaster Espresso Cups & Saucers are six small white cups for espresso and strong coffee, with matching saucers, though unlike a finjan they have handles.

Like all coffee, gahwa contains caffeine. If you are pregnant, the NHS advises having no more than 200mg of caffeine a day.

Which dates go with Arabic coffee?

• Sukkari: Leen Sukkari Dates are golden-amber, soft and honey-sweet, a classic with Arabic coffee, in 110g, 400g and 800g pouches.
• Khudri: firm and chewy, with a balanced caramel sweetness that is not overly sugary; Madina Khudri Dates come in a 1kg box, or a 5kg carton for big gatherings.
• Ajwa: Leen Ajwa Dates from Madinah are small and almost black, with a gentle sweetness and notes of raisin and cocoa; our Ajwa dates guide compares the packs.

Our types of dates guide compares the main varieties, or browse all our Saudi and Palestinian dates.

How to store Arabic coffee

• Ground coffee: once opened, keep it airtight in the sealed pouch or a jar, somewhere cool and dry, away from sunlight and strong smells, and go by the best-before date on the pack.
• Spices: keep ground cardamom and cloves resealed, in a cool, dry place away from direct sunlight, and crack whole pods just before use.
• Brewed coffee: it is best on the day. Keep it hot in a flask rather than reboiling it, which can make it darker and more bitter.

Arabic coffee vs Turkish coffee

Both are brewed in a pot and served in small cups, and UNESCO also lists Turkish coffee culture and tradition (since 2013), but they differ at almost every step.

In general, Arabic coffee is lighter-roasted and led by cardamom, while Turkish coffee is more concentrated and is served with its foam and grounds. Turkish tea has its own small, tulip-shaped glasses; see our Turkish tea glasses guide.

Frequently asked questions

What is Arabic coffee with cardamom?

It is the classic Saudi and Gulf way to make coffee: lightly roasted coffee simmered with ground cardamom, and sometimes saffron or cloves; the cardamom adds a sweet, floral, citrusy aroma. It is usually pale golden and fragrant, served black in small cups, often with dates. In Saudi Arabia it is called gahwa or Saudi coffee.

How do you make Arabic coffee?

Boil 500ml of water in a small saucepan, stir in 2 tablespoons (about 15g) of lightly roasted, finely ground Arabic coffee and simmer gently for 10–15 minutes, adding about 1 teaspoon of ground cardamom for the last few minutes. Let the grounds settle, then pour into a flask and serve in small cups with dates.

Is Saudi coffee the same as Arabic coffee?

Broadly, yes. In January 2022, during the Ministry of Culture’s Year of Saudi Coffee, Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Commerce announced that the Kingdom’s restaurants, cafés, shops and roasters would use the name “Saudi coffee” instead of “Arabic coffee”. Gahwa and qahwa are Arabic names for the same drink.

Why is Arabic coffee served in such small cups?

The small, handleless finjan is part of the hospitality: pouring a little at a time, usually a quarter to a third of the cup, lets the host keep refilling it. Common practice is to drink at least one cup and no more than three, then give the empty cup a gentle shake to say you have had enough.

Can you make Arabic coffee without a dallah?

Yes. Brew it in a small saucepan and serve it from a warmed vacuum flask or heatproof jug. Saudipedia notes that it is common nowadays to brew coffee in one pot, then pour it into a more presentable pouring pot. Pour slowly, or through a fine strainer, to leave the grounds behind.