I want whatever she's having!!

Wondering around the Souq Waqif with my friend Meg and her husband Mike yesterday, we went to my regular vendor of birdseed.  (have to keep those backyard birds happy).  The store is so tiny and filled to the brim with spices, seeds, olive oils and vinegars - amongst other things.  You have to scoot sideways to get to the back of the shop to avoid the rows of heaped wares. 


While we were waiting for our guy to scoop out millet and mixed birdseed from a huge sack, we noticed an abaya-clad lady come into the store.  Being my usual nosy self, I watched as she sat down on a plastic chair reserved for customers who must wait through the scooping, measuring, weighing and sealing of bags ritual.  The store owner proceeded to fill her order for coffee: scoops of arabic coffee beans, a cupful of cardomom seeds, and handful of cloves and a bit of saffron.  Then he dumped it all together in a primitive grinder accompanied by the delicious aroma of fresh coffee.

Before he was finished, both Meg and I were squealing with delight, pointing repeatedly at the coffee while dancing up and down, and begging him to give us whatever it was that the Qatari lady had ordered.   Her eyes smiled at us as she left, and the store owner was only too pleased to gain more dedicated shoppers.  We sat down on our plastic chairs to observe the ritual again, this time for our very own coffee.

So the ingredients for Qatari coffee are (more or less):

2 cups Arabian coffee beans

1/2 cup cardomom seeds

1 tsp whole cloves

pinch of saffron

Blend together in a grinder.  Place a few heaped teaspoonfuls of coffee mix in 2 cups of boiling water, and sugar as needed.  Allow to brew for approximately 15 minutes.  Strain and pour into small espresso cups.   

Delicious.

Fisehatak (To your health)!