Lebanese and Turkish Coffee Recipe
Lebanese people can be overly social. A typical home in Lebanon gets visited by family and friends several times, every day, unannounced! If a day passes by and you don’t get visitors, something is wrong. To us here in the US this can be quite excessive because we’re buried in our work and daily errands and barely make time for ourselves. However somehow folks in the mother land always find time for such 10-15 minutes social “breaks.” And I tell you, if you don’t offer Lebanese coffee to your guests in such gatherings, they’ll likely ask for it 🙂
Lebanese Coffee at Raouche, Beirut.
For those who haven’t tried it yet, Lebanese Coffee (aka Ahweh, Kawha, Kahva) is very similar to Turkish Coffee or Arabic Coffee in its preparation method, and is one of the strongest coffees you can have. It’s traditionally served in small artsy “shots” the size of espresso coffee shots, and is usually prepared in batches of 4-5 servings at a time.
Traditional Arabic Lebanese Coffee Shots
Lebanese and Turkish Coffee Recipe
Traditional Arabic Coffee that is served in the Arabic Gulf is usually made with very lightly roasted coffee beans, with the grinds being almost amber in color. At that level, the coffee has far more caffeine than darker roasts. Traditional Arabic coffee is very finely ground (finer than espresso grinds), brewed with some cardamom spice and then served along with dates. Lebanese style coffee is made in a similar fashion, however the beans are far darker roasted and the outcome is a full bodied coffee profile. It can be served with or without cardamom spice based on preference. Some folks like to down it black, and others add a bit of sugar to it.
Cafe Najjar – Lebanese Coffee
Najjar Lebanese Favorite Coffee Brand
Our favorite Lebanese coffee brand has always been Cafe Najjar. They have a variety of flavor profiles with medium and dark roasts, and some already include cardamom spice which is my favorite. This brand and others could be easily purchased online today.