Eastern coffee cup (Arabic coffee) – you will need long-handle Turkish coffee pot called an ibrik.1 tsp. Dark-roast coffee, ground as finely as possible, 1 1/2 tsp. Sugar, 1/2 tsp. A crushed cardamom seed, 3 Espresso-size coffee cups.
- Fill pot with water Fill the pot with one-quarter cup of cold water for every cup of coffee you want to make, plus an extra quarter cup of water.
- Add coffee and stir Add one heaping teaspoon of grounds per quarter cup of water. Add the cardamom, if using. Stir in the sugar – about one teaspoon for every two teaspoons of coffee grounds. Stir until the sugar dissolves.
- Heat the mixture Place the pot on very low heat. Don’t stir or move the pot, but monitor it carefully while holding the handle. Heat the pot as slowly as you can – the slower the heat, the better the coffee will taste.
- Remove from heat when coffee froths After a few minutes, the coffee will suddenly start to froth and rise quickly. As soon as it does, lift the pot off the heat until the froth subsides.
- Repeat and remove Let the pot heat and froth up again, then a third time, lifting it off the heat each time before it boils over.
- TIP: For the special froth that makes this coffee distinct, don’t ever stir the coffee.
- Let settle After the coffee bubbles up three times, turn off the heat and let the coffee pot sit for a couple of minutes so the grounds and sediment settle.
- Pour coffee and enjoy Fill each small cup about a quarter full to distribute the froth evenly. Then, go back and fill the cups with the rest of the liquid. Leave the rest of the water in the pot with the sediment. Enjoy!
- FACT: In many Middle Eastern countries, Arabic coffee is served at the end of a guest’s visit to signal that it’s time to go home!
