Saudi Coffee: Origins and how to prepare it

In spite of its Ethiopian origin, Arabic Coffee has transcended geographical boundaries and succeeded in sitting on the throne of hospitality in many parts of the Arabian Peninsula. With its golden yellow color, bitter taste, and pungent spices. 

There is hardly any gathering without a pot of Arabic coffee and cups, whether you are in the Gulf States or in the brotherly State of Yemen. Every region has its own special blend to brew Arabic Coffee and its distinct customs of serving it. 

Origin

It is said that coffee came to Yemen by “Jamal Al-Din Abu Abdullah Muhammad Ibn Said Al-Dhabhani”, who lived in Abyssinia or what is currently known as Ethiopia. He used to serve Arabic coffee to his guests on every visit; it appealed to everyone at that time so much that the people of Yemen started growing it in their country, and it made its way to being a part of their daily routines. 

By the 15th century, during pilgrimage trips, Yemeni people spread coffee in Mecca then in Hejaz, and from there to the rest of the Arabian Peninsula and Egypt. 

How to brew Arabic Coffee

Yemenis grew coffee, then dried it, roasted it, and brewed it as we do nowadays. After it had spread, every region was characterized by the type of additives and flavorings used. Some of them added saffron; others added cardamom, clove, and ginger – each as available in their respective region. 

Nevertheless, Arabic coffee has maintained its distinctive bitter taste as it is served without sugar; therefore, it is a genuine tradition of Arabic hospitality to serve it with dates – especially since it is abundant in the region. 

To brew the Arabic coffee, boil some water in a pot. Next, add roasted and ground coffee to the pot. Then, keep it boiling gently for 5 minutes. Afterward, add needed flavorings such as cardamom, clove, ginger, and saffron, and leave it boiling for another few minutes. Lastly, cover it and leave it to simmer down and allow all flavorings to be fused. 

Serving customs

Serving customs of Arabic Coffee vary from one region to another, but the majority has agreed on the host holding the cup in the right hand and the pot with the left one. The cup should be filled only to the half, as some people believe that filling the cup to the brim means that the host is bored with his guest and wishes them to leave soon. On the other hand, filling the cup in less than half indicates that the host is stingy. 

The cups should be filled repeatedly until the guest reveals that they do not want anymore. 

The health benefits of Arabic coffee

Since it is free of sugar, Arabic coffee is considered one of the healthy beverages as it does not contain any calories or sugar, though it contains a little amount of protein. It also improves mood and reflexes because it contains caffeine. 

Saudi Coffee

Due to the importance of coffee in the daily routine of Saudi Arabians, the government of Saudi Arabia steered its attention toward investment in coffee. Ministry of Environment, Water, and Agriculture announced planting more than 400 thousand coffee bean shrubs in the Kingdom by the end of 2021 – an increase of 166% compared to 2017. 

Several initiatives have been launched as well, coffee factories have been built, and around 60 farms have been turned into specialty-coffee farms. Additionally, a unit for coffee research has been established at Jazan Agricultural Research Center.  

Moreover, the inauguration of agricultural terraces is prepared for growing Khawlani coffee, as they can be planted with more shrubs in relatively smaller spaces. This paves the road to the expansion of planting other varieties of coffee in the future. 

Perhaps the most important initiative is the one that has been announced by His Highness Prince Badr bin Abdullah bin Farhan Al-Saud, the Minister of Culture when he named the year of 2022 as the year of the Saudi Coffee. The Ministry started its project with the inauguration of an online platform, which explains the initiative and its goals, and allows individuals to share their ideas and suggestions in order to enhance the growth of this sector in cooperation with the public and private sectors. 

Furthermore, Arabic Coffee, which is known by this common name, has been changed to Saudi Coffee to consolidate its deeply rooted position in the Saudi society. The vision looks forward to providing the original Saudi Khawlani coffee all over the Kingdom due to its notable high quality. 

The Kingdom looks forward to planting 1.2 million trees of Khawlani coffee on its land by 2025 so that the Khawlani coffee becomes a core component supporting the agriculture and economic sectors in the Kingdom. 

Although there are many varieties of coffee in the Kingdom, Saudi coffee remains the first choice for the Saudi people. It is found in joyous and grievous occasions, visits, and all kinds of meetings, in addition to being consumed every day by its lovers.