Recently commissioned to provide content for a local project exploring the history of the coffee house in England, I embarked on a period of study to refresh my knowledge on the origins of the bean and how it made its way onto our shores. This research brought me time and time again to the Bedouin, a semi nomadic tribal people living in an area that spans from North Africa to the Middle East. I was thrilled to see that these tribes drink their coffee with cardamom and other spices such as saffron and cinnamon. The Bedouin people also seem to drink their coffee strong – as did Restoration England – with very little milk and in the same quantities as I may drink an espresso.

Cardamom is one of my favourite spices and I couldn’t wait to taste it combined with coffee. Today I am sharing the instructions for a traditional preparation – adapted from The Book of Threes website.

Combine 1 lb. of a robust ground fresh coffee  ( I used Java Jampit from local York Coffee Emporium) with 4-5 tbsp of ground cardamom and mix well.

To make the coffee take 30ml water, 1 tbsp of the coffee blend and 1 tsp sugar per serving.

• Combine the water and coffee blend in a pan (or a traditional Ibrik as pictured below) and bring to a rolling ball. Take off the heat and leave to settle for 3-4 minutes.
• Return the pan to the heat and and simmer the coffee for 10 minutes, adding extra spices such as cinnamon sticks or a pinch of saffron at this point.
• Bring back to a rolling ball, sweeten with sugar and serve.