Coffee since the 16th century
- With the expansion of the Ottoman Empire, Turkish coffee spread to Syria, Yemen, Egypt and southeastern Europe.
- The first coffee houses, which were initially only allowed to be visited by men, were opened 1530 in Damascus and 1532 in Aleppo.
- “Rose Cafe” and the cafe “Path to salvation” are among the most famous coffee houses in Damascus.
☕ Traditional Preparation
Even though tea is drink number 1 today, there is a pronounced coffee culture in Syria.
It is served as a sign of hospitality when leaving a restaurant or ending a visit. In any case, you drink coffee in company. If you get a coffee, you say thank you with the word “daïmé”, which means “forever”.
Arabic Coffee / Turkish Coffee
You can order the coffee without sugar (murrah), little sugar (mazboutah) or very sweet (hilweh).
Unsweetened coffee is drunk only at funerals
- Fill 200 ml of water in a slightly conical copper kettle.
- Add 4 heaped tsp of finely ground coffee with cardamom and sugar to taste and stir well.
- Bring coffee on the stove to a boil until foam develops.
- Remove the pot from the heat and spread the foam on 4 small mocha cups.
- Then put the pot back on the stove and boil again before filling the cups fully.
The Syrian preparation always leaves some coffee grounds in the pot. It is used either as a fertilizer or for the care of the hands.
The coffee grounds remaining in the cup are tipped onto the saucer and read out the future.