To think of the coffee drunk in Turkey and the Persian Gulf is to imagine a deeply dark brew due to an intense roasting of the coffee. However, the reality is far from this prejudice: in Saudi Arabia a lighter roast is preferred and in some areas they even drink a coffee that takes on a golden hue.
As Jonathan Morris explains in Coffee. A Global History (Reaktion Books, 2019), "Arabic coffee(qahwa) was (and is) served as a light brown, semi-translucent liquid," something that sets it apart from Turkish coffee, opaque and even somewhat dense.
"The beans are lightly roasted before being cooled, broken up and mixed with spices such as ginger root, cinnamon and especially, cardamom," Morris continues. "The mixture is placed in a copper saucepan, boiled with water for about 15 minutes and then decanted into a smaller, pre-warmed pitcher called a dallah, which usually has a very long spout. The host pours a small cup, or finjan, for each guest."
At NOMAD we prefer to drink our coffee in its natural state, enjoying the color that the most appropriate roasting for each bean has provided, and the flavors that the cup brings to our nose and palate, such as the papaya and sugar of the Eugenoides from Inmaculada Farm (Cauca, Colombia) or the cherries, dark chocolate and blueberry jam of a coffee that reaches our top 10 year after year, a Central American bean with a natural anaerobic process from Diego Robelo (Aquiares, Colombia).
But in Saudi Arabia they prefer to add flavorings. After all, it is not so different from when we choose to add milk, cocoa or some other sweetish flavoring. Thus, in regions such as Nadj and Hejaz, the color that the coffee they prepare according to their tradition acquires is a very striking golden color, which is achieved by the effect of an even more subtle roasting and by the addition of a spice that in Spain we also use in the kitchen to dress our dishes in gold: saffron.
Our society, which always likes novelties, especially in popular markets such as coffee, and an eye-catching, attractive and healthy beverage, in which the additives are from a natural source and do not change its caloric composition, could welcome with open arms the Saudi golden coffee. However, would you be willing to pay the price? The essential spice to give coffee its golden color is the most expensive spice on the planet and is priced at around 15 euros per gram for the Manchego coffee, of superior quality to Iranian coffee. Even if only a very small amount is needed to give color to a cup, the cost of saffron would have an impact on the final price of coffee.
The Najd region is centered on Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia, and is located in the central part of the Arabian Peninsula, on a plateau that has been, in part, home to the Bedouins. Hejaz, to the west, is also important: Medina and Mecca are its best-known cities around the world. What makes the coffee in both places different? Just as in other parts of the Arabian Peninsula: spices.
By culture and tradition, each region prefers its coffee flavored in a particular way. While the notes of cardamom are common to all of them, the other spices form a delicate map of flavors that draw invisible taste frontiers between the different territories. All the spices will help to enhance the different flavors of the coffee and, thus, the cardamom generates a perception of sweetness on the coffee, rounding off any possible excess of bitterness, while the expensive saffron, in addition to contributing color, adds a floral and honey touch. Cloves and ginger are used in greater abundance by those who prefer a somewhat spicy and bitter effect.