This month I was assigned Corina’s blog, Searching for Spice. I was really excited about this assignment because Corina lives in the UK, which means her blog is full of fun and different dishes from my American kitchen! I’m all about adventurous cooking so it was hard to pin down a recipe to try. Corina has a whole list of curry recipes, which I really love! Then I found the Cheese Scones with a Chili Kick and I thought a savory scone would be fun, too. But I kept on looking around and when I stumbled on Corina’s recipe for Cardamom Coffee, I knew I had to make it.
I spent four years immediately following college working for adventure travel companies. Mostly I worked in the office helping people arrange trips to exotic destinations like Antarctica, Zambia, and Iran. But a few times a year, I escorted tours myself. I’ve traveled fairly extensively all over the Middle East including Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Syria, and Iran. One of the best things about traveling in the Middle East is the amazing food and coffee. When I stopped traveling, I missed the coffee the most. I still have fond memories of the best cup of coffee I’ve ever had at the ruins of Jerash in Jordan. It was amazing!
Depending on what country you are in, this type of coffee can be called Turkish, Arabic, or Greek coffee. It is distinct because it is brewed with the coffee directly in the water without a filter. There will be grounds in your coffee — just leave the last sip of coffee in your cup and you should be able to avoid them.
Cardamom is a distinctly Middle Eastern smell and flavor for me. Just a whiff of it conjures memories of various spice markets and bazaars. Cardamom can be expensive so I try to buy it in bulk, just a few pods at a time. When you order this coffee overseas, they will ask if you want it sweet. I like my coffee sweet so I added sugar, but if you want straight up java, just leave it ou.
Up until now, I’ve had no idea how to brew this coffee and I am so happy that I can now have a cup of Arabic coffee whenever I want!
Cardamom Coffee

Ingredients
- 1 cup water
- 1 Tablespoon finely ground coffee
- 1 cardamom pod, slightly crushed
- 1 1/2 teaspoons sugar (optional)
Instructions
In a small pan, boil water and sugar, if using.
Turn off heat.
Add coffee and cardamom pod.
Turn on heat just until coffee begins to bubble/foam. Turn off heat.
Repeat step 4, 2-3 more times.
Let coffee sit so that grounds settle to the bottom of the pan.
Carefully pour coffee in to cup, leaving as much grounds in the pan as possible.
This post is linked to Bloom, It’s Overflowing, Classy Clutter, Be Different Act Normal,