Israeli Cardamom Coffee

Israeli Cardamom Coffee, a twist on middle eastern mud coffee, is a good, sinful, spiced coffee that is easy to make and a unique pick us up!

At Avdaye, we add lots of tips in all of our recipes – because we are a home cook without any formal training, and we find we are more confident making dishes when we understand why it works, and what each ingredient means to the flavor of a recipe. Our goal is for even the most beginner home cook to feel empowered in the kitchen.

Good Israeli Cardamom Coffee

Israeli Cardamom Coffee is normally served in small espresso cups to show off a light, fluffy foam- it also serves as a strong, flavorful mug for mornings you need more of a pick-us-up!

The first time we had “mud coffee”- the sludgy, dark stuff popular with many of our Greek friends- we were a little confused. It's strong- which is much our style- but a lot of Greek coffees you can find in America (the pre-ground beans that are so fine they are more of a powder than crumbly grounds) are a little rough to transition to. They can be bitter (if made with cheap beans), and you do not want to drink to the bottom of your cup- or you'll get a thick, paste-like sludge of the coffee grounds, since this traditional method of preparation does not include filtering beans. It's also made with a -fine, almost powder like ground which can be hard to get in a traditional coffee grinder (if you have a burr grinder, its much easier- we recommend this Capresso Ceramic Burr Grinder).

It wasn't until a recent trip to Krakow that we found the most good preparation of mud coffee ever in an Israeli coffee shop (attached to a Hebrew University in the Jewish District) and had the shop owner tell us all about Cardamom Coffeeand how to make it. While we've had lots of Turkish and Greek coffees- sometimes with cardamom- we've never had the unique spice blend we had at a few Israeli coffee shops in Europe and Eastern Europe. Google provided few clues for us to replicate the drink at home, so we experimented with some spices and found a blend that tastes like the coffee we enjoyed so much.

Traveling, Eating, Drinking in Israel

While in Krakow at flea markets and later in the Caucasus region, we made a point to look around for a traditional Finjan like we drank our coffee from at the Cheder Cafe. We still haven't found one we love, so in the mean time, we grabbed this beautiful Copper Stovetop Turkish Coffee Pot (or Ibrik) from Sur La Table. It's suited to making cardamom coffee- and is pretty on display in the kitchen, too.
Ibriks are Turkish Copper pots which use the same method of preparing coffee. We've found some turkish coffees in shops with hints of cardamom blended in, but never with the hints of cinnamon we found at the Israeli coffee shops we passed by in Europe and Eastern Europe.

There are many parts to a solid cup of mud coffee- but let's face it, sometimes, you need caffeine, and you need it now. We've paid close attention to the method and also let myself make up different steps along the way- it always ends up pretty good. For example, in the photos, we used a large mug because we didn't have any espresso cups (we were at our family's new beach house, and so much of the kitchen is still yet to be setup) – and we wanted to have our ritual of a large mug in the morning. It was fantastic! We think we need some more of these beautiful Bodum® Bistro Espresso Mugs!

Breakfast Ideas to Enjoy with your Coffee

Israeli Cardamom Coffee Recipe

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Ingredients

• 8 oz water
• 20 grams ultra-finely ground coffee
• 4 cardamom pods, grounded (we grind them along with our coffee beans)
• 2 dashes cinnamon, under 1/4 tsp- we do two shakes out of a container of ground cinnamon- two pinches works, too
• 1 dash grated ginger
• sugar, if desired

Method

1. Add coffee, cinnamon, cardamom, ginger, sugar and water to your copper pot, making sure you do not fill to the top- you want a little room in case it boils up.
2. Give a good stir to incorporate- this is the only time you'll stir the coffee so you dont disturb the grounds at the bottom.
3. Heat the copper pot on a low flame over a stove. As it becomes hot, watch it closely- you do not want it to boil, or it will go everywhere! We like to pull it off the stove before boiling.
4. Let it sit for about 20 seconds, and then add back to the heat- pulling it off again until near-boiling. Repeat once more if desired.
5. Let cool briefly, then serve in small cups (like espresso or demitasse cups)