Coffee Arabia

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Arabic Coffee

Arabic coffee or (Gahwa) is a very important drink in Saudi Arabia and in the Arabian Gulf countries. Preparation, serving and drinking of gahwa are derived from Bedouin hospitality. Usually, guests are served with Arabic Coffee and Dates.

Ingredients

-2 glasses of water
-2 tablespoons Arabic coffee beans, roasted and ground
-1 spoon powdered Cardamom
-5 pieces of cloves

Recipe

1. Boil the water, coffee, 1/2 spoon of cardamom and cloves together for 20 minutes
2. Put 1/2 spoon of cardamom in the thermos with a little bit of saffron
3. Then, pour the coffee into the thermos

The history of dates in the lives of the Arabian Peninsula is very ancient. Dates are produced from the Palm tree which is a part of the Saudi emblem. The Kingdom is considered as one of the world's major producer of dates, with its annual production reaching 800, 000 tons.

Dates are rich in many different kinds of minerals and vitamins. They contain fat, sugar, proteins, calcium, sulphur, iron, potassium, copper, manganese and magnesium. Combining dates and milk results in a self-sufficient food. In Ramadan, Muslims break their fasting with dates. Thus, they cannot eat much food directly after eating dates. This is because dates contain sugar in which its absence is the main reason of the hunger feeling. When the body absorbs the sugar of the dates, the feeling of hunger disappears. Eating dates before the main meal can help in avoiding excessive eating.

Recent experiments approves that dates contain some stimulants that strengthen the uterus muscles in the final months of pregnancy. This fact is already known by Muslims when they read Quran. The Quran mentions the story of Mariam or Mary (The mother of Jesus) when she felt labor pains and she was told to eat dates. The Lord says "And shake the trunk of the date-palm towards you, it will let fall fresh ripe-dates upon you."(19:25)