Coffee with cardamom, beneficial properties, recipes: in Turkish, with cinnamon.

Origin of the drink

Cardamom coffee has a long history. After conquering the Arabian Peninsula in the 11th century, the Arabs adopted many of the customs of the Ethiopians, whose territory they dominated, including drinking coffee. Initially, the Bedouins (nomads) ground coffee, mixed it with fat and milk, and, forming this mass into balls, took it with them to the desert as a tonic.

The drink to which cardamom is added has Arabic roots.

A hundred years later, the Bedouins developed a tradition of making coffee with cardamom and a full-fledged ceremony of drinking it. The cooking technology was troublesome, but it harmoniously fit into the image of nomads in no hurry. First, the coffee beans had to be roasted and ground using a mortar. A vessel with a long neck and an elongated beak was placed on the fire and filled with water. Ground coffee and cardamom in a ratio of 5/2 were placed in a vessel with hot water, covered with a lid and allowed to boil.

Coffee was usually poured into small cups in 2-3 sips - this is why the vessel in which it was brewed needed a long spout. While drinking this drink, the travelers had long night conversations about the news and rumors that were happening in the desert and throughout the world.

Traditionally, Arabic coffee is prepared in Turks and poured into small cups

Secrets and subtleties

Making coffee with cardamom is not that difficult, although there are some tricks to it. The main one is the choice of seasoning. Cardamom comes in the form of long pods, each of which contains several pointed grains.

In order to preserve all the beneficial properties, the pods are collected slightly unripe, after which they are dried and fermented. The result is a spice of several varieties, the taste of which differs from each other. Thus, green cardamom was very popular in Arab countries, while Europeans preferred its white and black varieties.

Now this exotic spice is most often sold as a powder, but for coffee it is better to choose whole beans - this allows you to achieve a richer taste.

The seasoning retains its beneficial qualities best if it is removed from the pod immediately before cooking. However, crushed cardamom is quite suitable for making a drink. The main thing to remember is that the powder is a concentrate and should be used in small quantities - from a quarter to half a teaspoon per cup.

The second trick is that cardamom coffee can be prepared with a wide variety of additives. These can be other spices - for example, cinnamon, vanilla, ginger - or regular products. Milk, honey, lemon and even chocolate give the drink an exquisite taste.

Preparing coffee with cardamom has a clear sequence of actions, and some exotic recipes are not inferior in cooking time to confectionery products. However, those who are intimidated by the complexity of this invigorating drink can always choose a simpler recipe to begin with, and only then start experimenting with other spices.

Beneficial properties of coffee with cardamom

The recipe for making coffee with cardamom has undergone some changes until it has reached our times, but the drink itself does not lose its popularity among coffee connoisseurs.

In addition to the fact that cardamom goes well with coffee and gives it an original and refined taste, this spice also has a beneficial effect on the functioning of many organs.

Nutritionists say that cardamom improves the functioning of the gastrointestinal tract and stimulates the production of gastric juice, thereby speeding up metabolism. This, in turn, promotes weight loss.

The drink improves metabolism

Having tonic properties, coffee with cardamom improves blood circulation, heart function, and potency. In Eastern medicine, it is used as a medicine for bronchitis and asthma, as cardamom is believed to help remove mucus from the body.

Cardamom is also a disinfectant. Previously used to treat wounds, today it can be chewed to get rid of bad breath and to prevent tooth decay. It can also be used to get rid of persistent odors of garlic and alcohol.

Thanks to magnesium in its composition, cardamom stabilizes the functioning of the nervous system, helps cope with anxiety and depression, and improves mood.

But in the eyes of coffee lovers who are prohibited from drinking coffee due to health conditions, all these beneficial properties pale in comparison to the fact that cardamom added to coffee minimizes the harmful properties of the drink. Of course, you can’t abuse this recipe, but it’s nice to know that you can skip a cup of coffee without consequences.

Coffee with lemon and honey

This recipe is especially often used in the cold season. It strengthens the immune system and allows you not only to avoid colds, but also to speed up the recovery of an already sick person.

To brew this miraculous nectar, you will need:

1 teaspoon coffee powder;
a few slices of lemon;
50 ml milk;
2 seeds (or the tip of a teaspoon) of cardamom;
2 echinacea inflorescences;
1 teaspoon honey;
and 150 ml of water.

How to cook:

Before you start cooking, boil the echinacea with cardamom for a few minutes and let the broth brew.
After this, pour coffee into it, bring to a boil and, after removing the foam, let it boil again.
Remove the Turk from the heat and add milk and honey to the drink. Lemon can be placed at the very end to preserve the taste, or added to the echinacea decoction.

Before serving coffee, rinse the cups with boiling water: this will deepen the taste of the drink.

Drink harm

Contraindications for drinking coffee with cardamom are similar to those for regular coffee. Coffee with cardamom is not recommended for people suffering from hypertension. Coffee is a tonic and excessive consumption by people suffering from high blood pressure can aggravate the condition.

For diseases of the cardiovascular, nervous, and digestive systems, coffee is contraindicated

Also, pregnant and breastfeeding women should not try this drink. During the process of bearing a child, most women experience calcium deficiency in their bodies. Cardamom contains calcium, but its amount is not so significant as to compensate for the calcium washed out by coffee. In addition, constant and excessive consumption of coffee can adversely affect the fetus and make breast milk unfit for consumption.

People with ulcers or gastritis should not indulge in this drink either. Excessive consumption may trigger abdominal pain or cause additional problems. The use of this drink is strictly contraindicated for people who have individual allergic reactions to cardamom or coffee.

You should always remember that any medicine in large quantities is poison. In the case of cardamom coffee, its beneficial properties in excessive doses can lead to health problems

Benefits of use

By consuming cardamom as a food additive, you can achieve the following effects:

The nervous system restores its functioning.
The condition associated with depression disappears.
There is a more active function of brain structures.
There is a more intense removal of mucus from the body in asthmatics and people with pathology of the bronchial apparatus.
Tissue swelling is reduced.
There is a correction of unpleasant phenomena associated with digestion.
The body begins to remove toxins more actively, which certainly leads to a decrease in excess body weight.

There is anecdotal evidence that cardamom reduces the risk of blood clots. When consumed, a slight analgesic effect is observed and peripheral blood pressure returns to normal. Spicy herb acts as an aphrodisiac and is used to solve problems related to potency.

Anyone who prefers coffee in combination with cardamom is doing quite wisely, since the medicinal properties in the herb remain unchanged in the cup of coffee. At the same time, the body is filled with healing power.

Recipe

Despite the long history of its existence, today the recipe for making coffee with cardamom is extremely simple. Nevertheless, the simplicity of its preparation does not detract from its taste; on the contrary, it reveals the taste of coffee from a different side - the taste of bitterness becomes less noticeable, and spicy notes take its place.

Making cardamom coffee takes approximately 15 minutes. This drink should be brewed in a Turkish pot.

The drink has a sweetish, spicy taste

Ingredients:

Water – 150 ml;
Cardamom seeds – 3 pcs.;
Coffee - to taste.

First you need to crush the cardamom seeds with the edge of a knife or in a mortar. It is very important not to try to turn them into powder, but to press them down a little to allow the spice to release its aroma.
Then you should put the Turk on low heat, pour coffee and cardamom into it and leave to simmer until the water foams.
Under no circumstances should the pot be allowed to boil, otherwise the coffee will become bitter. As soon as the foam rises, you need to immediately remove the Turk from the heat, let the foam settle and place it on the fire again. Repeat this sequence of actions three times.
After the coffee has been brewed, cover it with a lid and leave it for 15 minutes, then strain it before drinking to get rid of the grounds and cardamom pods.

On average, unground cardamom costs about 200 rubles per 100 grams. You can also buy ground coffee with already crushed cardamom in it. The cost of this coffee is slightly higher than regular coffee. However, it is better to grind cardamom immediately before cooking than to grind it for future use, so that all the spice does not disappear from the spice.

How much does this coffee cost in Israel?

There is no country where drinking coffee has not become a local cult, and Israel is no exception. In the country of flowering gardens and religious shrines, espresso or aroha is preferred. Arokh is an analogue of espresso, but water is added here twice as much as usual. Israelis also love coffee with foam and chocolate chips - macchiatto and afukh. The unusual Israeli method of making coffee with garlic and honey is also interesting.

The cost of high-quality and tasty coffee in Israel starts from 18 shekels (325 Russian rubles) per package. Coffee with cardamom is a separate production line from local producers and is especially appreciated by coffee lovers. You can taste this drink in local establishments; here a cup of coffee costs 10-12 shekels (about 200 rubles).

How to prepare and serve coffee with cardamom

The drink can be served to guests or drunk alone.
Coffee with cardamom is a drink from exotic lands where it is always summer. However, this drink is good at any time of the year and is extremely easy to prepare. For many centuries, they treated guests to it and spent long evenings around the fire talking with a cup of coffee in their hands, which means that this drink is an ideal accompaniment for gatherings with loved ones.

In order to prepare this drink for a company, you can simply add to the water for one serving the amount of ingredients multiplied by the required number of people; after preparation, the concentrated drink should be poured equally and hot water added.

Coffee with chocolate

A very interesting recipe that includes chocolate. This coffee has a particularly rich aroma, and the invigorating properties of the components make it indispensable for a business person. The list of ingredients includes:

1-2 teaspoons of coffee;
2-3 cardamom seeds;
dark chocolate (you need about 50 g, but even if you take more, it won’t ruin the taste);
2 clove buds;
sugar;
a quarter glass (about 50 ml) of milk;
and, of course, water - 150 ml.

How to cook:

Cardamom, cloves and ground coffee beans should be poured with cold water and brought to a boil twice.
At the same time, prepare the chocolate milk. To do this, melt the chocolate in a water bath and beat it with a mixer along with milk, after which the mixture is added to the coffee removed from the heat.
You can add a few pieces of sugar to the drink poured into cups, or you may not: coffee with cardamom according to this recipe is quite sweet on its own due to the chocolate.