Of Arabic origin, the word "coffee" comes from "qawha". Coffee was introduced to Egypt in the 15th century (during the Mamlûk period) from southern Egypt (Nubia) via Yemen and Arabia. The Mamlûks had complete control over the trade, which was initially limited to the upper social classes.
As you may have read in our various episodes on the history of the world's spices, the 15th century saw the discovery of the Cape of Good Hope, enabling Europeans to reach India by sea. This discovery, of course, proved fatal for the Egyptians, who controlled spices from East Africa. In the absence of spices, they controlled coffee.
By the mid-17th century, there were over 600 cafés in Cairo, a figure that doubled in the 18th century! To give an idea of the scale of the boom, there were just a handful of cafés in London, Paris and Marseille in the mid-17th century.
At the beginning of the 18th century, the French began growing coffee in the West Indies, followed shortly afterwards by the Portuguese and Brazilians. The coffee of the Americas was born and could compete with that of Yemen imported by the Egyptians.
Egypt therefore controlled the spice and coffee trade for centuries, and this long monopoly gave rise to Nubian spice coffee. From Dal in Sudan to Aswan in Egypt, spice coffee has a long and fraternal tradition. In the south, the green coffee bean is roasted in a small copper vat over hot coals; further north, the coffee is already roasted and finely ground. Whether roasted and crushed or very finely ground, the principle is the same: to mix it with different spices and infuse it in hot sweet water, more or less, but generally more than less (zeyâda for Arabophiles) 😉
Mixed with spices, yes, but which ones? Nubians often hide their secrets, but we can imagine cardamom, cinnamon or aniseed... the list of spices can be long and varies in each village, but what counts is the conviviality of drinking it together by the Nile.
If you'd like to enjoy this spicy Nubian coffee at home, we've put together a blend of a dozen spices to mix with the ground coffee.
Bring water to the boil in a saucepan, sweeten to taste, then add the mixture and turn off the heat (the water should not boil). Leave to infuse for 5 to 7 minutes, longer depending on taste and strength required. 1 tablespoon spice blend to 25 cl water. Filter to avoid marc and spice bits. Close your eyes, savor, you're near Aswan at sunset, hoopoes and egrets take flight, a light breeze forms in the reeds... you're in Nubia.
