I recently came across a BBC article on coffee (قهوة) and its effects on the human heart. According to a 13-year-long study carried out in the Netherlands, drinking several cups of coffee–four to be exact–helps reduce the risk of heart disease by one-third.

Coffee is a popular drink in the Middle East, and I do enjoy one or two cups per day, rarely more. In Lebanon and elsewhere in the Middle East, the coffee we drink is ground very finely, similar to espresso, and it’s often roasted with cardamom (الهيل) seeds to give it a special aroma. We use a special pot (ركوة) to boil water. Once the water boils we add the coffee powder straight to the pot and continue to boil it. Sugar (سكر) is added to the pot as needed. Once done we let the pot sit for a few minutes. This helps the coffee powder sink and form a sediment at the bottom of the pot. This is important since we do not use a filtration device. This coffee is usually very strong, so we serve it in small cups as you would when serving espresso.

Here’s a photo of my coffee pot: