Chef Zohra
Atay b Chiba (Moroccan Wormwood Tea)
The cold-evening cousin of mint tea: gunpowder green tea brewed with chiba, the bitter winter herb Moroccans use when na'na is scarce and the house needs warming.
Culinary Explorer
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Qahwa b'Louz (قهوة بلوز)
Created by
A fragrant eastern Moroccan coffee, deepened with almonds, sesame, anise, and cinnamon, poured small and hot when the door opens and someone needs welcoming.
Beverages
Moroccan
Comfort Food
Special Occasion
15 min
Active Time
10 min cook•25 min total
Yield6 small cups
The coffee tells you before the first sip. Almonds toasted just enough to smell sweet, sesame turning gold, anise waking under the heat, and the coffee itself dark enough to carry them all. This is not a thin cup. It has body. It stays on the tongue.
Qahwa b'Louz belongs to the eastern table I know well, the table of Oujda and the frontier, where a guest is offered something warm before the coat is even off. The almond matters because it softens the bitterness of the coffee, and the sesame gives it roundness. Grind too fine and the cup turns muddy. Grind with a little texture and strain patiently, and the drink becomes fragrant without feeling heavy.
Use the spices with a careful hand. La balance est dans les yeux, the scale is in the eyes, but your nose must also speak. Cinnamon should warm the cup, not take it over. Anise should lift it. Make a pot even if there are only two of you. Une table, c'est une porte qu'on laisse ouverte, a table is a door you leave open.
Qahwa b'Louz is tied especially to eastern Moroccan home tables around Oujda and the Algerian border, where coffee, almonds, sesame, and anise reflect both Moroccan pantry habits and older Maghrebi spice routes. Coffee entered Moroccan urban life through Ottoman and Mediterranean trade from the 16th century onward, but regional household blends like this are harder to date because they lived mostly in oral practice. The exact origin is contested between family repertoires, and that is honest: some recipes are preserved in hands before they are preserved in books.
The technique, the tradition, and the story behind every dish.
Discover Culinary ExplorerIngredients
dark coffee
Quantity
3 tbsp
finely ground
blanched almonds
Quantity
2 tbsp
toasted
sesame seeds
Quantity
1 tbsp
toasted
anise seeds
Quantity
1 tsp
ground cinnamon
Quantity
1/2 tsp
ground nutmeg
Quantity
1 small pinch
ground ginger
Quantity
1 small pinch
black pepper
Quantity
1 small pinch
water
Quantity
500ml
sugar (optional)
Quantity
2 to 3 tbsp, or to taste
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| dark coffeefinely ground | 3 tbsp |
| blanched almondstoasted | 2 tbsp |
| sesame seedstoasted | 1 tbsp |
| anise seeds | 1 tsp |
| ground cinnamon | 1/2 tsp |
| ground nutmeg | 1 small pinch |
| ground ginger | 1 small pinch |
| black pepper | 1 small pinch |
| water | 500ml |
| sugar (optional) | 2 to 3 tbsp, or to taste |
Equipment Needed
- •Small heavy saucepan or briki
- •Spice grinder
- •Fine sieve or clean coffee cloth
- •Small Moroccan coffee cups
Instructions
- 1
Toast the aromatics
Put the almonds in a dry pan over medium heat and toast until they smell sweet and show pale gold at the edges. Lift them out, then toast the sesame just until it turns golden and nutty. Do not walk away. Sesame goes from ready to bitter quickly, and bitterness will sit in every sip.
- 2
Grind the blend
Grind the toasted almonds, sesame, anise, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and black pepper together until sandy, not paste-like. Add the ground coffee and pulse or stir to combine. The one thing that decides the cup is the grind: too fine makes sludge, too coarse gives perfume without body.
If your grinder runs hot, pause between pulses. Warm almonds release oil, and you want a dry coffee blend, not almond butter. - 3
Brew gently
Bring the water to a lively simmer in a small pot. Stir in the coffee blend and sugar, lower the heat, and let it murmur for 4 to 5 minutes. The surface should look dark and glossy, with tiny bubbles at the edge, not a hard boil that throws bitterness into the pot.
- 4
Rest and strain
Take the pot off the heat and let it rest for 2 minutes so the grounds settle. Strain through a fine sieve or cloth into a warmed teapot or small cups. Pour slowly and stop before the last muddy spoonful at the bottom. That patience keeps the cup fragrant and clean.
- 5
Serve small
Serve in small cups, hot and generous, with dates, fekkas, or almond sweets if the table is dressed for guests. This coffee is strong enough to be poured in little measures. Refill before anyone asks.
Chef Tips
- •Use coffee you would drink plain. Spices can perfume a good bean, but they can't rescue a tired one.
- •Toast the almonds and sesame the day you brew if you can. Their fragrance is the heart of the cup.
- •Keep the anise modest. It should lift the coffee like a hand under the elbow, not announce itself before the guest sits down.
- •If you make a larger batch of the dry blend, keep it in a tight jar for up to one week. After that, the sesame and almond lose their good smell.
Advance Preparation
- •Toast and cool the almonds and sesame up to 1 day ahead, then grind just before brewing.
- •The dry coffee blend can be prepared a few days ahead, but it is most fragrant in the first week.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Information
1 serving (about 85g)
Calories
30 calories
Total Fat
0 g
Saturated Fat
0 g
Trans Fat
0 g
Unsaturated Fat
0 g
Cholesterol
0 mg
Sodium
5 mg
Total Carbohydrates
6 g
Dietary Fiber
0 g
Sugars
5 g
Protein
0 g
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