Arabic Coffee

“Turkish” Coffee with Orange Flower Water

While in Tunisia, we lived in the town of Nabeul, which is on the Mediterranean coast. In addition to its famous pottery, Nabeul is also known for orange trees. These trees, which line streets throughout the town, are valued not for the bitter fruit they produce, but for their blossoms. During our stay, we were fortunate enough to see the delicate white flowers emerge from their buds, filling the air with their fragrance. We were surprised to see families spreading blankets beneath the trees in front of their homes and harvesting the flowers. We learned that they used the flowers to produce orange flower water, a highly perfumed distillate.

Orange flower water (or orange blossom water) is used around the Mediterranean as a perfume and an ingredient, especially in desserts. In Nabeul, however, it is also added to coffee, which infuses the brew with a subtle fruity aroma to accent its bittersweet flavor. Our friends, who instructed us in the fine art of brewing this Tunisian café staple, referred to it as Arabic coffee, though other than addition of orange flower water, it seems to me to be essentially identical to Turkish coffee. Serve the coffee in very small cups, about 2 ounce capacity.

Makes 4 servings

Ingredients:

· 4 T. Turkish coffee (extra-fine ground coffee)

· 1 c. water

· 2 T. sugar

· Orange flower water

Directions:

1. Add coffee, sugar and water to a Turkish coffee pot or small sauce pan and stir to mix.

2. Place on a small burner and heat on the highest flame until just before the coffee begins to boil.

3. Remove from heat.

4. To serve, evenly distribute the grounds by first spooning them into each cup and then pour the remaining coffee to fill.

5. Sprinkle 3-4 drops orange flower water on top of the foamy head of each coffee cup.

This coffee pairs perfectly with semolina cookies.