| Time | 10 minutes |
|---|---|
| Yield | 2 small cups |
Ingredients and equipment
- 30 g freshly ground dark- or medium-roast coffee
- 360 g water; set aside an additional little hot water if dilution is needed
- 2 green cardamom pods, gently cracked; optional small pinch of cinnamon
- Optional orange blossom water: begin with a few drops, then taste
- Small saucepan or French press, scale and two serving cups
Method: a controllable French-press version
- Heat the water to roughly 92–94°C. Crush the cardamom just enough to expose the seeds without powdering it.
- Add the coffee and spices to a clean French press. Pour in all 360 g of water, saturating the grounds evenly, and start a timer.
- After roughly four minutes, break the crust gently and allow the grounds to settle. Press slowly and decant all the coffee into a serving jug.
- Taste before adding orange blossom water; if used, add a few drops to the jug, stir and taste again. Divide between two cups.
This is a Moroccan-inspired home interpretation, not a claim to reproduce every household's traditional preparation. Coffee and spice traditions differ by family and locality; the choice of French press makes the method accessible and repeatable.
Change the right variable
If cardamom dominates, use one pod next time rather than compensating with more coffee. If the result is harsh and dry, try a coarser grind or slightly shorter steep. If it is balanced but too strong, dilute the serving with a measured 20–30 g of hot water. Do not use a large quantity of orange blossom water to mask stale coffee; its fragrance quickly overpowers the drink.
Side-by-side tasting: serve half the batch without orange blossom water and add one drop to the other half. Use identical cups and take notes on aroma and aftertaste. This separates the effect of an optional ingredient from changes in extraction.
Serving and storage
Serve soon after brewing; spices left sitting in hot coffee continue to contribute flavor. Store cardamom sealed away from heat and grind coffee just before brewing. If you use a saucepan instead of a French press, expect more suspended particles and a different cup texture.
For scaling, use the brew calculator for the coffee-to-water ratio, then scale spices cautiously by taste rather than assuming their intensity increases linearly.