The Coffee Culture of Qatar

Qatar also has a prominent coffee bar culture. At the traditional Middle Eastern coffee bars you can still order a cappuccino, but the more adventurous type chooses something stronger. I chose Turkish coffee.

Turkish coffee came to the Arabian Peninsula with the Ottoman Empire, which held influence over the Middle East until its collapse at the culmination of the First World War. Noted for its strong flavour and prominent caffeine kick, Turkish coffee is not for amateurs. Having visited the Middle East before and previously tried it, I thought I could handle its bite. I asked our waiter for the strongest concoction they could brew.

It came to my table in a small brass decanter accompanied with an espresso-sized cup. The coffee oozed out of the decanter like wet sand and, before tasting it, I waited for the coffee grounds to settle. The taste overwhelmed my senses and the coffee stuck to my teeth and to the sides of my mouth. Immediately I felt uncomfortably awake. With my heart pounding, my head clouded and my brow sweating, I engaged my companions in fast conversation about controversial topics.

For those who do not care for coffee, Turkish or other, why not try shisha? The pastime of smoking shisha came to the Middle East via India sometime during the 16th century, and despite periodic bans, has become a common scene in Middle Eastern coffeehouses. I tried shisha when travelling to Iran as a student, and the process is more or less the same throughout the Middle East. Tobacco is the standard product smoked in shisha, but other non-tobacco herb products may be substituted. It is worth noting that although smoking these alternative herb products is still harmful, they do not have the addictive qualities of tobacco.

Coffee lounges serving shisha are easily recognizable by a collection of large waterpipes. A waterpipe consists of a perpendicular glass tube with a small metal bowl attached to its top. The bottom of the tube is submerged in a bowl of water to which hoses are attached. A man, called a fireboy, packs heaping wads of sticky flavoured tobacco or herb product into the metal bowl, over which he piles red-hot coals. Then, he gives you a sanitized mouthpiece which is connected to one of the hoses. You are ready for shisha.

Inhaled through the mouth, the smoke travels from the hot coals, through the tobacco or herb product, down the glass tube, through the water, and exits by the hose into the mouthpiece held between your lips. The smoke, which has been cooled by the water, tastes like a lightly flavoured summer breeze. You feel lightheaded. Relaxed. The best way to pass an afternoon.

Source-http://www.hziegler.com/articles/eating-out-qatar.html