What Do Syrians Drink? From Bitter Coffee to Mate and Licorice Juice
A guide to drinks in Syria: Arabic coffee and bitter qahwa, tea, yerba mate, licorice, tamarind and jallab, qamar al-din in Ramadan and hot sahlab in winter.
No visit in Syria passes without a drink. The first question to a guest is "What will you drink?" — and saying no is hard. These are the drinks you will be offered, and when and how.
Coffee
- Turkish coffee (many call it simply "Arabic coffee"): very finely ground coffee boiled in a small pot, often with cardamom. Ask for it *sada* (no sugar), *wasat* (medium) or *helweh* (sweet).
- Qahwa murra, bitter coffee: Arabic coffee boiled long with cardamom and no sugar, poured into small handleless cups. It is the coffee of hospitality at occasions, condolences and in Bedouin tradition. Only a little is poured; shake your cup gently when you have had enough.
Wait for your host to drink or invite you first, and take bitter coffee with your right hand.
Tea
Strong black tea with sugar in small glasses, drunk all day. In winter people add zhourat, a mix of dried flowers taken for warmth and colds.
Mate: the strangest story
You may be surprised that many Syrians — especially on the coast, in the Jabal al-Arab and the Qalamoun — drink yerba mate, the South American drink, from a small gourd with a metal straw. It came with Syrian emigrants returning from Argentina and Brazil in the twentieth century and became part of family gatherings. Syria is today one of the world's largest importers of mate.
Summer drinks
- Erq sous (licorice juice), from licorice root, sold by the copper-jug vendor in the street.
- Tamarind, sweet-sour and refreshing.
- Jallab, a syrup of grape molasses and rose water served with ice, pine nuts and raisins.
- Lemonade with mint.
Ramadan and winter
- Qamar al-din: juice made from sheets of dried apricot paste, the companion of iftar in Ramadan.
- Sahlab: thick hot milk with cinnamon and coconut, perfect for a cold winter night.
Cafés
Have coffee in an old café in Old Damascus, and try a narghile if you enjoy it. Read about the hakawati coffeehouses.
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