Recently, I was in Brooklyn and I had the pleasure of trying Sana’ani, from Qahwah House. This was a medium roast coffee with cardamom. With just a little milk and sugar, it’s a divine experience. It is actually what inspired me to write this article about cardamom in coffee.
I did some research about adding cardamom in coffee and apparently, it is nothing new! This practice is done throughout the Middle East and Southeast Asia. All the places where cardamom is grown!
Cardamom is a kind of spice usually used in Indian cooking however it has found a place as one of the main elements of Arabic coffee. The cardamom adds a floral flavor to the coffee, and when combined with milk and sugar creates a creamy, smooth, delicious beverage.
In addition to the amazing taste, there are many health benefits of cardamom in coffee! As a result, cardamom is one of the most valuable spices in the world due to its rich flavor and aroma, and its therapeutic and health properties.
Health benefits of adding cardamom to coffee
One of the reasons cardamom was so valuable is because of the health benefits it gives. Cardamom contains many chemicals that have anti-inflammatory and antibacterial properties.
There have been many studies done on cardamom which suggest there may be some health benefits.
1. High in antioxidants which decrease blood pressure
Cardamom is packed full of antioxidants. There have been multiple studies done that display the high antioxidant properties of cardamom, and when you add this to coffee you add even more antioxidants to your coffee.
One study gave three grams of cardamom powder to adults who had high blood pressure. After 12 weeks the blood pressure levels decreased to a normal range.
By adding cardamom to your coffee you can be fortifying your coffee and your body with the antioxidants it needs to decrease your blood pressure.
2. Cardamom is a diuretic
Cardamom is a diuretic that can help flush out toxins in your body. If you combine this effect with the diuretic effects of coffee you get a powerful combination that can provide you with a lot of health benefits.
Cardamom in coffee can help you reduce water retention in your body. This can help you look slimmer and lose a few pounds of water weight. This water is expelled from your body in the form of urine, and when you drink coffee and cardamom you may find yourself heading to the bathroom more than usual.
This also helps flush out any toxins from your body and helps you function better. This will help boost your metabolism and overall health.
3. May help with digestive issues
Cardamom has been used in the Middle East for thousands of years for its medicinal purposes. These medicinal purposes are usually linked with digestion issues, such as nausea, vomiting, and bloating.
There have been studies done that on cardamom that have proved that it may actually help with all those things. There haven’t been any human studies yet, but there have been studies done on rats that showed the ability to reduce the number and size of stomach ulcers in rats.
There have been many people who blame digestive issues on drinking too much coffee, but if they added cardamom to their coffee this may help with their digestion.
Many more health benefits of cardamom
There are many more health benefits that cardamom has on the body and you can do a quick google search to find that out. I only went through the health benefits that were complimentary to coffee.
Combined with coffee cardamom is a great source of antioxidants, and can help your overall health and digestive health.
What kind of cardamom should I use in coffee?
There are many types of cardamom that you can purchase, but the most common version and the one you should use in your coffee is the green cardamom pods that you can find on shelves at most of your grocery stores.
The wrong kind of cardamom to use is the black cardamom. Black cardamom has a different flavor than green cardamom and is more smokey and can be minty.
The black cardamom will overpower your coffee and give it a different flavor. When drinking our coffee we are not looking for additional smoky and minty flavors.
Black cardamom is also more expensive! So there is no reason to use this expensive ingredient in your coffee. They are dried over an open fire and roasted just like coffee beans, but they are intended to be used in savory dishes like curry and taken out before they are served.
The green cardamom has a floral smell and flavor that can add a dessert-like flavor to your coffee.
This is a good option for green cardamom pods if you can’t find them at your local grocery store. These are premium freshly packed cardamom pods from the US and have no preservatives, no additives, no agents, no irradiation, and are non-GMO. Check out the price at Amazon.
The last type of cardamom you can use is cardamom powder. These powders are usually made from green cardamom pods and can be added to your coffee, but they may taste less flavorful and they will not have the same impact as grinding your cardamom yourself.
How to make cardamom coffee
It’s actually very easy to make cardamom coffee! If you grind your coffee fresh every time you make coffee it’s even easier!
You can use your normal coffee grinder to grind your cardamom with your coffee so you don’t even need any extra or special tools.
If you use ground coffee you may need a spice grinder or a mortar and pestle to grind your cardamom pods to add to your coffee.
Ingredients for cardamom coffee
- 20 grams of coffee
- 4 green cardamom pods
- 1 cup of hot water
Instructions on how to brew cardamom coffee
- Remove the seeds from inside the cardamom pods (optional)
- Grind the seeds or the whole pod with your coffee grounds in a grinder
- Thoroughly mix your coffee grounds and cardamom
- Brew coffee normally with pourover, aeropress, or french press for best results
One thing to keep in mind if you grind the cardamom in your coffee ground is the smell and flavor WILL linger in your coffee grinder for a few days. So if you don’t want that to happen grind it in a different grinder! I keep an old hand grinder around that I can use to grind up the pods.
Before you grind it is up to you whether or not you want to remove the seeds from the pods, or you can grind the whole pod itself. The pods are edible and you can grind them with your coffee!
The ratio I use for my cardamom coffee is 4 pods per 20 grams of coffee. This is my optimal balance of flavor, but you can experiment from there, depending on how much cardamom flavor you want you can add more or less cardamom.
Once you have this mix of cardamom and coffee grounds all you have to do is brew your coffee normally! Just don’t try to make espresso with this. The cardamom will be ground inconsistently and will cause issues when you put it in your espresso machine.
I would recommend doing a pour-over, french press, or Aeropress.
At Qahwah house they actually served the cardamom coffee in a teapot and had a tea candle underneath to keep the coffee warm. It was very instagrammable!
Conclusion
If you haven’t tried it yet I would highly recommend you trying cardamom coffee. It is a healthy drink and a new way to spice up your coffee game.