Montour American. (Danville, Pa.) 1866-1920, 1901-01-31
COFFEE, ARAB STYLE.
VERY DIFFERENT FROM THE WAY WE
PREPARE 1T.

Naval Officers Experience at O
Function Mt the House of n Sheik
Who Had Not Been Exposed to For
eign Influences.
This account of coffee drinking as prac-
ticed by Arabs who have not been ex-
posed to foreign influence is told by a
British naval officer of high rank. The
place was the town Of Semail, in the ter
ritory of the sultan of Oman, at the ex-
treme southeastern corner of the Arabian
peninsula. Semail lies 100 miles from
Muscat, the capital of Oman, and so
miles from the sea. At the time Of this
visit there had been but two other Eu-
topeans in Semail in all its history.
IAN Arab town." said the naval officer,
''is scarcely what is suggested by the
English meaning of the word. 1t is more
a collection Of detached houses, each sur
rounded by its own grounds of from 80
to 100 acres. AS my travels in Oman
were conducted under the immediate pro-
lection Of the sultan, and as he had pro-
vided for my special use his own particu-
lar riding camel, | was received every
where with great respect. My reception
in the house of one of the principal
sheiks of Semail took place on the sec
ond day of my visit to the town, when
/ paid a call upon Mohammed bin Naser
el Hinawy.
"In accordance with Moslem custom,
| pronounced the name of God on cross
ing the threshold, and while being con-
Quoted to the divan by my courteous host
gave the salutation 'Es salaam aleikum,'
the salutation of peace to the assembled
company. A beautiful carpet of Persian
work and q pillow covered with embroid-
cred silk were ready for my reception.
Putting off my shoes at the edge Of the
carpet, and after short but ceremoniOus
dispute with my host as to who should
sit down first, | was established on the
carpet, with the pillow at my back for
comfortable support.
"Close to the seat Of the host and a
little to his left was a small raised plat
form Of stone on which were placed the
requisite utensils for preparing coffee.
A small charcoal fire, urged to white
heat by means Of a pair Of bellows,
provided the boiling water. On either
side of the fire were two large jugs of
some white metal as we'll as several
smaller ones. On shelf near by were
several zarfs and fngans. The zarf is
the holder for the coffee cup, and these
on the shelf were of various metals, some
Of gold beautifully worked, some of sill
yer, and some even of copper The fngan
is coffee cup without handle and hold
ing about as much as a liqueur glass;
these were Of china and porcelain of diff
ferent designs and value.
said to have come from the frontiers Of
Abyssinia. He seemed to be about %, of
slight and graceful form, with finely cut
features and well nodded limbs, quite
black and with hair almost woolly. His
costume consisted of a waist cloth Of
colored cotton supported around his waist
by piece of cord tucked up on one side,
and q sort Of embroidered wastcoat but
toned in front but leaving arms and legs
bare.
ut Is not in accordance with desert
etiquette to introduce for discussion any
serious matter until after coffee has been
served, so that the conversation consists
almost entirely of general topics and the
interchange of compliments. While this
very small talk is gravely going on the
slave, having first let down his waist
cloth SO that II hangs down below his
knees, passes around among the company
with a small straw mat in one hand, a
mat made of various colored grasses and
about the size Of dessert plate. In the
other hand he carries a cylindrical grass
box from which he pours coffee berries
upon the grass mat. All berries which
are not of the right color he picks out
and throws away or returns to the box.
Without any ostentation he manages to
call the attention of all the guests to the
fact that the berries he has selected are
all Of the best tint.
Then, pouring the berries from the
mat into an iron ladle, he roasts them
over the charcoal fire, which he blows to
a white heat with the bellows. Coffee
berries in Oman are never roasted to that
dark brown or black color which Is COM
mon in Europe and America, but are con-
sidered at their best when they take on
rich reddish brown color. Turning the
roasted berries out to cool on the grass
mat Abdullah, for that is the name Of
the slave, sets one Of the large metal
jugs on the fire to warm.
The coffee is not ground in machine,
for that would waste all its fine essential
oil, but Is pounded up in a mortar made
of dark and hard basalt having a deep
narrow well, into which the berries are
poured. Taking the mortar between his
knees, Abdullah forces the pestle into the
well and down upon the roasted berries,
which he slowly crushes into a fine grit
of which every particle is about the size
of small seed pearls or mustard seed.
"By this time the water in the large
jug on the fire is nearly boiling. Filling
one of the smaller jugs with the almost
boiling water, he throws in the crushed
coffee and allows it to boil for short
time, stirring it all the time with stick.
Then, placing on n brass tray the best
zarfs and fngans. the slave fills the cups
with the infusion. keeping the grounds in
the jug by means Of piece Of bark held
over its spout. Handing the tray to the
most honored guest, he says, 'Semmoo,'
which means Pronounce the name Of
God
taking the cup from the tray and
looking at his host, the honored guest
pronounces the great formula of Moham-
mechanism in the words 'Bismillah UT
rahman ur-rahim,' which mean In the
name of God the compassionate and
merciful.' Then the guest sips his coffee
without sugar or milk, but sometimes
few aromatic seeds or ambergris may lie
added. If the guest is OF very high rank,
the host takes his own cup Immediately
after the guest, but under ordinary cir
Cumstances be waits until all the COM
pany has been served"