Mihmas (Coffee Roaster)

Coffee-making tools are collectively called the ma`ameel (brew basket). The mihmas is a spoon for stirring beans during roasting.

Mohammad Ahmad Al Tamimi brews Arabic coffee over a fireplace dug into the ground. Seated on the sand, like the Bedouins of the past, he roasts aromatic Arabica beans over the wood-burnt fire, in a small circular pan.

A dash of saffron and cardamom are added after brewing to balance the high-intense, full-bodied flavour of the beverage. Occasionally, rose water is added to enhance the aroma.

Coffee-making tools are collectively called the ma`ameel (brew basket), and include specialised equipment, chiefly al tawa (a wide circular pan for roasting coffee beans), mihmas (a spoon for stirring beans) and the mehbash (iron tongs to distribute the coals and spread the embers in the stove).

The dallah or coffee pot is an important utensil in the coffee-making process.

Specially designed and decorated, there are three types of dallah in the preparation and serving of Arabic coffee: dallat al-khumrah (a large pot for boiling coffee and cardamom), dallat al-talgeemah (a medium-sized pot for filtering the coffee) and dallat al-mazalah (a small pot from which the coffee is served).