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Drink

Kahawa

A Ugandan coffee brewed with cardamom seeds and ground coffee, optionally spiced with cardamom and ginger.

From the Recipes Wiki (Fandom) · 5 ingredients
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Why it works: Cardamom and ginger match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,114 recipes. Both carry beta-phellandrene, which smells minty, terpene. The science ↓

Kahawa

Timeten to fifteen minutes

Ingredients

Directions

  1. Combine all ingredients in a saucepan (just water, cardamom seeds, and coffee for the basic brew).

  2. Bring to a boil.

  3. Reduce heat and maintain a low boil for ten to fifteen minutes.

  4. Bring water and cardamom seeds to a boil.

  5. Keep on a low boil for ten minutes.

  6. Add coffee.

  7. Simmer for five minutes more.

  8. Add ground cardamom and ginger (if desired).

  9. Pour through a strainer into a coffeepot and serve hot.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

8Calories
0 gProtein
0 gFat
2 gCarbs

Counts 2 of 6 ingredients. The other 4 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 2 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Cardamom1 tsp ground (2g)6
Ginger1 tsp grated fresh (2g)2
Waternot in our table0
Seednot in our table0
Coffeenot in our table0
Beannot in our table0

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

Recipe from the Recipes Wiki (Fandom).

Steps grouped into stages for easier reading; the method is the source's own.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

  1. Cardamom + gingertop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together1,114 recipes

    Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).

  2. Cardamom + beanstop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together84 recipes

    Shared aroma: linalool (floral, citrus).

  3. Beans + gingertop 9% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together609 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

  4. Coffee + beanstop 13% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together289 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-isobutyl-3-methoxypyrazine (green bell pepper, earthy).

  5. Cardamom + coffeetop 15% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together31 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-octenal (fatty, green).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Coffee beans
Provide the main flavor and aroma, extracted into the hot water during simmering.
Cardamom seeds
Add a warm, aromatic flavor that complements the coffee.

The step that matters

Simmer the coffee gently. Boiling hard for too long over-extracts the grounds, making the coffee bitter. A gentle low boil or simmer extracts flavor more evenly and keeps the brew smooth.

Swap the cardamom

The recipe marks cardamom as optional. How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (coffee, beans, ginger):

  1. Cinnamonfits better
  2. Cuminfits about as well
  3. Cardamomthe original
  4. Turmericfits about as well

Fit is the average pairing score against coffee, beans, ginger. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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