In pics: Know more about traditional 'Gabana' Coffee in Egypt's Gebel Elba

CAIRO - 19 December 2022: The traditional “Gabana” coffee is a must-try in Gebel Elba in Egypt’s Halayeb and Shalateen. 

 

Gabana is made by roasting coffee beans over a wood fire, which Bedouins name “Rakia,” adding herbs including ginger and cardamom, then boiling it in a clay or metal pot, and adding sugar in the end.

 

 

Gabana coffee is one of the customs and traditions of the people of the tribes living in Halayeb and Shalateen. 

 

Gebel Elba protectorate refers to a series of mountains found in the south east corner of Halayeb and Shalateen.

 

 

In the below lines, et highlights the steps to make the traditional drink in Halayeb and Shalateen: 

 

 

  - There are specialized utensils used to prepare Gabana, and they are often made of pottery, and they are prepared through the process of manual roasting of milk first.

 

 

- After roasting the coffee, it is ground into a pot made of pottery, until the color of the red coffee turns into a dark brown.

 

 

 

 

- The roasting process takes 3 minutes, during which a few grains of cloves, cardamom, or ginger are added to the coffee, according to the flavor requested by the drinker.

 

 

- After preparing this mixture, a little sugar is added to it, then the drink is served inside small cups made of colored Chinese porcelain.

 

 

- The Gabana drink is served to the guests more than one cup at a time, and that this drink is considered the official drink in the month of Ramadan, as well as during the winter season.