How To Make Café Touba at Home (Step-by-Step Recipe)
If you’ve ever wanted to try Café Touba but couldn’t find a street vendor serving it fresh, don’t worry you can make it at home!It’s surprisingly simple, and the best part is that you get to adjust the spice and sweetness to your taste. So here's everything you need to do:
Equipment
- A dry pan (for roasting)
- A coffee grinder or mortar & pestle
- A pot (for brewing)
- A fine mesh strainer
- Serving Cups:
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons of whole coffee beans (preferably dark-roasted Robusta)
- ½ teaspoon of grains of Selim (Djar), crushed
- 2 cups of water
- Sugar to taste
Instructions
- Roast the Coffee and Spices – Lightly roast the whole coffee beans and crushed grains of Selim in a dry pan over medium heat. Then stir continuously until you smell the rich, spicy aroma. This step intensifies the flavors.
- Grind the Mixture – Use a mortar & pestle or a grinder to blend the roasted coffee and Selim into a coarse grind. The texture should be similar to what you’d use for a French press.
- Boil the Water – In a pot, bring 2 cups of water to a near-boil. You want it hot but not aggressively bubbling.
- Brew the Coffee – Add the ground coffee-spice mixture to the hot water and let it simmer for about 5 minutes. This slow infusion extracts all the bold and peppery flavors.
- Strain and Serve – Using a fine mesh strainer, pour the brewed coffee into cups, leaving the grounds behind.
- Sweeten and Enjoy – Traditionally, Café Touba is served very sweet. So feel free to add sugar to taste. Sip slowly and enjoy the warming, spiced goodness!