What to Drink in Qatar

Updated June 25, 2020.

This is a first for the blog! This is not my typical “What I Ate” post. I ate and drank so many new things on my trip to Qatar, I decided to do a post all about just the beverages! And stay tuned; I’ll be blogging all about breakfast, lunch, and supper in the coming weeks! For now, let’s get started!

Coffee

I am typically a one-cup-in-the-morning kind of coffee drinker, but on travel, I let myself have coffee any time of day. And it’s a good thing, because there was a lot of coffee to go around!

Arabic Coffee

This was my very first experience with Arabic coffee! Yes, it’s yellow! It’s very mild, and it’s yellow because it is only roasted for a short time (the longer coffee beans are roasted, the darker they become). It is made with cardamom and is served in these small cups called finjan, with no handles, and you’ll only be served about an ounce and a half at a time. It can be served on its own, but it’s often served with dates!

Turkish Coffee

Turkish coffee is very dark, quite strong, and the grounds are actually in the coffee, not filtered through like an American or European coffee would be. There is no sugar or milk in the one below, so you can see just how dark it is!

Nescafe

This is instant coffee, and it is my coffee of choice, as it’s the closest to American-style coffee! I’ll be honest, I’m a bit of a coffee wimp! I like it sweet and heavy on the milk. My friends learned quickly how much I like my coffee–with milk and three spoonfuls of sugar! Check out the beautiful tray, too.

Cappuccino

My friends did so many kind things for me, and their friends wanted to do sweet things for me, too! My new friend Saeda threw a big party for me and the other women, and it was such fun! We ended the night with incredible cappuccinos. Take a look!

Tea

Where I grew up, tea is always served cold and sweet. But that’s not so in the rest of the world! The teas in Qatar were always served hot and sugar is optional, but for me, tea always included sugar!

Juice and Smoothies

Juice is an important source of hydration, especially in hot climates! I was so glad to be stopping at a juice restaurant my first night there, and I thought, “Wow! I want that pomegranate and mint juice! That sounds so exotic!” Little did I know, that was not going to be the best option. Somehow, everyone else’s juice came out with ice cream! Don’t get me wrong, the pomegranate and mint juice was good, but the other ones were incredible! I made sure to get the right kind the next time!

Pomegranate and Mint juice–the kind of juice I was expecting. Ain’t it a peach?!

Everyone else’s juice–layers of creamy fruit juices with layers of ice cream!

Guava and Melon juice with ice cream–I did it right!

Orange-pineapple-lemongrass juice with Middle Eastern sweets!

Milk

Sounds so simple, but this was one of the very best things I had the whole time I was in Qatar! If ever I get the recipe, I will share it. It was sweet, thick, creamy, and delicious!