Café Touba

Café Touba is a spicy, peppery, and intense coffee that hails from Senegal. It is made with coffee beans that are roasted and ground up with grains of Selim (Xylopia Aethioopica)—also known as Guinea pepper, Kani pepper, Kili pepper, or djar—a spice often used instead of pepper.

Cloves are also often added to the mix. The powder is used to make coffee, usually using a filter, and the liquid is then traditionally poured multiple times between two containers. In this way, the coffee is aerated and frothed. It is believed that the beverage was invented by Cheikh Amadou Bamba Mbacke, a religious leader of the Sufi Mouride Brotherhood and the founder of the city of Touba.

The coffee was used in chanting sessions, supposedly because of its alleged medicinal properties and to keep the participants awake. The usual proportion of coffee and spices is 1:4 in favor of coffee, while the spice mixture is usually made from equal amounts of cloves and djar.

Milk is traditionally not added, and the drink is sweetened to taste. Café Touba is nowadays still used in religious ceremonies, but it is also a part of everyday life in Senegal. It is mostly enjoyed for breakfast, and it is easily found at street stalls (tanganas).