Café Touba (Senegalese Spiced Coffee) #eattheworld

It’s time to Eat the World in our strange quarantine time and our country is Senegal.

Eat the World should be our chance to virtually travel and learn about a different culture.

But did I?

Nope, I scanned through Senegalese recipes and wondered how I was going to pull a new recipe over my family with so much else going on.

We’re trying to adjust with staying home (other than daily walks, the kids haven’t been anywhere but home since March 13 when school cancelled over the weekend), plus adjust to a 3^rd & 6^th grader distance learning while a librarian and a college professor teach from home. 

We’re fortunate.  Hubs and I are both still working.  We have high-speed internet and enough devices that all four of us can be working/learning virtually.  But still, it’s a transition.

So, in my house, it’s been comfort food.  Big time.

I just couldn’t make a traditional Senegalese recipe for dinner.  Not only would the kiddos revolt, but the ingredients can be tough to come by, especially when we’re limited to how often we should be going to the store.

I hemmed and hawed. What could I do?  Then I stumbled on Café Touba, a Senegalese medical coffee.  This coffee is brewed with local coffee beans and a very particular hot pepper.

I could not get any of these ingredients.

But as I researched, I found that the pepper tastes something like black pepper and cloves.

Ding ding ding!

I decided to make a take of Café Touba by making a pepper-clove syrup to add into my latte.

It was fantastic (and likely not at all like actual Café Touba).  The spiciness reminded me a little of a pumpkin spice or gingerbread latte and I loved it!

Check out all the wonderful Senegalese dishes prepared by fellow Eat the World members and share with #eattheworld.

Click here to find out how to join and have fun exploring a country a month in the kitchen with us!

 Amy’s Cooking Adventures: Café Touba (Senegalese Spiced Coffee)
Culinary Adventures with Camilla: The Kitchen Elves' Senegalese-Style Gumbo
Pandemonium Noshery: Poulet Yessa - Senegalese Chicken
CulturEatz: Senegalese Mango Chocolate Pound Cake 
A Day in the Life on the Farm: Maafe
Making Miracles: Senegalese Poulet Yassa
Sneha’s Recipe: Poulet Yassa -Senegalese Style Chicken
Dinner By Dennis: Fataya (Deep Fried Senegalese Street Food)
Kitchen Frau: Mafé (Senegalese Beef & Peanut Stew)
The Schizo Chef: Senegalese Sweet Potato Shrimp Fritters

Disclaimer: This post contains a recipe highlighting a different country or culture. While I strive for authenticity, I sometimes need to make adjustments to recipes due to ingredient availability.  

Café Touba (Senegalese Spiced Coffee)

Inspired by Barista Magazine and Vice

Pepper-Clove Syrup

¾ cup water

1 teaspoon whole peppercorns, smashed

1 teaspoon whole cloves, smashed

½ cup brown sugar

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

1 shot espresso

1 cup frothed milk

To make the syrup, place the water, peppercorns, and cloves in a small saucepan over medium heat.  Bring to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer for about 10 minutes to infuse the flavor.  Stir in the sugar.  Stir until the sugar is fully dissolved.  Remove from heat and add the vanilla extract.

Pour the mixture into a glass jar through a fine mesh sieve to remove any solids.  Cover to store.

To make a coffee, add 2 tablespoons of pepper-clove syrup to a coffee cup, stir in the espresso and frothed milk and serve.

  Amy Eats the World in...

Cuba: Ropa Vieja (Slow Cooker Beef)

Ireland: Cheesy Potato Soup with Irish Ale

Thailand: Chicken Satay

Kenya: Crunchy N’Dizi (Peanut Crusted Bananas)
Sweden: Rodbetssallad med Getost (Grated Beet Salad with Goat Cheese)
New Zealand: Kiwi Burger 
France: Fougasse (Provencal Flatbread)
Argentina: Chimichurri Sauce
Mexico (Halloween Special): Pan de Muerto (Day of the Dead Bread)
India: Spiced Golden Milk 
Poland: Chrusciki (Angel Wing Cookies)
Ethiopia: Buticha (Hummus)
England: Wizarding World of Harry Potter Leaky Cauldron-Style Mini Cottage Pie 
Georgia: Lobiani (Bean-Stuffed Bread)
Mexico: Crispy Pork Carnitas
Cambodia: Loc Lac (Shredded Beef with Lime)
Israel: Chicken Albondigas (Chicken Meatballs)
Finland: Sima (Lemonade) 
Puerto Rico: Arroz con Tocino  (Rice with Bacon)
Egypt: Ghorayebah Cookies
Ukraine: Scuffles (Rohalyky) Cinnamon Crescent Rolls

Portugal: Bitoque (Steak & Eggs) 
Germany (Christmas Special): Lebkuchenherzen (German "Gingerbread" Cookies) 
Trinidad & Tabago: Trini Macaroni Pie 
Iraq: T'bit (Slow Cooked Chicken & Brown Rice) 
Fiji: Fijian Creamy Lentil Soup (Dhal)