GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — Young Jabar Abu Houli pours coffee from a copper pot for his guests and then waits for them to finish drinking. If they shake the empty cup or put two fingers above it, it means they are finished and do not want anymore. If they hand him the cup in a normal manner, he will pour them more of the black coffee. This ritual takes place every morning and evening in the sitting room of the Abu Houli family home in Deir al-Balah, in the central Gaza Strip. They are one of the few families who still follow the ancient traditions associated with coffee. Al-Monitor's correspondent visited them on the evening of Jan. 9.
Matar Abu Houli, 55, has been in charge of making coffee in the home for 30 years. He takes a long metal frying pan that they call al-mahmas, which contains green coffee beans, and places it over a wood stove. He moves the pan around until the beans acquire a dark color. "They only need [to roast] for 10 minutes, otherwise the coffee beans will burn," he told Al-Monitor. He then places the beans in a large clay pot and begins grinding them with a wooden crank called al-houn.
