Kahawa Chungu
Also kahawa, Swahili coffee
The Swahili coast's bitter street coffee: strong, often spiced with cardamom or ginger, sold by vendors in small cups.
RegionalServed hot
- Volume
- 40ml1.4 US fl oz
- Espresso
- 0shots
- Caffeine
- 16mgderived, USDA FDC
- Glass
- Serving glass50 ml
The build
Watch it made, step by step- Strong black coffee40 ml100%
- Volume
- 40ml
- Caffeine
- 16mg
- Espresso
- 0shots
Scales every component together, so the ratio holds; caffeine scales with the coffee.
Strong bitter coffee poured into small handleless cups, a few sips at a time.
Caffeine
Derivedin a 40 ml kahawa chungu
USDA FoodData Central SR Legacy caffeine per 100 g scaled to the coffee volume in components, assuming 1 g per ml. FDC 171890 (Beverages, coffee, brewed, prepared with tap water) 40.0 mg/100 g x 40 ml. Brewed strong, so the true figure is likely higher.
USDA FoodData Central record 171890 · read 2026-10-29
A derived figure: the reference food's caffeine per 100 g scaled to the coffee in this build. Real cups vary with the coffee, the dose and the shot.
Variants by country
No regional variants recorded.
History
Popular accountNo allowed-source record; the brass kettles and the sweets served alongside are popular accounts.
Swahili coast of Kenya and Tanzania (popular account).
Parts of this story are repeated widely but were not confirmed against a source this atlas accepts. They are kept as the story people tell, not as fact.
Related drinks
Hanoi's egg coffee: a sweet whipped yolk cream over strong phin coffee, more dessert than drink. Born of a 1940s milk shortage.
Regional Qahwa (Arabic Coffee) 50 ml · 20 mgThe Arabian Peninsula's lightly roasted cardamom coffee, boiled in a dallah and poured into tiny cups as the central act of hospitality.
Regional Mırra 30 ml · 12 mgSouth-eastern Turkey's intensely bitter coffee, boiled down until concentrated and served a few sips at a time.
Regional Bosnian Coffee 60 ml · 24 mgBosnia's Ottoman-style coffee, distinguished by boiling the water first and serving the pot at the table with a sugar cube and a sweet.
Regional Ethiopian Buna (Coffee Ceremony) 60 ml · 24 mgEthiopia's coffee ceremony: beans roasted, pounded and boiled in a clay jebena, poured in three rounds for guests. The source culture of arabica coffee.
Regional Greek Coffee 60 ml · 24 mgGreece's cezve coffee, boiled fine grounds with sugar served unfiltered in a small cup with its foam. Identical in method to Turkish coffee.