Spiced Coffee: Warm Winter Coffee Recipes From Around the World

Spiced coffee is coffee brewed or finished with warm spices such as cardamom, cinnamon, clove, ginger or nutmeg. The easiest way to make it at home is to add a small pinch of ground spice, about ¼ teaspoon per cup, to your coffee grounds before brewing, so the flavor extracts along with the coffee. Cultures from the Arabian Peninsula to Mexico have been doing this for generations, and each tradition offers a different way to warm up a winter morning.

Here is a tour of the world’s great spiced coffee traditions, followed by recipes you can make with an ordinary coffee maker, French press or stovetop pot.

Spiced Coffee Traditions Around the World

Arabic coffee with cardamom

Across the Arabian Peninsula, traditional Arabic coffee (often called qahwa or gahwa) is typically lightly roasted and flavored generously with cardamom. Depending on the region and the family, cloves or saffron may join it. It is served in small cups and is a central gesture of hospitality. In 2015, UNESCO added Arabic coffee, as a symbol of generosity, to its list of intangible cultural heritage, following a joint nomination by the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Oman and Qatar.

Turkish coffee with a hint of cardamom

Turkish coffee is brewed from very finely ground coffee in a small pot, and in parts of Turkey and the wider Middle East a little cardamom is sometimes added. Turkish coffee culture and tradition was inscribed by UNESCO in 2013. If you want to try the method, follow our guide on how to make Turkish coffee and add a pinch of ground cardamom to the pot.

Café de olla in Mexico

Mexico’s café de olla is simmered with cinnamon and piloncillo, an unrefined cane sugar, traditionally in a clay pot. It is sweet, warming and fragrant. We cover the full recipe in our café de olla article.

Yemeni hawaij for coffee

Yemen has a spice blend made specifically for coffee, known as hawaij for coffee. Recipes vary, but the blend usually centers on ginger and cardamom, often with cinnamon and cloves. A little goes a long way.

Chai-spiced coffee

Masala chai is a spiced tea, not a coffee tradition, but its blend of cinnamon, cardamom, ginger, clove and black pepper has inspired coffee drinkers everywhere. Combining chai and espresso gives you the café favorite in our dirty chai latte guide.

Spiced Coffee Spice Guide

Ground cinnamon tends to clump and can clog paper filters, so mix it well with the coffee grounds or use whole sticks in a French press.

Spiced Coffee Recipes to Make at Home

1. Cardamom coffee (drip or pour-over)

Our simplified home version, inspired by Arabic and Turkish traditions.

• 3 tbsp (about 18 g) medium-ground coffee
• 10 oz (300 ml) water
• ¼ tsp ground cardamom (or 3 green pods, crushed)

1. Mix the cardamom into the coffee grounds in your filter.
2. Brew as usual.
3. Serve black in small cups, ideally alongside dates as is customary with Arabic coffee.

2. Hawaij-style spiced coffee

Spice mix (makes about 10 servings): 2 tbsp ground ginger, 1 tbsp ground cardamom, 1 tsp ground cinnamon, ½ tsp ground cloves.

1. Stir the spices together and store in a small airtight jar.
2. Add ½ tsp of the mix to 2 tbsp (12 g) of ground coffee for each 8 oz (240 ml) cup.
3. Brew in a French press for 4 minutes, plunge and pour.

3. Cinnamon-clove French press coffee

• ¾ cup (about 55 g) coarsely ground coffee
• 32 oz (950 ml) water just off the boil
• 2 cinnamon sticks, broken
• 4 whole cloves
• 1 strip orange peel (optional)

1. Put the coffee, cinnamon, cloves and orange peel in the press.
2. Pour in the water, stir and steep 4 minutes.
3. Press slowly and serve right away. Add brown sugar or milk to taste.

4. Spiced winter latte

• 4 oz (120 ml) strong coffee or 2 espresso shots
• 6 oz (180 ml) milk
• 1 tsp honey or brown sugar
• Pinch each of cinnamon, cardamom and nutmeg

1. Warm the milk with the spices and sweetener, whisking until steaming.
2. Froth, then pour over the coffee.
3. Top with a final dusting of cinnamon.

Tips for Better Spiced Coffee

• Spice the grounds, not the cup. Brewing spices with the coffee extracts their flavor; stirring ground spice into a finished cup leaves gritty sediment.
• Start small. Clove and cardamom can overwhelm coffee quickly. You can always add more next time.
• Grind whole spices fresh. Just like coffee, spices lose aroma after grinding. Our article on whole bean vs ground coffee explains why freshness matters.
• Match spice to roast. Light roasts let cardamom shine; dark roasts stand up to clove and cinnamon.
• Shortcut with flavored coffee. Want spice without measuring? A pre-flavored coffee does the work for you.

Spiced Coffee FAQ

What spices go well in coffee?

Cardamom, cinnamon, clove, ginger and nutmeg are the classics. Cardamom is traditional in Arabic coffee, cinnamon in Mexican café de olla, and ginger is central to Yemeni hawaij for coffee.

Should I add spices before or after brewing?

Before is usually better. Mixing ground spices with your coffee grounds lets the hot water extract their flavor and keeps the cup free of grit. Whole spices work well in a French press or a simmering pot.

How much cardamom do I put in coffee?

Start with about ⅛ to ¼ teaspoon of ground cardamom per 8 oz cup, or two to three crushed green pods. Traditional Arabic coffee often uses much more, so adjust to taste.

Can I make spiced cold brew?

Yes. Add a cinnamon stick and a few crushed cardamom pods to your cold brew jar before steeping, then strain everything out together.

Warm Up Your Winter Cup

From cardamom-scented Arabic coffee to cinnamon-rich café de olla, spiced coffee is one of the oldest and most delicious ways to make a cup feel special. Pick a tradition, start with a small pinch and adjust to taste.

For a ready-made spiced cup, try Cinnamon Hazelnut or Pumpkin Spice flavored coffee. To spice your own, a balanced single origin such as Ethiopia Natural pairs beautifully with cardamom. Every Feel Espresso order is roasted 1 to 5 days before delivery.