Shaah Cadays — Somali Spiced Tea
Somali spiced tea — black tea simmered with cardamom, cinnamon and cloves, sweetened and often finished with milk.
Method
- Crush the cardamom pods lightly with the flat of a knife so the seeds are exposed but the pods stay whole. Bruising, not grinding, is what gives a clean perfume rather than a cloudy brew.
- Bring the water to a boil in a saucepan with the cardamom, cinnamon stick, cloves and ginger. Boil for 5 minutes so the spices release into the water before any tea goes in.
- Add the tea leaves, reduce the heat to low and simmer gently for 3 to 4 minutes. Longer than this draws out tannins and the tea turns bitter.
- Stir in the sugar until dissolved, tasting as you go. Somali tea is usually sweet, but the spices should still come through.
- For shaah cadays with milk, add the milk now and bring back to just below boiling, watching closely so it does not rise over the pan. For black tea, skip this step.
- Strain through a fine sieve into a warmed teapot or directly into glasses.
- Serve very hot, traditionally in small glasses, with dates, xalwo or sambusa alongside.
How to make Shaah Cadays — Somali Spiced Tea
Tea in Somali culture is an act of hospitality rather than a drink made in passing. A guest is offered shaah within minutes of arriving, and refusing it is unusual. The spicing — cardamom above all, with cinnamon and cloves behind it — is what distinguishes it from the tea of neighbouring cuisines.
Spices first, tea second
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The order matters. Boiling the spices in the water before the tea leaves go in extracts their aroma fully, while keeping the tea itself in the pot only briefly. Tea boiled for ten minutes with everything else turns dark and astringent.
Cadays and the alternatives
Shaah cadays is the milky version; shaah bigays is the black tea drunk with dates or sweets. Both use the same spiced base, so one pot can serve a table that wants both: strain, then add hot milk only to the glasses that call for it.
Scaling up
For a crowd, keep the ratio of roughly one and a half cardamom pods to each cup of water and increase the rest with it. Spices can be crushed together in quantity and kept in a sealed jar so a pot can be made quickly for arriving guests.
Serving
Small glasses, filled hot and refilled often, are the norm. Alongside, expect dates, xalwo, sambusa or a plate of canjeero depending on the hour of the day.
Traditional Somali tea culture, central to hospitality across Somali households and teahouses. Editorially researched from widely documented preparations, and not kitchen-tested by Axadle.
Contains dairy if made with milk. Use the black version or a plant milk for a dairy-free cup.
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