Yazd Windcatcher
Yazdi coffee with cardamom and a breath of rose, shaken ice-cold.
Ingredients
| Ingredient | ml | oz |
|---|---|---|
| Dark rum | 40 ml | 1⅓ oz |
| Chilled cardamom coffee concentrate · homemade, P31 | 30 ml | 1 oz |
| Cardamom syrup · homemade, P03 | 10 ml | ⅓ oz |
| Culinary rose water | 1–2 drops |
Ounces are rounded; measure in ml for accuracy. Homemade items link to their own page.
chilled coupe
shaken with ice, served up
three coffee beans, or a single dried rose petal
The story
Yazd is a desert city of mud-brick lanes and towering badgir, windcatchers that pull the breeze down into cool rooms and underground water cisterns. Its old city is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and its kitchens are known for cardamom: in Yazdi cakes, in qottab, and in Yazdi coffee, brewed with cardamom and a touch of rose water. This drink is Yazdi coffee served the way a windcatcher would want it: ice-cold, shaken to a silky foam.
Method
- Add all ingredients to a shaker with plenty of ice.
- Shake very hard for 15 seconds to build a creamy foam.
- Double-strain into a chilled coupe.
- Float three coffee beans, or a single dried rose petal, on the foam.
How it tastes
Rich roasted coffee, warming cardamom and dark rum, finishing with a faint floral lift of rose. Bittersweet and smooth.
Persian taste: talkh (bitter), shirin (sweet)
Pair it with
- Food: After dinner; it needs nothing.
- Sweet: Cake yazdi, Yazd’s little cardamom and rose-water cakes, or almond-filled qottab.
- Snack: Qottab, Yazd’s almond pastry, or salted almonds
Variations
Vodka windcatcher
Replace the rum with vodka for a cleaner, coffee-forward drink.
Gahwa-style
Use the gahwa-style coffee (light roast, cardamom, saffron) for a golden, gentler drink.
Alcohol-free
60 ml cardamom coffee, 15 ml cardamom syrup and a drop of rose water, shaken hard with ice.
Balancing tips
- Use freshly brewed, fully chilled coffee for the best foam.
- Rose water is a scent here, not a flavor: one drop, then taste.
- Too bitter? Add 2.5 ml more cardamom syrup.
Allergens
- No common allergens.
- Contains alcohol. Please drink responsibly.
Development notes
- Status: draft recipe, not yet taste-tested.
- Keep distinct from Karun Nights (shaken and coffee-forward here; stirred and date-forward there).
- Inspiration: Original house recipe.
Watch it mixed
Follow along
Steps light up as the animation plays. Tap a step to jump to it.
Heads-up: this animation was rendered from an earlier draft, so the amounts on screen differ slightly. Follow the ingredient table above.
Yazd, imagined
