Palestinian Pride Expressed Through Coffee and Cuisine eastbayexpress.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from eastbayexpress.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Ever heard of a coffee drink called "Bebsi"? It combines cardamom with the fizziness of soda and richness of espresso, and it's on offer right now at the new Jerusalem Coffee House in Oakland's Temescal district. The cafe opened this month at 5443 Telegraph Ave. in the space previously occupied by organic eatery The Well. Right now it has a short but intriguing menu of drinks – featuring coffee beans from Tanzania roasted in small batches in Berkeley – that is inspired by Palestinian culture. So you won't find just Bebsi but also Arabic coffee and a date-tahini latte, which "captures the essence of Palestinian tradition by marrying two flavors that represent centuries of food indigenous to the Holy Land," says the cafe's Abdulrahim "Raheem" Harara.