Qishr: Difference between revisions

{{short description|Yemeni hot drink}}

{{Arab cuisine}}

'''''Qishr''''' ({{lang-ar|[[wikt:قشر|قشر]]}} ''geshir'', ''gishr'', ''kishr'') is a [[Yemeni]] traditional hot drink made of spiced [[coffee]] [[husk]]s,<ref name="pauldresch">Dresch, Paul, "A history of modern Yemen"</ref> [[ginger]],<ref name="annahestler">Hestler, Anna, "Yemen"</ref> and sometimes [[cinnamon]].<ref name="jacobashkenazi">Jacob, Jeanne, Ashkenazi, Michael "The World Cookbook for Students, Volume 1"</ref> In [[Yemen]], it is usually drunk as an alternative to coffee because it doesn't need to be roasted.

==History==

{{main|Coffee#History}}

Coffee arrived in Yemen from across the [[Red Sea]] into the [[Arabian Peninsula]] into the region that is now [[Yemen]], where Muslim [[dervish]]es began cultivating the shrub in their gardens. At first, Yemenis made wine from the pulp of the fermented coffee berries. This beverage was known as ''qishr'' and was used during religious ceremonies.<ref>{{cite book|last=Pendergrast|first=Mark|author-link=Mark Pendergrast|title=Uncommon Grounds: The History of Coffee and How It Transformed Our World|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TUo981rkwkoC|year=2010|publisher=Basic Books|isbn=978-0-465-02404-9|page=5}}</ref>

"Ginger coffee is the universal drink and the cup is always filled, a guest being given two cups at once... Qishr, an infusion made from the husks of coffee berries, is also drunk, particularly in the [[Tihamah|Tihamat]]al[['Asir Region|'Asir]]."<ref>Thesiger, W. "A Journey Through the Tihama, the 'Asir, and the Hijaz Mountains." ''The Geographical Journal'' 110, No. 4/6 (Oct. - Dec., 1947), page 192.</ref>

Concerning qishr, "Great hospitality was shown to us on entering their houses; we were always pressed to stay, and never allowed to go without taking a cup of coffee or rather an infusion of coffee husk called 'keshr'; for, strange to say, though in the heart of the coffee country, coffee is never taken as a beverage."<ref>Frankl, P.J.L. "Robert Finlay's Description of San'a' in 1238-1239/1823." Bulletin (British Society for Middle Eastern Studies), Vol. 17, No. 1 (1990), page 27.</ref>

* [[Coffea arabica]]

* Philby, H. St. J. B. (Harry St. John Bridger), 1885–1960. Arabian Highlands. Ithaca: Published for the Middle East Institute, Washington, D.C. [by] Cornell University Press, [1952]. Subjects: Arabian Peninsula—Description and travel. 771 p. : illus., maps (part fold., 1 in pocket). [[OCLC]] No.: 01083943. Page 687.

[[Category:Arabic drinks]]

[[Category:Yemeni cuisine]]

[[Category:Ceremonial food and drink]]

[[Category:Guest greeting food and drink]]