Café Touba facts for kids
Café Touba is a special coffee drink from Senegal. It's also becoming very popular in Guinea-Bissau. This unique coffee gets its name from the city of Touba, Senegal.
What makes Café Touba different is its flavor. It's made with a spice called djar (also known as grains of Selim or Guinea pepper). Sometimes, cloves are added too. The djar spice is grown in places like Côte d'Ivoire or Gabon.
To make Café Touba, the spices are mixed with coffee beans. Then, they are all roasted together. After roasting, they are ground into a fine powder. The drink is prepared using a filter, much like making regular drip coffee.
History of Café Touba
Café Touba means 'Touba coffee' in French. It's named after the city of Touba, Senegal. The word Touba itself means 'Felicity' (happiness) in Hassaniya Arabic.
This special coffee has a rich history. It came to Senegal with a very important person named Sheikh Amadou Bamba Mbacké. He was the founder of the Mouride brotherhood, an Islamic group. When Sheikh Amadou Bamba returned from exile in Gabon in 1902, he brought this coffee with him.
The Mouride brotherhood traditionally drinks Café Touba during important events. These include ceremonies, special celebrations, and the big annual event called the Grand Magal of Touba.
How People Enjoy Café Touba
Usually, Café Touba is made with about 80% coffee and 20% djar spice. In recent years, more and more people are drinking Café Touba. It's spreading to cities and towns all over Senegal, and even outside the country.
This drink has become very popular, especially since 2009. Many people in Senegal started drinking it more often, even for breakfast. It's a drink enjoyed by people of all ages, including children.
Café Touba is also a big hit in Guinea-Bissau. It has become the most popular drink there, even though it was not well-known just a few years ago. Its popularity has even caused sales of instant coffee, like Nescafé, to go down in West Africa. Because of this, some companies have even created new coffee products with spices to compete with Café Touba.
