Stewart Allen is the author of “The Devil’s Cup” We asked for some clarification about “kati” which he mentions in the book.
The way it was done is that we bought a bunch of dried leaves – they looked like they had been sun dried to pretty crispy texture, like dry autumn leaves. My host crumbled them up and roasted them on a pan over coals. I would imagine this would be low heat, something like a black cast iron pan would be best. As she roasted them, she stirred constantly until they were pretty dark – not burnt exactly. She did a few handfuls of this (they shrink) and then they cooled for a few moments.
They were then added to water (maybe three or four times more than you would use if you were using regular tea leaves). Before the water boils, add a pinch of salt and (maybe) sugar (maybe the sugar was afterward?) and keep on a low boil for 5 to 10 minutes. The taste should be not too strong but like lapsang souchong tea – smoky, a little salty, somewhat carmalized. There was a fair amount of sugar, as I recall. It’s a nice drink, not that it will replace the real thing.
With the other version, amertassa, I only know you don’t roast the leaves and they’re fresher. I would imagine it’s very, very light – I’ve also heard this version is more medicinal and often includes fresh coffee cherry and qat leaves. If you want to try something easier, in some parts of Ethiopia “special” coffee is served with a layer of clarified butter on top. A bit, I assume, like Tibetan tea – probably revolting but who knows?
Since we’re talking about odd recipes, on the readings for the book I served a recreation of a medieval Turkish aphrodisiac cup. It contained saffron, cardamon, sugar and black pepper. Traditionally it included opium, which you can throw in if you like. The ratios were about 3 cardamon beans to each half pound, ground together, put in the cup (espresso sized), with maybe 4 saffron hairs. You can probably use mexican, which is cheaper – (I bought some in Calcutta.) Add a pinch of pepper, and sugar to taste.
Make it quite strong, not espresso but turkish (you could use an ibrik, perhaps). If you want to get real traditional you should hold the cup over a piece of burning myrrh incense to scent it – The saffron really creeps up on you afterward. People quite liked it.