VoltraArabic coffee (gahwa): caffeine and calories per cup
A 50 ml finjan of Arabic coffee has about 27 mg of caffeine; the Saudi Food and Drug Authority (SFDA) gives 26.58 mg [1]. Per 100 ml that's close to black coffee, but the finjan is small, so the SFDA counts 15 finjans as the 400 mg daily limit for adults [1]. With nothing added, gahwa has about 4 kcal per 100 g, about 2 kcal a finjan (calculated) [2].
Caffeine in a finjan and in other coffee
| Drink | Serving | Caffeine (mg) | Per 100 ml (mg) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Arabic coffee | Finjan, 50 ml | 27 | 53 |
| Black coffee | Cup, 250 ml | 145 | 58 |
| Espresso | Cup, 100 ml | 133 | 133 |
| Turkish coffee, no sugar | Finjan, 75 ml | 97 | 130 |
| Black tea | Cup, 250 ml | 54 | 22 |
The SFDA's caffeine guide [1], which says its values come from SFDA lab analyses or the makers' own information; rounded.
Per 100 ml, Arabic coffee has about the same caffeine as black coffee, 53 mg against 58 mg, and less than half as much as espresso or Turkish coffee [1]. EFSA's guide figures for Europe are in the same range: about 90 mg in a 200 ml cup of filter coffee and 80 mg in a 60 ml espresso [3], or 45 mg and 133 mg per 100 ml (calculated). What keeps gahwa light is the finjan. The SFDA's 400 mg equals 15 finjans or 3 cups of black coffee [1], so about 5 finjans hold as much caffeine as one 250 ml cup (calculated).
Why one dallah is stronger than another
The SFDA says caffeine in tea and coffee ranges from low to high, depending on how the crop is grown, dried and roasted, and how the drink is prepared [1]. For gahwa, a 2021 Saudi study brewed 12 pots the traditional way, from three kinds of bean, each at two roasts and two boiling times [4]:
- The bean mattered most. Yemeni Bari beans gave about 10% less caffeine than Harrar or Kulani [4].
- Boiling longer didn't make it stronger. With extra water added to make up for evaporation, 30 minutes of boiling extracted slightly less caffeine than 15 [4]. The author suggests the belief comes from pots that boil down: less water, so each cup is more concentrated [4].
- The roast made little difference. Light and medium-dark roasts were not significantly different [4].
Those pots used 50 g of ground coffee per litre and came to about 48 to 59 mg of caffeine per 100 ml (calculated), in line with the SFDA's 53 mg. A 2024 study with SFDA scientists measured 49.8 mg per 100 ml in Saudi coffee made from three kinds of bean [5]. One smaller analysis, from 2018, found much less: about 4 mg in a 25 ml cup, or 16 mg per 100 ml (calculated) [6]. So take 27 mg a finjan as a typical figure, not a fixed one.
How many finjans a day
| Who | Limit | Finjans (calculated) |
|---|---|---|
| Healthy adults | 400 mg a day [3] [1] | 15 |
| Adults, at one sitting | 200 mg [3] | About 7 |
| Pregnancy | 200 mg a day [3] | About 7 |
| Heart and artery disease | 200 mg a day [1] | About 7 |
| Children and teenagers | 3 mg per kg of body weight a day [3]; the SFDA says 2.5 mg per kg [1] | About 3 for a 30 kg child |
Limits from EFSA [3] and the SFDA [1]; finjans calculated at 26.58 mg each. Tea, karak, energy drinks and chocolate count toward the same total. For children, EFSA found too little information to set a safe intake of their own, and says the adult figure of 3 mg per kg may serve as a basis [3].
EFSA adds that 100 mg, about 4 finjans (calculated), may affect sleep in some adults when taken close to bedtime [3]. For pregnancy, the SFDA's guide gives 300 mg a day for pregnant and breastfeeding women [1]; we use EFSA's lower 200 mg. For caffeine before training, see our caffeine guide.
Calories
Gahwa with nothing added has almost no calories. Musaiger's food composition tables for Bahrain give 4 kcal per 100 g, with 0.1 g of protein, no fat and 0.6 g of carbohydrate [2], and the SFDA's analysis lists no sugar or fat [1]. A 50 ml finjan comes to about 2 kcal, and 15 finjans to about 30 kcal (calculated, taking 100 g as 100 ml). The calories are in what comes with it: dates, sweets, or sugar and milk if you add them. Our dates guide has the calories per date.
Dates with coffee
Two small studies tested whether gahwa changes the rise in blood sugar after dates. In the UAE, 13 healthy adults and 10 with type 2 diabetes ate Khalas dates with and without coffee: the dates' glycaemic index was 55 without coffee and 53 with it in the healthy group, and 53 and 42 in the diabetes group, differences that were not statistically significant [7]. In a study of 10 healthy adults, the index went from 55 to 63 with Arabic coffee, also not statistically significant, and insulin didn't change [8]. Both tested single meals, so they say nothing about daily habits.
Coffee with meals and iron
Oman's 2026 healthy-eating guide says: "Abstain from drinking coffee, tea or any caffeine-containing beverage with your meals or immediately after your meals, since these beverages may decrease the absorption of iron from food." [9] If your iron is low, have your gahwa between meals. Our iron guide has more.
Cardamom, saffron and cloves
The SFDA lists cardamom, cloves, saffron and ginger among coffee's ingredients. It advises storing the coffee and these spices in an airtight ceramic or rust-proof metal container, out of the sun, somewhere dry or in the freezer, so mould can't grow, and throwing coffee away at any sign of mould [10]. It also says to keep the dallah for coffee only and to clean it regularly [10]. In the 2018 analysis, adding cardamom or saffron made no significant difference to the caffeine [6]. We found no trial of these spices in the amounts that go into a finjan, so this page doesn't weigh the health claims made for them.
In Voltra
Search gahwa or قهوة عربية in the Eat tab. Voltra's built-in Gulf food list has Arabic coffee (gahwa) at 4 kcal per 100 g, from Musaiger's 2011 tables, with a default serving of one finjan, 60 g: about 2 kcal (calculated).
Frequently asked
How much caffeine is in a cup of Arabic coffee?
About 27 mg in a 50 ml finjan, from the SFDA's figure of 26.58 mg, or about 53 mg per 100 ml. It varies with the beans and the recipe.
How many finjans of Arabic coffee are safe a day?
For healthy adults, the SFDA puts the 400 mg daily limit at 15 finjans of 50 ml, and your other caffeine counts toward it. In pregnancy or with heart disease, 200 mg a day is about 7 finjans (calculated).
Does Arabic coffee have calories?
Hardly any: about 4 kcal per 100 g, or about 2 kcal a finjan (calculated), with nothing added. The dates and sweets served with it are where the calories are.
Is Arabic coffee stronger than regular coffee?
Not per sip. In the SFDA's figures it has 53 mg of caffeine per 100 ml, against 58 mg for black coffee and 133 mg for espresso. A finjan is small, so each cup has much less.
Sources
- Saudi Food and Drug Authority, National Nutrition Committee (2021). الدليل الإرشادي لاستهلاك المنتجات المحتوية على الكافيين (guide to consuming products that contain caffeine). In Arabic. Printed pp. 8, 9 and 12, and annex 1 on p. 20.
- Musaiger AO (2011). Food Composition Tables for Kingdom of Bahrain. Manama: Arab Center for Nutrition. Printed p. 58, item 12.5, Arabic coffee.
- European Food Safety Authority (2015). Caffeine (topic page on the Scientific Opinion on the safety of caffeine, EFSA Journal 13(5):4102). How much caffeine is safe, and how much is in different drinks.
- AlShareef SM (2021). Caffeine extraction from Arabic coffee: the role of brewing and roasting. Imam J Appl Sci 6(1):1–10. 12 brews from three kinds of bean. The author reported no funding.
- Bawazeer NM, Binsunaid F, Alraqea A, et al. (2024). Comparative study of Saudi and Turkish coffee consumption in Saudi Arabia: insights into sociodemographic factors and caffeine intake. Front Nutr 11:1407590. Laboratory analysis; reference values from the SFDA laboratory.
- Rezk NL, Ahmed S, Iqbal M, Rezk OA, Ahmed AM (2018). Comparative evaluation of caffeine content in Arabian coffee with other caffeine beverages. Afr J Pharm Pharmacol 12(2):19–26. Table 2.
- Alkaabi J, Al-Dabbagh B, Saadi H, Gariballa S, Yasin J (2013). Effect of traditional Arabic coffee consumption on the glycemic index of Khalas dates tested in healthy and diabetic subjects. Asia Pac J Clin Nutr 22(4):565–73. Abstract.
- Al-Mssallem MQ, Brown JE (2013). Arabic coffee increases the glycemic index but not insulinemic index of dates. Saudi Med J 34(9):923–8. Abstract.
- Ministry of Health, Sultanate of Oman (2026). The Omani Guide for Healthy Eating 2026. Box 3.2, printed p. 39.
- Saudi Food and Drug Authority (2022). الغذاء والدواء: 5 نصائح عند تحضير القهوة السعودية (five tips for preparing Saudi coffee). In Arabic. News release, 2 October 2022.
Sources checked on 30 September 2026.
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