Recipe
🥤 DRINK
Shaah Somali
Somali spiced tea perfumed with cardamom, cinnamon, and clove, boiled dark and sweet, the endlessly hospitable cup of the Horn of Africa.
Somali · easy · serves 4
prep 5 min · cook 12 min
~104 cal · 2g protein · 20g carbs · 2g fat · 0g fiber · 16g sugars · 1g sat fat (estimated, per serving)
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Shaah is Somali spiced tea, black tea brewed with , cinnamon, cloves, and often ginger, sweetened and sometimes served with milk. Aromatic and warming, it is central to Somali hospitality and daily life, drunk throughout the day.
The generous use of ('hayl') is the signature of Somali tea, a legacy of the Indian Ocean spice trade that shaped the region's cooking. It is offered to guests as a gesture of welcome and enjoyed at every gathering.
Brewed in homes and teashops across Mogadishu and the Somali world, shaah is a fragrant, comforting ritual.
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Make it yours
✓ Naturally vegetarian and gluten-, nut-, egg- and pork-free. No swaps needed.
Toggle a diet and the ingredients rewrite themselves with regional substitutes.
🥕 Vegetarian
🌱 Vegan
🌾 Gluten-Free
🥛 Dairy-Free
🥜 Nut-Free
🥚 Egg-Free
🐖 Pork-Free
Dietary labels are a cooking guide, not allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we count coconut as a tree nut, following FDA labeling), fish, and shellfish; we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, read the label on every product you use, and note that a kitchen can cross-contaminate in ways a recipe cannot control.
Ingredients
US
Metric
Serves 4
2 tbsp loose black tea
4 cups water
6 pods
1 stick cinnamon
3 clove
1/4 cup sugar, to taste
3 slices fresh ginger, sliced
1 cup evaporated or whole milk
Instructions
1
Bring the water to a boil with the cracked cardamom, cinnamon stick, cloves and ginger.
2
Add the tea and sugar and boil gently for 5 minutes until dark and deeply fragrant.
3
Pour in the milk and bring it back just to the boil, then take it off the heat and let it stand a minute.
✎ Chef’s note
The full name is shaah cadays, white tea, and the milk is the reason for it. Somali households use evaporated milk or, traditionally, camel milk. Black spiced tea without it is a different drink.
4
Strain into glasses and serve very hot and sweet.
Somali hospitality tradition.
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🌏 While it simmers, know your destination
📍
Mogadishu. The banana beside the rice is neither garnish nor joke. A whole ripe banana comes with bariis and is mashed into it mouthful by mouthful, and it is standard enough that the plate looks wrong without one. Sambusa, the triangular fried pastry, is the Ramadan fixture alongside it.
🗺️
Somalia. The seasoning that ties Somali cooking together is xawaash, a blend of cumin, coriander, cardamom, cinnamon and more, whose name and form came from Yemeni hawa'ij across the water. Canjeero, also called laxoox, is the fermented sourdough pancake eaten at breakfast, a lighter cousin of Ethiopian injera made mainly from sorghum or a flour mix.
🌍
Africa. Africa's fifty-four nations hold cuisines as different as Morocco's slow-cooked tagines and South Africa's open-fire braai, yet shared threads run through them: ancient grains like millet, sorghum, and teff; stews thickened with groundnut, okra, or palm; and fiery condiments from Tunisian harissa to Ethiopian berbere. Staple starches, fufu, injera, ugali, couscous, anchor communal meals often eaten by hand from a shared dish, where hospitality is a point of honor.
The story behind this dish is up top, worth a read while the pot works.
More from Somalia
Bariis IskukarisFragrant basmati rice cooked with xawaash spice, caramelized onions, and raisins, Somalia’s festive celebration rice.
CanjeeroA thin, spongy fermented pancake (laxoox) eaten with a drizzle of sesame oil, sugar, or stew.
SuqaarSmall cubes of meat sautéed with potato, peppers, and Somali xawaash spice, a quick everyday dish.
Browse all Somalia recipes →
Good to know
Storing it: Keeps 2 to 3 days refrigerated. Resteam or warm through gently to serve.
Make it a Somalia meal
Bariis IskukarisDinner
XalwoDessert
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Drinks
Frequently asked questions
What is Shaah Somali?
Somali spiced tea perfumed with cardamom, cinnamon, and clove, boiled dark and sweet, the endlessly hospitable cup of the Horn of Africa.
Where does Shaah Somali come from?
Shaah Somali is a Somali dish from Mogadishu, Somalia.
Can Shaah Somali be made vegan, gluten-free, or dairy-free?
This Shaah Somali recipe includes substitution suggestions for vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free, egg-free, and pork-free versions, including several at once such as gluten-free and dairy-free together. Treat them as a starting guide rather than a guarantee, and see the allergen note below.
Is Shaah Somali safe for people with food allergies?
Our dietary labels and substitutions are a cooking guide, not medical or allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we count coconut as a tree nut, following FDA labeling), fish, and shellfish, but we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, always read the label on every product you use, and remember a home or commercial kitchen can cross-contaminate ingredients in ways a recipe cannot control.
How long does Shaah Somali take to make?
About 17 minutes total (5 minutes prep, 12 minutes cooking), serving 4.
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