Coffee is an essential part of the Saudi Culture and has been around for centuries. Making coffee today is a simple press of a button, but this wasn’t quite the case in the olden days.

People used to grind their coffee manually in this fancy mill

This mill, which would probably sell for SAR 1,800 now, was used to grind all kinds of coffee beans in the olden days, including Saudi’s finest blend: Gahwa.

Recommended

Expat’s Kashta Adventure Inspires Flood Of Invites Across Saudi ArabiaA 13-Year-Old Saudi Podcast Host And Influencer Is Making Headlines!An Upcoming Ice Cube Hotel Has Everyone Buzzing With Excitement!

These mills were manufactured between 1886 and 1898

Back in the day, coffee shops sold its brew as beans which could be custom ground according to the customer’s preference. Each of the mills measure to be 42 inches high, have 25-inch diameter wheels, and weighed about 140 pounds.

It even comes in different sizes which people actually still have in their houses until today!

The smaller ones are quite handy for coffee on the go, if you’re too lazy to hit the drive thru.

This video shows how Saudis have actually used this machine to make their daily blend of Gahwa

@almat7af مين وده يجرب قهوة اجدادنا ؟ #المتحف #تلفاز11 ♬ original sound – المتحف

According to this video, you just put the beans on top, grab the handle and slowly start moving the wheel, as you hear the beans grind down to small pieces. Add some hot water, and you’re good to go! Preparing a cup of coffee would take at least 15-20 minutes back in the day.

Nowadays, you can get a fresh cup of Cold Brew from Starbucks in just two minutes! How times have changed 🙌