Karak chai is strong, sweet milk tea with cardamom, about AED 1-3 at a cafeteria counter; Arabic coffee (gahwa) is a pale, cardamom-scented coffee poured in small cups, free as a welcome and served with dates. Karak is the everyday cup, gahwa is the hospitality cup. This guide covers how each tastes, the etiquette (right hand, shake the cup to stop), where to try them in Old Dubai and which of our tours serve them.
By SB Excursions · Published 29 October 2026 · Updated 29 October 2026
Tour on this route: Old Dubai Walking Tour — From $35 per person, 3-4 hours.
How much does karak chai cost in Dubai?
About AED 1-3 for a small cup at a cafeteria counter, and several times that in a café or a mall. The cheapest counters are in Bur Dubai, Deira, Karama and Satwa, where the price is on the board.
This guide also answers:
- Do your tours serve Arabic coffee?
Five places to try karak and Arabic coffee
#1
Heritage cafés in Al Fahidi
The restored lanes of Al Fahidi are the easiest place to be served Arabic coffee with dates in a proper setting, in a courtyard or a house with wind towers. A sit-down café such as Arabian Tea House is a well-known spot. You pay for the setting, so expect several times the cafeteria price; check menus and hours before you go.
#2
The Coffee Museum
A small museum of coffee-making tools in the old quarter, with brass dallah pots, tiny handleless cups, roasting pans and a majlis-style room. It shows the kit behind the gahwa you are served elsewhere, and it takes less than an hour. Opening hours and ticket prices change, so check on the day.
#3
Al Seef after dark
Al Seef's lantern-lit lanes are the pleasant way to drink karak in the evening: a table outside from November to March, the Creek close by and a menu rather than a counter. It costs more than a cafeteria cup, but you pay for the seat and the lights, not for the tea.
#4
The Spice Souk, to take the flavour home
Cardamom is the flavour of both karak and gahwa, so the Spice Souk is where the cup is explained. Open sacks of cardamom, saffron, ginger and cloves are sold by weight, and sellers will often let you smell before you buy. Ask the price per 100 grams first, and use our haggling guide before you start.
#5
A desert camp at sunset
Our desert safaris serve Arabic coffee at the camp: tea and Arabic coffee are part of the full-day safari, and the evening quad safari starts the camp with Arabic coffee and dates. It is the Bedouin-style version of the welcome, served in a tent before the BBQ and the shows, with no need to find a café.
Karak chai and Arabic coffee: the short answer
Karak chai is the everyday cup in Dubai, about AED 1-3 at a cafeteria counter; Arabic coffee (gahwa) is the hospitality cup, poured free as a welcome and served with dates. Karak is strong black tea simmered with evaporated milk, sugar and cardamom. Gahwa is lightly roasted coffee with cardamom, pale, thin and unsweetened, served in cups the size of an egg cup.
You can try both in one afternoon in Old Dubai. Take the first at a cafeteria counter in Deira or Bur Dubai, standing up, for a few dirhams. Take the second with dates in a heritage house in Al Fahidi, sitting down, using your right hand. Our Old Dubai walking tour, from $35, starts with Arabic coffee or tea and dates in a heritage house, so you get the ritual explained as you drink.
The honest note: karak is an import, brought by workers from the Indian subcontinent, and gahwa is the Gulf's own tradition. Both are part of daily life here, and both are worth ordering on purpose.
Karak and gahwa side by side
They look nothing alike and taste nothing alike. Karak is milky, sweet and strong, and gahwa is the opposite: thin, aromatic and bitter-sweet from cardamom, never from sugar.
| Karak chai | Arabic coffee (gahwa) | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | Black tea boiled with evaporated milk, sugar and cardamom | Lightly roasted coffee, ground with cardamom, sometimes saffron or cloves |
| Taste | Strong, creamy and very sweet | Pale, thin and aromatic; no sugar and no milk |
| Served in | A small glass or paper cup | A small handleless cup, poured from a brass dallah pot |
| Cost | About AED 1-3 at a cafeteria; more in a café | Free as a welcome; a café charges for it |
| When | Any time, especially mid-afternoon and late at night | At the start of a meeting, a meal or a visit |
| Pairs with | Samosas, paratha, a quick snack | Dates, always |
Prices are rounded and approximate. Cafés in malls and heritage houses charge several times the cafeteria price.
If you like your coffee strong and dark, gahwa will surprise you; it is closer to a spiced tea in colour. If you take sugar in tea, karak will suit you from the first sip. Both are small drinks, so you can try them without committing to a full cup.
How to order karak
Cafeterias brew karak in big pots on the counter and ladle it into small glasses or paper cups. Ask for karak chai or simply karak, and the person at the counter will do the rest. Prices are marked on the board, and the cheapest counters are in Bur Dubai, Deira, Karama and Satwa, where residents eat; the street food guide lists the dishes that go with it.
Variants are easy to find. Ginger karak and saffron karak are common, and some cafés add extra cardamom. If the standard cup is too sweet, ask for less sugar before it is made; adding milk or water afterwards does not work. A savoury snack such as a samosa balances the sugar.
Karak is strong and very sweet, so it is a drink for a break, not a replacement for water. In the heat, drink water as well, and in Ramadan be discreet about drinking in public during daylight.
Arabic coffee etiquette: five things to know
Gahwa is a ritual, and the rules are simple and forgiving. Visitors who follow them are treated warmly, and nobody expects perfection.
- Take the cup in your right hand. The server pours a small amount and refills it until you say stop.
- Eat a date first. The dates soften the bitterness of the coffee, which is why they arrive together.
- Expect no sugar. Gahwa is not sweetened. The sweetness comes from the date, not the cup.
- Shake the cup gently from side to side when you have had enough. If you do not, the server will keep pouring.
- Accept at least one cup. Refusing everything can read as cold, so take one small cup even if you do not like it.
In a majlis, the formal sitting room of an Emirati home, guests are served in turn and the host or a server pours. In a café you may be given the pot and cups to pour yourself. Both are normal, and the Dubai dress code guide covers what to wear.
Where to try them in Old Dubai
Old Dubai is the best place, because the cafeterias and the heritage cafés are within a walk of each other. A good order is: karak at a counter in Bur Dubai, gahwa with dates in Al Fahidi, then a sit-down karak at Al Seef in the evening. The Old Dubai guide has the stations and a half-day plan, and the Al Fahidi guide covers the quarter itself.
The Coffee Museum in Al Fahidi shows the equipment behind the ritual: the dallah pots, the cups and the roasting pans. The Spice Souk in Deira sells cardamom and saffron by weight; read how to haggle in the souks before you buy, and remember that cardamom is the flavour of both drinks, so a small bag goes a long way.
Our walk includes Arabic coffee or tea and dates in the $35 price, along with the abra, water and entry to a heritage house; $55 adds Emirati street-food tastings. The meeting point near Sharaf DG metro is sent after full prepayment, and you can cancel or change the date free of charge up to 24 hours before the start.
Coffee and dates on our desert safaris
The camp evening on a desert safari starts the same way: Arabic coffee, then dates. Our full-day desert safari, from $45, includes unlimited chilled water, soft drinks, tea and Arabic coffee at Al Khayma camp, and the evening quad bike safari, from $70, welcomes you with Arabic coffee and dates before the BBQ and the shows. Both are agreed on WhatsApp, with no prepayment for the full-day safari and the evening quad safari alike.
Karak is not part of the camp programme, so if you want the milky cup, order it at a cafeteria before or after. Read is a desert safari worth it? for what the rest of the evening gives you.
Buying, gifts and the caffeine question
Gahwa coffee with cardamom is sold ground in the Spice Souk and in supermarkets, and brass dallah pots are sold in souk gift shops; ask the price before they are wrapped and do not accept the first one. Instant karak mixes are sold as sachets in supermarkets, and they travel better than loose tea, though they are less good than the counter cup.
Dates are the natural gift to go with coffee, and the guide to dates in Dubai covers varieties and prices. For the wider picture of what Emirati hosts serve, see Emirati food: what to eat in Dubai. Both karak and gahwa contain caffeine, and karak adds a lot of sugar, so take them at the usual times rather than late at night if you sleep badly.
FAQ
How much does karak chai cost in Dubai?
About AED 1-3 for a small cup at a cafeteria counter, and several times that in a café or a mall. The cheapest counters are in Bur Dubai, Deira, Karama and Satwa, where the price is on the board.
What is karak chai?
Strong black tea simmered with evaporated milk, sugar and cardamom, until it is creamy and very sweet. It came to Dubai with workers from the Indian subcontinent and is now the everyday tea of the city. Ginger and saffron versions are common.
What is Arabic coffee, and how is it different from Turkish coffee?
Arabic coffee, gahwa, is lightly roasted coffee brewed with cardamom, sometimes saffron or cloves, and served pale and unsweetened in small handleless cups. Turkish coffee is finely ground, boiled in a small pot, often with sugar, and thicker in the cup.
How do I say no to more Arabic coffee?
Shake the cup gently from side to side when you hand it back, and the server will stop pouring. If you do not, the server will refill it. Take at least one cup first, as refusing everything can seem cold.
Which hand should I use?
Take the cup, and eat the dates, with your right hand. It is the custom throughout the region, and it costs you nothing to follow it.
Are karak and Arabic coffee vegetarian?
Yes. Karak contains milk, so it is not vegan; gahwa is plant-based. Dates, which are served with gahwa, are vegan. See the vegetarian and vegan guide for what else to order.
Do your tours serve Arabic coffee?
Yes. The Old Dubai walking tour, from $35, includes Arabic coffee or tea and dates. The full-day desert safari, from $45, includes tea and Arabic coffee at the camp, and the evening quad bike safari, from $70, starts the camp with Arabic coffee and dates.
Recommended Dubai tours for this guide
Old Dubai Walking Tour
It is the Dubai that is walked rather than driven: the Creek where the city began as a trading port, the restored wind-tower quarter and the souks that still trade spices and gold. A local guide tells the story along the way. The $35 walk includes the abra, Arabic coffee or tea, dates and water; the $55 option adds street-food tastings.
- Duration
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- Area
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- Format
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It is the slow-travel version of the classic safari: more time on the dunes, sunset without the crowds and a full evening programme at a premium camp with air-conditioned tents, unlimited drinks and a large BBQ buffet with vegetarian and gluten-free options. Everything is arranged from the hotel door — a licensed English-speaking driver, the 4x4, the camp and the shows.
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It is the desert safari for people who want to drive, not just ride along: a full hour on a self-drive quad is part of the price, from $70 per person on a bike shared by two guests or $105 on your own quad. The rest of the evening is the classic camp programme — sandboarding, a camel ride, sunset photos, Arabic coffee and dates, henna for women, a live BBQ buffet and the shows — with hotel pickup and no prepayment.
- Duration
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Photos: The Coffee Museum — Clemens Schmillen, CC BY-SA 4.0, Al Seef after dark — Poorva90, CC BY-SA 4.0 (Wikimedia Commons).