The story, from Bilal’s perspective:
So I’m originally Kurdish, did you know that? I had no idea for 24 years since while I was growing up my parents had immigrated to America and Iraq was very nationalistic (attempted unification and homogenization of a diverse set of people). I forget how I figured it out, I remember when I did I was upset with my parents for not telling me. We had a heritage, a different culture, a whole new world and I had no idea about it. My last name isn’t Ghalib, that’s my grandfathers name. My last name is actually Baban, that’s my tribal name.
When my grandfather was orphaned he moved to Baghdad. His father was Kurdish from northern Iraq, in Sulimaniyyah. That’s how my father was to be raised in Baghdad. When he left to study in America, that’s how I was raised in Michigan.
Summer 2019 I had an opportunity to visit the city where my grandparents were from. I went to see if I could find anyone that knew my grandfather, and although I didn’t find anyone. I did find an amazingly delicious hot beverage called Qazwan, or Kezwan in the Kurdish parts of Iraq. Terebinth in the Bible and Merengic in Turkey and Pistacia Terebinthus on Wikipedia ;). This drink is made from the seeds of a wild pistachio tree which are dried, roasted, ground and then brewed very similarly to Turkish coffee.
I had a day to spare between work, so me and my AirBnB host Muhammed decided to make a quick dash to the city the Baban (my tribal roots) helped found, Sulimaniyyah. I had no idea what to expect and luckily I met up with an amazing young woman on the bus, Sama, who took me directly to her favorite Qazwan shop. I had //no// idea what Qazwan was. I’d never tried anything like it. She called it “Kurdish Coffee”. Why she chose Qazwan over all the other amazing things this beautiful city has to offer I don’t know although immediately upon trying it I was converted, this drink was delicious. Sama and the young crew I met up with In the single day I had there I drank 4 cups and bought a kilogram directly from Picasso Cafe to take with me. Alan made me my last cup of the day and gave me the rest of his stock. He buys the beans whole and roasts them himself.
We’re beginning to develop relationships with some of the farms and producers, Qazwan is harvested in the spring and depending on winter sales we are considering a vertical manufacturing concept where we work directly with the farmers and roasters to bring you this delicious brew. We’re open to potential roasting support.
I used to know Qazwan only as a type of bead used in “thikr” beads, or remembrance beads, a type of rosary they would make and sell in front of mosques in Erbil. I’d been curious about the tree they come from the last few times I came to Erbil yet I never made any progress. Now the dots are connecting and it all leads back to this amazing wild pistachio tree.
If you’d like to try some Qazwan please check it out on Etsy, or on our shop here:
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