Karak means strong, and that is the whole idea. The tea arrived in the Gulf with workers from South Asia, and Qatar took it so thoroughly to heart that roadside karak stands, where drivers pull up and have a paper cup handed through the window, are part of the landscape. It is boiled rather than steeped, flavored with cardamom and often a few threads of saffron, and made rich with evaporated milk.

In Qatar it is drunk at every hour, and after a heavy meal of machbous it is practically required. During a race it keeps everyone awake through the long final stint, which at Lusail can be a very long stint indeed.

The tea

Ingredients

• 3 cups (720 ml) water
• 2 heaped tablespoons (12 g) strong loose black tea
• 6 green cardamom pods
• 1 pinch saffron threads
• 3 to 4 tablespoons (40 to 50 g) sugar
• 1 cup (240 ml) evaporated milk

Method

1. Bring the water, cardamom and saffron to a boil in the saucepan and boil for 2 minutes.
2. Add the tea and sugar and boil, uncovered, over medium heat for 4 to 5 minutes. This long boil is what makes it karak.
3. Pour in the evaporated milk. Let it come up to a rolling boil, rising up the pan; just before it boils over, lift the pan off the heat until it settles. Repeat this two or three times, then simmer gently for 2 minutes.
4. Strain into the glasses. For a frothy top, pour from one jug to another from a height a few times before serving.

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