Whether you’ve had it before or are just looking to try a new coffee drink, the traditional Turkish coffee is easy to make, and you will have a delicious cup of strong coffee to wake you up in the morning.
Turkish coffee is a deeply ingrained part of Turkish culture, with a unique brewing method that is rich in tradition and steeped with meaning.
This traditional Turkish coffee drink is not so much new to me, because everyone drinks it where I am from. You can also find essentially the same preparation in Ethiopia, which is after all the birthplace of coffee. It’s similarly prepared in Balkan countries, the Middle Eastern countries, countries throughout the eastern Mediterranean, and all the places have their own variations on the basic recipe.
Turkish coffee is actually the first coffee I’ve ever tasted. I remember that I was around 8 or 9 years old, when I made my father Turkish coffee for the first time. He said: it’s perfect!
And I was making him coffee ever since.
What Is Turkish Coffee?
In Turkey, coffee isn’t just a pick-me-up drink — it’s a part of life. Coffee there is a social event that brings people together. It’s a bonding time with friends and family.
Turkish coffee has a very old history. It was first brought to Istanbul in the 16th century, and by the next century it became an essential part of the Ottoman Court’s elaborate ceremonies. The first coffee house on record even opened up in Constantinople in the mid-16th century!
Derived from the Arabica bean and composed of a very fine grind, Turkish coffee has become famous all around the world for both its strong taste and its special methods of preparation and service.
The Turkish word for breakfast is Kahvaltı, which literally means “before coffee” .
Grind Size For Turkish Coffee
Turkish coffee requires an extremely fine grind, finer than espresso, and should feel like powder. This extra-fine grind is crucial to the whole Turkish brew method, and what gives it its distinctive body.
Single bean is ground to 45,000 particles vs 100 particles for drip coffee and 3,000 for the espresso. Thus, you extract more flavors than any other method of brewing. In addition, it is the only method where you re-roast the beans in the brewing process. Why is this important? Because, coffee is at its most complex stage only for about a week after it’s been roasted. After this period, it oxidizes and decays.
How To Make Turkish Coffee?
Turkish coffee is prepared in a cezve, a special small pot with a long handle that is traditionally made of copper.
For one cup of Turkish coffee, combine one cup of water (the size of the coffee cup) and two full teaspoons of coffee. Since sugar is never added after the coffee is cooked you have to add sugar into the cezve (two sugar cubes for very sweet, one for medium sweetness, and none for the ones that like it bitter). Once the coffee comes to a boil, let the foam rise and take it off the heat right before it’s about to spill, and this will guarantee that your coffee will have lots of foam. Traditionally, Turkish coffee without foam is simply unacceptable.
Turkish Coffee Recipe
Ingredients:
- 1 cup water (the size of the cup you will use for drinking the coffee)
- 2 heaped teaspoons finely ground Turkish coffee
- Sugar to taste
Directions:
- Add the water in the cezve , and add the coffee
- If you like the coffee sweet, add the sugar before it’s cooked, never after
- Put the cezve on your heat source at medium heat
- When it starts to boil, a thick foam will start to form on the surface
- Remove the pot from the heat source just before it’s about to spill
That’s it. You made your own Turkish Coffee.
How To Serve Turkish Coffee
Turkish coffee is traditionally served in small cups, together with a glass of room temperature water with each cup. And in addition to the coffee and water, traditionally there is Turkish delight, but you can have any sweet treat, like a pastry or cookie.
Final Words From Me
Even though it’s very simple to make, Turkish coffee is full of tradition a purpose.
This coffee is not very enjoyable to drink it alone, rather with company, family or friends, and that’s why is more than a cup of coffee. It’s a whole experience!
It makes you slow down and enjoy the conversation in a whole different way.
How about you?
Have you tried traditional Turkish coffee?
Share your thoughts on this with us, I’d love to hear from you.
And share your unique coffee drinks from around the world. I’d love to try as many traditional coffee drinks as I can.
Don’t forget to share this article with family and friends, someone might find it useful.
Enjoy Your Coffee
Latest from my IG, check more @readytocoffee
Readytocoffee 
In Turkish tradition cezve/ibrik without sugar is served during funerals or sad situations. When You are happy coffee need a bit of sweetness inside . PS when I am brewing specialty, light roasted beans hint of sugar is necessery becausee of high acidity (sometimes almost undrinkable) in the cup.
LikeLike
Wow, I didn’t know that about the Turkish coffee without sugar. Thank you so much for sharing this with us! 😊
LikeLike
Great blog! I heard somewhere that Turkish coffee refers to the special brewing method I always wanted to try Turkish coffee once in my life. So thank you for sharing this Turkish coffee recipe.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you 😊 you are right, the Turkish coffee is reffing to the brewing method, but since many countries adapted it to their own liking, now Turkish coffee refers to the method and the country. I hope you’ll taste a real Turkish coffee soon ☕
LikeLike