Turkish Coffee

To make the coffee:

• Stir ground cofee (and sugar, if desired) into cold water in the ibrik.
• Heat until the coffee begins to boil, creating a foamy head.
• Remove some of the foam and place in serving cup(s).
• After the coffee has boiled, pour into serving cups.
• Serve with a glass of water (take a sip between sips of coffee) and candy (chocolate or yes, a Turkish delight).If customers can’t find it, it doesn’t exist. Clearly list and describe the services you offer. Also, be sure to showcase a premium service.

the long history of coffee in Turkey. And quite a history it is, one that starts in 11th-century Ethiopia, the birthplace of the earliest coffee bushes. The beans were eaten and were also boiled in water to create a medicinal drink.

Travelers carried the beans throughout Northern Africa and the East. According to Turkish Cofe World, in the year 1555 C.E., the beans reached Istanbul (formerly known as Byzantium and Constantinople) courtesy of the Ottoman Governor of Yemen, Özdemir Pasha. There, someone went one better on the traditional method by roasting the beans over a fire, grinding them finely, and then brewing them in cold water in a container set in the ashes of a charcoal fire.

Coffee became so highly prized among the nobility that the palace created the position of Chief Coffee Maker. In time, it came to be available to the masses; a person could buy the beans and take them home for roasting, grinding, and brewing. Istanbul was a cultural crossroads; by the 17th century, merchants traveling between Europe and Asia introduced Turkish coffee to Venice. There the first coffee house was established in 1645. Coffee was then introduced to the rest of Europe and America by the 1660s. It became the new "in" drink, especially among the thinkers and movers of the day.

Turkish coffee is known for its deep, thick, black appearance and powerful taste. Its name describes how the coffee is made - boiling in water instead of percolating (the process of filtering water through the ground beans). Today, a charcoal fire isn't required for enjoying Turkish coffee. An ibrik, a small (1-2 cup) pot with a long, straight handle is used. It can be purchased in metal or glass and used on modern cooking surfaces.Having a big sale, on-site celebrity, or other event? Be sure to announce it so everybody knows and gets excited about it.

TURKEY'S CULINARY CULTURE

Turkish culinary culture is renowned as one of the world's best. It is considered to be one of the three main cuisines of the world because of the variety of its recipes and flavours.  And the becoming more famous in other part of the world is "Turkish Coffee".  But it is best at its roots.

 Turkish coffee (Turkish: Türk kahvesi, Greek: Τούρκικος καφές, Arabic: قهوة تركية‎) is a style of coffee prepared using very finely ground coffee beans without filtering. Despite the name, the style originated in Yemen and was brought to Turkey during the period of Ottoman rule. So,  we can see the stype and ritual can be found around the areas of Turkey & even came from yemen... but today it refured as "Turkish Coffee".

MORE THAN THE BEVERAGE IN TURKEY

Turkish Coffee is not only a beverage but also a communal practice that brings together cultural spaces, social values and beliefs within a context of socialization process. Its role socialization can be traced back to opening of the first coffeehouses with its noticeable decorations in Istanbul. Coffee houses were then, and still are the places where people drink coffee, converse, share news, read books and socialize. The tradition itself is a symbol of hospitality, friendship, delicacy, and entertainment. All these are reflected in the famous Turkish proverb “the memory of a cup of coffee lasts for forty years.” This saying represents how important and profound coffee is in Turkish culture.

Turkish coffee tradition is practiced by all members of the society in  Turkey; especially, families, producers of cups and pots, master- apprentices at coffee houses, workers, ground coffee sellers have engaged in the tradition. In addition visiting foreigners regard this tradition as one of the symbols of the Turkish life style. The tradition is regarded by the whole of Turkish society as part of their cultural heritage and is shared by all individuals from every cultural and intercultural level. Since it was introduced to Turkish society in the 16th century, coffeehouses have been opened even in the smallest settlements. This is a proof of the continuing and increasing demands for the Turkish coffee from past to present. It is almost impossible to imagine a Turkish house without one or more sets of cups for Turkish coffee. Indeed, differently from other beverages, the Turkish coffee is perceived as a symbol of the Turkish life-style rather than need by all the bearers and practitioners of the tradition. Therefore the Turkish coffee and tradition provides strong social and dialogical interactions between all levels of the Turkish society.

The knowledge, skills, know-how and rituals pertaining to the Turkish coffee culture and tradition are kept in an informal way by all members of family through word of mouth, observation and participation. The person who is born in a Turkish family learns ways of Turkish coffee brewing from previous generation in a natural way and internalizes it as an element of Turkish life style. Besides family, coffeehouses, as cultural spaces, provide an environment in which this tradition has been transmitted professionally. The coffeehouses are indispensable for the tradition, since historically coffeehouses precede the domestic consumption of coffee at homes.    

Actual preparation of Turkish coffee requires several and highly elaborated steps and skills. First, it should be freshly roasted good quality beans are grinded (preferably) in a mortar or in a mill until beans turn into a fine powder. Next, coffee, cold water, and sugar, if desired, are put into the coffee pot. It is placed on the stove and coffee is brewed slowly ensuring that foam is formed on the surface. Finally, it is served with a glass of water and Turkish delight. To catch the pleasant taste requires some skills such as the way and degree with which the coffee is roasted. It is crucial to roast all the coffee beans equally and wait some certain time.

Turkish coffee preparation method is learnt and carried on through families and coffeehouses without any specific strategy for its promotion, which is a sign for widespread consumption and for its cultural significance.

With its profound effect on Turkish lifestyle, Turkish coffee plays a    central role in culture as beacon of hospitality and friendship. Special guests are served coffee in special coffee cups more elaborate than the ones used daily to honor their dignity. The tradition is permeated through all walks of life and it is taken as a pretext to further already existing social relations as expressed in the Turkish proverb “souls are after neither coffee nor coffeehouses; they are after close companionship; coffee is an excuse.” Invitation for coffee among friends is an indication for a need to intimate talk, or sharing daily issues. As a widespread tradition, after finishing coffee, the cup is rotated, a wish is made, the cup is turned upside down on the saucer, left for cooling. Apparent images are interpreted in the coffee cup according to the “rules” of fortunetelling as a part of entertainment.

Turkish coffee is always an indispensable part of certain social occasions such as engagement ceremonies, holidays, socializing meetings. Even in period of non-availability due to economic crisis coffee consumption has remained the same by replacing coffee beans by false grains from other species such as chickpea, wild pistachio, date seeds, proving that Turkish coffee tradition is an indispensable deep cultural custom.

Turkish coffee has huge impact on literature so that countless poems and songs have been written to describe the feelings and functions relevant to the tradition. It also holds a great place in mystic verses, rituals, miniature crafts and paintings. Therefore the tradition provides communities and groups involved with sense of identity and continuity in Turkish culture.    

Drinking or serving Turkish coffee is always a form of social interaction with other individuals. Although Turkish coffee has a standard style, this makes it unique and different than other beverages since whenever or wherever one drinks Turkish coffee one can always remember precious moments with the others. People have become acquainted with coffee through the establishment of coffeehouses. The coffeehouses are not just a place to drink coffee; they function as cultural spaces in which people come from different cultural, social and professional backgrounds including writers, poets, artists to converse, to share their problems, to read newspapers, to discuss social and political issues, to display their works of arts, poetry and literature, or to play chess and backgammon in their leisure time. After the inscription, the coffeehouses would retain and develop their role as a center or a place where information and knowledge have exchanged, promoting socialization and communication.

Turkish coffee culture and tradition promotes respect for cultural diversity and human creativity since values and rituals surrounding the tradition are open to all individuals. The tradition prepares a fertile ground for human creativity and brings out human potential especially around the tradition of craftsmanship for making the special tools and utensils that are used for making Turkish coffee. Since most of the apparatus such as coffee roaster, coffee cups, trays, coolers, mortars, hand grinders, pot, coffee jug, special vessels made of precious materials like silver, have distinguished artistic value and constitute unique works of art in their forms, people prefer to display them on their private collections as antiques. The inscription would make coffee, coffeehouses and coffee craftsmanship continue to be source of inspiration for literature, crafts, lyrics etc., and would add value to the coffeehouse as unique places for cultural diversity and human creativity.

Turkish coffee culture and tradition was registered on UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanityon behalf of Turkey in 2013.

 Yes, although most Americans have not been exposed to or introduced to Turkish coffee. Many American travelers will try Turkish Coffee while abroad, just for the experience. Of those, a number will come back home looking for a way to make this coffee at home or find restaurants that offer it on their menu. 

Thinking-  Its just instant coffee?   In essence, the main different between a cup of instant coffee and Turkish coffee is the grounds. Whereas instant coffee is made from dried coffee which is then rehydrated, Turkish coffee is made by using coffee beans which have been ground up. Oddly enough, instant coffee actually contains no coffee beans. 

to prepare the coffee and is simple to prepare. To start, a spoonful or two of finely ground coffeee beans are mixed with water and sugar and boiled until a froth forms. The coffee is poured into small cups where the grounds settle to the bottom before consuming.

The grounds take up about 1/4 of the cup and are not meant to be consumed. This was a vital part that my tour-mates and I didn't understand at first.

 While overseas in Israel, I figured out something extremely fast on that first jet-lagged morning: Turkish coffee is very different than the coffee we are used to in the States. With sleep still in my eyes, I walked over to the coffee corner at the breakfast buffet and grabbed myself a cup. Sure that I was spooning in instant coffee, I added an extra heaping spoonful to adjust for the hours of sleep I never received on the plane.

One taste and I knew I had made a gigantic mistake. Bitter and strong, this coffee wasn't at all like my Starbucks at home. It's not like I could read the packaging either, Hebrew is a language made up of various letters which do not resemble the English alphabet in the slightest.

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I turned to some of my other tour-goers who were also discovering that the coffee was not what they expected. One dumped in spoonfuls of sugar and another poured it down the drain. Seeing this, our tour guide, Omer Ziv, owner of Let's Walk, a tour company in Israel, noticed all of the trouble us Americans were going through and in his heavily accented voice stated, "I will show you the proper way to make a cup of Turkish coffee."