Turkish Coffee: A Comprehensive Guide to Make it

An old Turkish proverb; “Coffee should be dark as hell, powerful as death, but sweet as love.” This custom has been practiced for at least 500 years, from marriage proposals to the froth factor. So, let’s learn how to make Turkish coffee.

Turkish coffee, which dates to the fifteenth century, is more to the Turks than just a cup of brew. It serves as a sign of friendliness, a prop for telling fortunes, and a pretext for small talk. 

According to an ancient Turkish apothegm, a coffee cup is acknowledged for forty years. Stay with us to read list of nine intriguing facts concerning this Turkish drink which you probably didn’t know!

What is Turkish Coffee?

It is a caffeinated beverage prepared in a cezve or ibrik, a unique coffee maker. A small cup is used to serve the caffeinated beverage after it has been thickened by boiling water and caffeine over an open flame.

It is unique because it is frequently produced with extra finely ground coffee beans. In comparison to filtered coffee, this offers the beverage a significantly stronger and richer flavor.

The preparation of Turkey Coffee is often done in a cezve, a classic long-handled pot made of copper or brass, and is popular throughout the Middle East. To create it, very fine powdered coffee is required. To get a powder as finer as caster sugar, a metal grinder is traditionally employed. 

Once the powder has entirely settled at the bottom, it is sipped from little cups. How to make a Turkish latte will describe in detail just keep reading this content. 

Do you know? Only this particular brand of coffee is served with all its grounds: The small Turkish coffee cup’s remaining grinds are primarily utilized for fortune telling. The cup’s saucer is placed over it when the drink is sipped. 

One then makes a desire and flips the cup, causing the substantial layer of ground to take the form of objects. The shapes are decoded once the cup has cooled.

History of Turkish Coffee

It was first discovered in Ethiopia’s Kaffa region and then made its way to Yemen in the 15th century; hence it is not genuinely Turkish. The coffee traveled from Yemen to Istanbul and then spread to Europe. 

It is acceptable to say that the Ottomans taught the Europeans that how to make Turkish coffee. In addition, Istanbul’s Tahtakale area saw the opening of the first coffee house in history. 

Turkish culture places a high value on coffee consumption. In 1543, Yemeni coffee beans were first brought to the Ottoman capital. It is traditionally made from Coffea arabica L. seeds (Tamer et al., 2019). 

Turkey has had a consistent increase in the volume of coffee consumed per person in recent years, according to the International Coffee Organization (ICO). 

In 2015–16, the average yearly coffee intake per person increased to 920 g from 595 g. In 2020-2021, globally 166.63 million or 60 kg bags of coffee drinks were consumed, a slight increase observed was 164 million bags in the last year.

How to make Turkish Coffee?

Turkish coffee beans: Turkish ground coffee beans are the main ingredient of Turkey coffee. You can use any coffee bean finely ground, arabica coffee bean varieties are considered the best, but blend or Robusta is also used. Coffee grounds are left in the coffee when you served coffee.

Check our top selected coffee grinders to make more fine coffee grounds. 

Sugar in Turkey coffee: To enhance the Turkey coffee taste you can add sugar but it is not required. If you want to make it sweeter and more palatable for people who find it too powerful, feel free to add sugar.

Turkish coffee water ratio: 1:9 is the suggested coffee to water ratio. If you feel the drink to be too strong or too weak, start there and then tweak it to suit your tastes.

Amount of caffeine in Turkey coffee: it is a highly caffeinated drink and contains 25 milligrams of caffeine per ounce.

Turkish Coffee Ingredients

It is prepared with two main ingredients:

1. Finely grounded roasted coffee beans (Powder should be consistent)
2. Water

Here is the ratio of ingredients for the Turkish coffee recipe

• Cold water 1 cup
• Finely ground coffee 1 tablespoon 
• Sugar (Optional)
• Cardamom (1/8 tablespoon of cardamom)

Turkish coffee instructions:

Step 1: Gather ingredients

Gather all the ingredients such as roasted coffee, coffee scale, water, grinder, cezve, stirring spoon, and heating source. 

Step 2: Pour the water

Pour water into the cezve, If used, include the coffee and sugar. Coffee and sugar should be well mixed to dissolve. After this, do not stir.

Step 3: Place the cezve

Turkish coffee pot with long handles being swirled with water, coffee grounds, and sugar.

Step 4: Remove the cezve

On a cooktop, set the cezve to medium heat. The espresso will rise and bubble up after a while. Long and hard-handled Turkey coffee pot with Turkey coffee foaming off the heat.

Step 5: Add froth

Immediately after it starts to boil, turn off the heat for the cezve. Add some of the froth that has been skimmed off toward each serving cup. Put the cezve back on the stove and wait for it to slowly bubble up once more.

Step 6: Put coffee into the serving cup

It is only slightly poured into the coffee cup. Pour the coffee into serving cups very gently so that the foam comes to the top. 

Step 7: Wait till the coffee settled

Serve the coffee after letting it sit for a while.

Arabic Coffee vs Turkish Coffee

Turkey coffee and Arabic coffee are thought to be quite similar with few differences. Turkish is commonly misunderstood as all Arabic coffee; however, the two varieties of coffee are actually very dissimilar.

Turkish drink coffee is often roasted significantly darker as compared to Arabic coffee and is ground much finer. In a big pot, Arabic coffee is steeped for a long time 15 -20 minutes. In a small pot, called Turkish drink coffee cezve for just 3-4 minutes. 

This coffee is prepared for a short time. Turkish drink coffee is far more potent, powerful, and dark than Arabic coffee.

Turkish drink Coffee and your health

Turkish drink coffee provide many health benefits.

1. Protect against mental decline

Coffee use may lower your risk of developing certain illnesses, such as heart disease e.g heart attack, and diabetes e.g., diabetes type 2.

2. Healthy Compounds

Turkish drink coffee is unfiltered; thus, it can have a higher concentration of the healthy ingredients than regular coffee. Chlorogenic acids are a class of polyphenol antioxidants which have health advantages, and they are present in coffee beans.

For instance, it has been demonstrated that chlorogenic acids reduce inflammation, blood sugar, cholesterol, and high blood pressure.

3. Protect from diseases

Caffeinated coffee consumption may shield your brain from several neurological diseases, such as Alzheimer’s disease. For instance, those who drank coffee used to have a 27% lower chance of acquiring Alzheimer’s disease, according to a study of 11 research involving more than 29,000 participants.

4. Cardamom increase health benefits 

Turkey coffee is frequently made with cardamom, a pleasant spice that is connected to a number of health benefits. Cardamom, for instance, has potent antioxidants which can help to reduce inflammation and so lower your chance of developing chronic diseases.

Turkish Coffee’s Alternate Names

Although Turkish Coffee used to be the label given to this technique in the majority of the Middle East & Eastern Europe, many have dropped the name. This is because the Ottoman Turks were notorious for their harshness and didn’t leave a favorable impression on their neighbors. 

After the empire was overthrown and it became Turkey, several of the surrounding nations started calling this way of brewing coffee by different names.

For instance, you can discover recipes for: 

• “Bosnian coffee” in Bosnia
• “Armenian coffee” in Armenia
• “Greek Coffee” in Greece 

When using a Turkish Greek espresso machine. Despite the fact that they are all same, Turkey lost its copyright on the title about this coffee brewing method as a result of the Ottoman Empire & Turkey.

How Strong is Turkish coffee?

If we compare Turkish with Espresso, both these drinks espresso and Turkish have more amount of caffeine and a stronger flavor than normal coffee. But contrasting the second is a little different. Turkish coffee does taste more robust than espresso because it is unfiltered. 

But espresso typically has more caffeine. Turkish drink coffee contains roughly 50 milligrams of caffeine in a two-ounce cup, whereas the same volume of espresso (the double shot) can contain anywhere between 58 and 185 milligrams of caffeine.

Best Turkish Coffee Variations

Turkish Coffee with Cardamom:

Many people like their Turkish drink coffee spiced with cinnamon and cardamom as it give good flavor. To taste, merely add finely ground spices. 

Turkish Coffee with Milk:

You can add milk in coffee, put in a Turkish pot coffee, 2 sugar cubes, and milk. Mix all these ingredients thoroughly then place the pot on the stove and cook the coffee at low heat. When it starts frothing remove the pot from the stove. Your Turkish drink coffee with milk is ready to serve. 

Turkish Delight Coffee:

With the Turkish-style coffee preparation method, you can add a touch of exotic Middle Eastern flavor to your coffee cup.

In a small pot, combine the coffee grounds, sugar, water, and spices. Bring to a boil. Remove from heat as soon as the bubbles cease. Wait two minutes for it to cool. Reheat to a boil once more. Remove from heat as soon as the bubbles cease. 

Wait two minutes for it to cool. Reheat to a boil once more. Remove from the stove and pass through a cup containing a very small mesh strainer.

Turkish Espresso:

It is the other name of Turkish coffee, It is created by heating water (and frequently sugar) and finely ground beans to a frothy, foamy level that is just below boiling.

Turkish Iced Coffee:

Turkish drink coffee should be poured over ice and topped with your preferred non-dairy milk. If desired, add simple coffee syrup, one tablespoon at a time, to taste. Sprinkle with cacao powder, then serve right away.

Turkish iced coffee is a cool variation in the classic beverage. Quick, simple, economical, delicious, and chocolaty!

Turkish Kahvesi:

It is the Turkish name for coffee locally made in Turkey. Today, Türk Kahvesi is known as the symbol of friendship, and hospitality. 

Turkish Latte:

It is sweet, strong, and topped with foamy milk. Ingredients for Turkish latte;

• Finely ground coffee, 1/4 cup
• Brown or white sugar, 1 tablespoon
• 1 and a half cups milk and 3 entire green cardamom pods, smashed.

Put the sugar and coffee in an ibrik after measuring. Add enough cold water to the neck or fill the kettle. Cardamom pods are added after stirring a slurry out of the coffee, water, and sugar.

Before it boils over, take the coffee from the burner after heating it over low heat until it begins to foam. Repeat the process after letting the coffee cool off and rest. Cut the heat off.

In the meantime, warm the milk in a small pot over medium-high heat. Avoid boiling or scalding. until frothy, whisk. Turkish lattes are served in cups with strained coffee, but traditional Turkish coffee is prepared in demitasse cups including its grounds (that settle to the bottom). 

Pour the coffee carefully into two mugs, retaining the sludge within ibrik, or simply pour it through a strainer. Serve after adding the heated milk on top.

Conclusion

Turkish drink coffee is not the name of a coffee, it’s a process to make coffee that originated from Middle East coffee café. It is made by mixing dark roasted finely ground coffee beans, water, and sugar (often). Bring this liquid to a foaming stage, just below the boiling. 

Don’t forget to let me know in the comments if you make the best Turkish coffee. I make sure to respond to each one. 

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