Turkish coffee — how to brew and serve it
Turkish coffee is attracting more and more interest. Contrary to a common belief in Poland, it is not simply ground coffee covered with hot water in a cup. How is it really brewed, and what gives it its distinctive flavour? Here is a guide to preparing and serving it.
Making Turkish coffee is a ritual that brings out the coffee's flavour, strength and sweetness. Careful preparation and a characteristic layer of foam are central to the experience.
The tradition has roots in the coffee culture that developed around Yemen and the Ottoman world in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. Related methods remain part of daily life in Turkey, the Middle East, the Balkans and the Caucasus.
A few important principles
- Use a suitable pot: a small copper or other food-safe metal cezve, sometimes called an ibrik.
- Start with cold water: this allows the coffee to heat gradually.
- Grind very finely: choose a coffee whose flavour you enjoy, perhaps one with naturally sweet notes.
- Add sugar at the beginning if you want it sweet, rather than stirring it into the finished cup.
- Serve it without milk or cream. Cardamom or cinnamon can be used as optional spices in regional or personal variations.
A Turkish-coffee recipe
Use small demitasse cups — the French term means “half cup”. Espresso cups are a practical substitute.
You will need
- A copper or other suitable cezve.
- Fresh, very finely ground coffee.
- Sugar, according to taste.
- Cardamom or cinnamon, optional.
A starting ratio is one heaped teaspoon of coffee per small cup of water, with around one teaspoon of sugar for two cups if you want a sweet result. Adjust the sweetness to your preference.
Method
Put the coffee, sugar and optional cardamom in the pot, then add the measured cold water. This recipe allows a little extra water, around half a small cup for the batch, to account for the preparation. Combine the ingredients and place the pot over low heat.
Watch carefully as foam forms and begins to rise. Do not let it boil over. Remove the pot from the heat and allow the foam to subside. Avoid stirring at this stage.
The version described here repeats the gentle rise twice more. Other Turkish-coffee recipes use a single controlled heating, so follow the method that gives you the flavour and foam you prefer.
Pour into the cups and allow a few minutes for the grounds to settle before drinking. The grounds stay behind in the cup. The traditional tip of adding a few drops of cold water to the pot is sometimes used to encourage settling.
