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World-famous Turkish
coffee (Türk kahvesi) is
made by pulverizing freshly medium-roast
beans in a mortar and pestle, or
grinding them very fine in a cylindrical
brass coffee mill (kahve degirmeni).
Put
the
coffee powder (about one teaspoon
per demi-tasse cup of coffee) into
a special pot with a wide
bottom, narrower neck, a spout, and
a long handle, called a cezve. Add
sugar and a Turkish coffee
cup (fincan) of
cold water for each cup of coffee
you're making, then heat the brew
to frothing three times. (When the
froth reaches the cezve's narrow
neck, it's a sign to remove the pot
from the heat and let the froth recede.)
After
the third froth-up, pour off a bit
of the froth into each cup. Bring
the liquid still in the cezve to
the froth-point once again, then
pour it immediately, muddy grounds
and all, into the Turkish coffee
cups, which are smaller than demi-tasse
cups.
Wait at
least a minute for the grounds to
settle before you pick up the tiny
cup and sip. Enjoy the rich, thick
flavor, but stop sipping
when you taste the grounds coming
through. Leave the “mud” in
the bottom of the cup.
(Fortune-tellers turn
the cup over on the saucer, lift
off the cup, and read your future
in the sloppy grounds.)
Order Türk
kahvesi one of four ways:
Sade -
plain, no sugar (fairly bitter)
Az
sekerli - with a little sugar
(takes off the bitter edge; less
than a teaspoon per cup)
Orta
sekerli - with medium sugar
(sweetish; about a teaspoon of
sugar for each cup)
Çok
sekerli - with lots of sugar
(quite sweet; two teaspoons of
sugar or more)
European-style
coffee has finally come to Turkey,
and it's now possible to get a
good cup of French-style or Starbucks-style
brew, as well as Italianate espresso and cappuccino.
Occasionally
you may encounter the older, disappointing
style of non-Turkish coffee. You
may want to add milk and make it sütlü kahve (coffee-with-milk).
On
the other hand, you may be better
off drinking Turkish
tea.
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