Spreading from the Arabian Peninsula to the whole world in the 17th century, coffee is one of today's indispensable drinks. From preparation to consumption, coffee creates a separate area of interest. Coffee, which is reflected in cultures and almost an interaction tool with them, has many varieties. Turkish coffee has a special place among these types.
 |
| Turkish Coffee |
Coffee came to Istanbul during the Ottoman period, in the 1500s. There has been almost no change in its preparation since then. In its simplest form, after the raw coffee beans are roasted, they are pounded with mortars and cooked in coffee pots. Coffee pot is a simple kitchen utensil known as cezve in Turkish. In other words, it would be more correct to literally say "cezve" instead of "coffee pot". The name of Turkish coffee comes from its cooking method. When it was brought to Istanbul for the first time, the preparation method was applied for the first time and took this name.
Prepared coffee is served in a unique porcelain cup. This is called a fincan. Fincans also usually range from 60 to 100 ml.
Generally, Turkish delight is served in the restaurants. A must-have is a glass of water wherever you go. In other words, water comes unintentionally and there is no additional charge for water in restaurants. In short, it is the indispensable accompaniment of Turkish coffee.
Kahvaltı means Breakfast in Turkish
Kahvaltı is a compound word. The word “Kahvaltı” was formed by the combination of the words Kahve and Altı. Kahve means coffee, and Altı means before something. Therefore, kahvaltı (breakfast) means "meal eaten before coffee". As you can imagine, the most preferred time for Turkish coffee is between breakfast and lunch.
The Amount of Sugar
Sugar is added during preparation. That is, when water and coffee are put in the cezve, sugar is also added. Whether you go to a friend's house or at a restaurant, when you want Turkish coffee, you will be asked about the amount of sugar. If you don't want sugar you should say "Sade", if you want some sugar you should say "Az şekerli". You can say "Orta" for the standard amount or "Çok şekerli" if you want sweet.
Fortune-Telling
In homes and in some cafes, Turkish coffee fortune-telling is also seen as a pastime. After drinking the coffee, the fincan is closed upside down on its plate and waited for it to cool. Then the remaining traces are interpreted.
Some Current Academic Studies about Turkish Coffee
i. In 2017, a survey was conducted with nearly 500 people from İzmir, Bursa, Balıkesir, Ankara and Antalya. Nuran Akşit Aşık's study (A Research on Changing Coffee Consumption Habits and Turkish Coffee) revealed that more than 40% of the participants preferred Turkish coffee. In the reasons for choosing Turkish coffee by the respondents, "The need for equipment/mastery/ritual to make" took the first place with an average of 60%.
ii. Firdevs Yönet Eren and Aybuke Ceyhun Sezgin, on the other hand, examined Turkish coffee from a cultural perspective. Their findings in the article titled "Turkish Coffee in Terms of Cultural Heritage" are remarkable: In Turkish folk culture, especially in the ceremonies of asking for girls, the offering of foamy coffee is accepted as an indication of dexterity by being cooked by the girl who came to ask for it, as it expresses respect.
Note: In this ceremony, salt or pepper is sometimes added to the coffee that the groom-to-be will drink. If the groom-to-be really wants to marry the bride, he should drink this coffee.
iii. Neslihan Ülger, on the other hand, examined Turkish coffee in her master's thesis in 2015. One of the results included in the conclusion section of the thesis titled "Comparison of Turkish Coffee and Some Instant Coffee Mixtures in Terms of their Total Phenol Content and Antioxidant Activities" is as follows: Sade Turkish coffees have higher 4,5-caffeoyl quinic acid contents, 3,5-dicafeoyl quinic acid contents, 5-caffeoyl quinic acid contents and caffeine contents than plain instant coffees.
Other Kinds of Coffee in Türkiye
i. Turkish coffee with mastic: You can find this option in restaurants, patisseries and cafes, although not much at home. Worth to try...
ii. Menengiç coffee: One of the delicious types of coffee made with terebinth; but unfortunately not very common. You can try it especially if you visit one of the southeast provinces such as Gaziantep, Diyarbakir, Mardin. The taste is very mild and I recommend it for latte lovers.
iii. Dibek coffee: The feature that distinguishes Dibek coffee from others is that the coffee beans are crushed and ground with the help of a special stone.
iv. Mırra: If you like espresso, I definitely recommend you to try this type of coffee. It is one of the examples of Arab culture in Türkiye. It is made by brewing coffee several times.
Everything You Wonder About Turkish Tea
I am a coffee lover. I tried a lot of coffee. But when its about turkish coffee... Hats off!! Best Coffee in the World. Its so pure and made with magic. I had opportunity to tase this. I loved it. They had a great food culture. I also like tandoori Cha a lot.
ReplyDelete