The making of Turkish coffee has become an art and ritual everywhere, despite the fact that the term "Turkish coffee" has been replaced by local name versions.
For example, in Armenia, Turkish coffee is called "Haykakan surc", which means "Armenian coffee". In Israel, in Hebrew, Turkish coffee pronounced as "Kafé Turki", sometimes it may be called "Kafé Shahor" - it stands for "black coffee". In Ukraine, people call Turkish coffee "Turets’ka kava", which simply means "Turkish coffee".
Turkish Coffee as an Ancient and Prohibited Drink
It was in Ottoman Empire, when Turkish coffee gained unforeseen popularity. The hot drink was even prohibited in Ottoman Turkey during the 17th century – under an edict by the Sultan Murad IV. It was done so not for religious reasons, but for political ones.
Authorities were afraid that people would gather together in coffeehouses and would have an opportunity to exchange news, stories, gossips and, of course, discuss potentially rebellious political activities while drinking coffee and smoking tobacco. However, coffee was too popular in Ottoman world and any bans on drinking coffee could had caused riots.
How to Make Turkish Coffee in Cezve
Before the coffeemakers were invented, people used to brew coffee in special Turkish coffee pot called "cezve" (jezve, gezve, ibrik). It is a special pot, which has a narrow neck and, a wide bottom and long handle. In many countries, people still brew in cezve, which is specifically designed to make Turkish coffee.
Important things to remember:
- A coffee pot’s size plays a great role in brewing Turkish coffee.The cezve should not be too small or too big;
- The best Turkish coffee is made from freshly roasted beans; grind them just before brewing!
There are many different ways of making Turkish coffee. However, there is one method of making the true Turkish coffee, which is used around the world.
To make traditional Turkish coffee:
- Turn on stove to medium or low heat. If it is electric – turn to medium, if it is gas – turn to low.
- Pour cold water in a cezve and place it on the stove. Amount of water: one cup of cold water for each cup!
- Add a teaspoon of ground coffee per cup into the water and/or sugar (if one wishes). Stir gently until coffee sinks.
- Let water come to a boil, do not stir.
- When water boils in cezve, take it carefully off the stove/or turn off the heat. Turkish coffee should have thick foam!
- Collect the foam and place it in a cup. Pour coffee in cups, filling each cup about one third.
- Put the cezve back on the stove and boil again for a few more seconds. Then pour the rest of coffee into the cups.
- Usually, Turkish coffee is served with a glass of cold water on a side.
Fortune-Telling on Turkish Coffee
The coffee is often used for fortune-telling in some countries, making Turkish coffee special. Fortune-tellers believe intricate images from coffee grounds can help predict one's future.
While drinking a cup of hot Turkish coffee, stop sipping when thick coffee grounds could be tasted. Wait for the grounds to settle, turn over a cup into a saucer to cool and then read future from cont?ures and images. According to some common Turkish coffee fortune meanings, if one sees a monkey in the cup - be ready for some sudden things, if it's a bird - wait for some news.
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