For virtually our entire trip in Turkey we drank nothing but water, Turkish coffee, and Turkish Tea (and the occasional regional wine: although Muslim, alcohol is pretty easy to find).
Virtually every hotel that we stayed at had an espresso machine or coffee was brought around in a carafe; the American style coffee machine to just "grab a cup" was nowhere to be seen.
But that was not real Turkish coffee.
A "traditional" Turkish coffee service involves three things: traditionally made Turkish coffee in the equivalent of a demi-tasse, a sugar cube or other small sweet for cutting the bitterness , and a small cup of water. As you can see from the pictures this could range from a complete matching service to two paper cups and a plate.
Coffee had reached the West by the 1600's in Italy; the first coffee house in Europe (in Vienna, ironically the location of the last great Ottoman invasion of the West).
This was the coffee service at a rest stop we were at. Almost everywhere served their coffee in small ceramic cups (water, as you can see, could come in many different forms).
Below is as traditional coffee vendor's cart.
To make the coffee, the coffee maker will fill his copper container (the ibrik) with room temperature (not cold water). If sweet coffee is desired it may be added here. The coffee maker will then add the coffee - an almost pulverized dark roast - to the ibrik and and then place it near the charcoal (the small log-looking items). The coffee will be brought to a boil at least twice and then dispensed into the small cups.
Tea: Hot tea is always served in the small glasses you see below. There were never any handled holders that we saw; you just grasp the edge and sip it. Sugar is not added but is available to taste. And it is always served with a saucer.
Small coffee and tea cafes were scattered everywhere we went. Starbuck's was present - where are they not? - but they are still completely outnumbered by the small coffee and tea cafes and vendors.
Either are highly recommended if you are ever at a Mediterranean culture festival that offers them or at at Turkish restaurant.
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I'm sure if there, I would try one but I am hyper sensitive to bitterness and can hardly choke down a cup of American coffee. I'm not sure how I would do with Turkish coffee. I also have never enjoyed drinking tea, though I admit, it was never part of my culture so the times I've had it have been entirely by accident, i.e. I didn't know which jug was tea and which one was water.
ReplyDeleteEd - It is very strong. That said, I was able to rise to the occasion by years of carefully training and girding myself up by measuring my coffee input in pots, not cups.
DeleteI will say that for the Turks (and Greeks) it seems to be as much a social occasion as it is a drink.
I love that there are tea serving and drinking traditions there. Somehow, traditions make things more memorable.
ReplyDeleteIt does, Leigh. It is also quite a social event, men (mostly) sitting in small cafes, drinking coffee or tea and smoking cigarettes. The sort of thing that people rightly bemoan as lost in American culture (and for which we really have no replacement).
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