by A. Murat FATSA murat.fatsa@intersociety.net
TURKISH COFFEE “Coffee should be black as hell, strong as death, and sweet as love.” (Turkish Proverb)
The History of Turkish Coffee: Coffee originally came from the high plateaus of southern Ethiopia. The coffee trees were wild in nature at first; however, after a while the local people started to eat, grind the seeds, and drink them. After emerging from Ethiopia, coffee was first brought to Yemen, spreading rapidly into the interior of the Arabian peninsula throughout the Red Sea basin. When the Ottomans defeated the Egyptian Mamluks and took control of Cairo in 1517, it is quite likely that they had what amounted to their first real encounter with coffee in that important trading center. The pilgrimage route linking Cairo to the Holy Cities remained one of the most important arteries of the coffee trade for centuries to come. All across Europe, coffee arrived to different places at different times, in different ways, and for different reasons. During this process, there was one invariable element: coffee was eminently popular with the bourgeoisie that was now coming into its own in Europe’s political, economic, and cultural life. Shortly after, coffee was introduced to Turks and it quickly became very popular allowing for the introduction of coffeehouses. Coffeehouses and small shops opened specializing in roasting coffee. Coffee roasting is called “tahmis,” and to this day there is a street called Tahmis in the Eminonu
neighborhood in Istanbul where the Egyptian spice bazaar is located. Its name derived from the coffee shops located on this street almost five hundreds years ago. Turkish Coffee Pots (Cezve) Turkish coffee pot with long handle that helps to avoid burning your hands is designed specifically to make Turkish coffee. Choose the pot depending upon how many cups of coffee you need. Turkish Coffee Grinders (Degirmen) The specially designed grinder helps you grind the beans appropriately. Although you can buy Turkish coffee from shops you can also grind your coffee to have freshness and the best taste with traditional or modern grinders. Turkish Coffee Cups (Fincan) Finally, the experience of Turkish coffee is not
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