On a trip to Turkey several years ago, we were on a private guided tour of the ruins of the ancient city of Ephesus and took a break at a nearby cafe to escape the heat and refresh. Our guide recommended trying Turkish coffee, which is quite different in taste, appearance, and preparation than regular coffee.
Turkish coffee is prepared in a cezve, a traditional copper or brass Turkish pot with a long, angled handle. The coffee itself is ground extremely fine, even more so than espresso, and the grounds are boiled together with water. Sugar is also added directly to the water and grounds before boiling, and often, a generous amount of sugar is added. The resulting mud-like mixture of water, coffee grounds, and sugar, is boiled very slowly to the point where the coffee froths, but doesn’t simmer. The coffee is eventually poured into small cups, and the foam from the cezve is carefully layered on top. The result is a bold, rich, and viscous coffee. It’s completely unfiltered though, so don’t get grossed out drinking a bunch of coffee grounds!
In Turkish tradition, after you finish your coffee, you’re supposed to turn the cup over onto the saucer, and the resulting pattern left in the cup is supposed to be used for fortune-telling. Okay…
