Turkish coffee is more than just a caffeinated drink to wake you up in the mornings. It is steeped in tradition and has evolved into an integral part of the Turkish culture over the centuries. It is, for example, unthinkable to ask for a woman’s hand in marriage without consuming the titular drink. The bride prepares and serves sweet coffee if she approves of the match and a salty variation if she refuses. The tradition has changed over the years and the sit-down visit to ask for the bride's hand has become more of a formality. Nowadays, it has become almost mandatory for the bride to serve the coffee salty to test the resolve of the groom who must not make a face while drinking it.

Fortune telling is another important Turkish pastime associated with the coffee, and as the saying goes "there's an app for that." You can literally upload a picture of your coffee grounds to the app and the fortune teller of your choosing will predict your future right on your smartphone.

These are just a few of the many aspects of Turkish coffee culture and UNESCO agreed! In 2013 the titular drink and its associations got inscribed to the Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

How to make the coffee

After this longer than intended introduction, let's take a closer look at the coffee itself. The coffee here is ground thinner than it would be for filter coffee. Usually, you use a small pot with a long handle called a "cezve" in Turkish to prepare it but with modern times comes convenience, and now there are even tiny kettle-like machines that make the task even quicker.

The coffee can be prepared as sweet as you like or you can also add other flavors such as gum mastic. Speaking of convenience: There are even instant Turkish coffees out there, where you only need to add hot water to have yourself a cup. These come in many flavors as well but like with many instant things: nothing beats the original.

So here is the basic recipe for you to try out:

Ingredients