Turkish Coffee

Back in the homeland, drinking coffee is a national pastime. Being in the Balkan cultural crossroads we consume every type of coffee and Turkish coffee is one of the most popular drinks. Turkish coffee for us represents a social activity and entertainment in the form of fortunetelling.

Turkish coffee is very easy to make. I tend to buy Turkish coffee from a specialty store because it tastes like the one at home but you can use any type of coffee. The trick is to grind it as finely as possible. You will need an ibrik or any sort of small metal cup you can heat up on the stove and water.

Ingredients

• Finely ground coffee
• Water
• Sugar (optional)

Utensils

• Ibrik or a small metal pot or cup
• Espresso sized cups

Preparing Turkish coffee is very easy. Just follow these steps:

1. Fill the ibrik or cup with water and bring the water to a boil. When the water boils, turn off the stove. If you are using a gas stove, just turn it off. If you have an electric stove, move the ibrik off the range for the moment.
2. For each espresso sized cup, put a level teaspoon of coffee into the pot and stir. If you like sweet coffee, add the sugar before you add the coffee. You should get a nice coffee foam on the surface when you stir.
3. Put the ibrik on top of the range and if you are using a gas stove turn on the low heat
4. Now this is important: let the coffee boil once more very quickly. It will start to rise and spill out of the pot, so be quick in turning off the heat or removing it from the range if using an electric stove
5. Pour the coffee into cups immediately

Turkish coffee is usually served in ornate cups about the size of espresso cups. Often, a cube or sugar or other sweets are served with the coffee.

Once the coffee is consumed, you can flip the cup over to get your fortune read. It's a typical pastime after drinking Turkish coffee!

Enjoy!