How to Make Turkish Coffee

Making Turkish coffee doesn’t have to be an art form. There are precise steps you can follow to produce the perfect cup. If you’ve never had Turkish coffee before, you’ll want to familiarize yourself with the following ways of preparing it:

• Little sugar (Az sekerli) – Prepared with a small amount of sugar, typically less than a teaspoon for each cup
• Medium sugar (Orta sekerli) – You’ll add about a teaspoon for each cup
• A lot of sugar (Cok sekerli) – Add two or more teaspoons for each cup to make the coffee very sweet
• No sugar (Sade)

Turkish coffee is sweeter than espresso so add sugar to taste.

Here is what you’ll need to make Turkish coffee:

You will need to have a copper Turkish coffee pot called “ibrik” or “cezve” to brew the coffee with. Turkish coffee is traditionally made cup by cup but if it is not practical to do it one at a time, there are ibriks ranging from 1 cup to 10 cups.

Serve Turkish coffee in cups called “fincan”, measuring about three ounces of water. A demitasse cup will do if you do not have fincans.

You will also need to use fresh medium-roast Arabica coffee beans (you can use dark-roast if you prefer). The beans will need to be ground to the consistency of a fine powder, finer than coffee used for espresso. Traditionally, Turkish coffee is ground in a brass coffee mill called a “kahve degirmeni” but you can also have the beans ground at any coffeehouse or your local grocery store from where you are buying your coffee beans. Just make sure you select the “Turkish Coffee” setting. You can use a coffee grinder at home, but make sure that the beans are ground to a powder.

Making Turkish Coffee

1. Pour cold water, into the ibrik using a fincan per person. Next add 1 to 2 teaspoons of the coffee powder per person.
2. If you intend to add sugar when brewing Turkish coffee, add it before you begin brewing. Stir well to dissolve the sugar. Never stir again from this point on.
3. Turn on the heat to low setting. The coffee boils very quickly so you need to remove the ibrik from the heat when you notice the foam rising on the sides of the ibrik to let the foam settle. Over a low heat you will bring the coffee to a boiling froth two times. First boil, let the coffee froth nearly to the top, remove from the heat and distribute the foam in each fincan with teaspoon. Replace ibrik on the flame.
4. Second boil, again let the coffee froth up, then remove from the heat. Slowly pour coffee into fincans careful not to disturb the foam in the fincans. Depending upon your taste you can pour the slush of grounds into the cups, or pour more carefully and leave the grounds in the pot.

That’s it! You’re done making Turkish coffee the right way, so relax and enjoy. It is best served with a glass of water, similar to Greek coffee. Let coffee grounds settle at the bottom of the fincans for a minute before enjoying the coffee. Do not consume coffee grounds.

Variations

You may have to try a few of the variations in preparing it and some people like adding a little cardamom at the beginning of the boiling process for additional flavor.

This is an easy beverage to make and when you’re entertaining it will delight and surprise your guests.