How to Prepare Turkish Coffee
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Turkish coffee is a particularly strong and thick brand of coffee that has a prestige factor for coffee connoisseurs in the West. Traditionally Turkish coffee is made in a special coffee pot made of copper.
Rather than being brewed with a filter, Turkish coffee utilizes very finely ground coffee. The grinds actually end up in the coffee itself. Turkish coffee is served in a special glass with tall sides that resemble more of a juice glass than a coffee cup. Sometimes the coffee is brewed with milk and/or sugar. Traditionally, nothing is added or stirred into the coffee after it is brewed. It is often served with a Turkish pastry. The ingredients are: - very finely ground coffee (2 heaping tablespoons) - cold purified water (6 ounces) - sugar (2 heaping tablespoons, or to taste), optional Start with the cezve (the Turkish coffee pot made of copper), and add two serving cups of water (measure with the demitasse, small size, coffee cups). Add the coffee grounds and, if you're adding sugar or milk, add that to the pot as well. Stir so that the coffee grounds, sugar, etc dissolve and then don't stir any more beyond that. |
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Put the stove on medium heat and place coffee pot over the heat. Heat the coffee until the coffee foams up and rises (a few minutes). Let it just barely begin to boil, then take the pot off the heat. Remove the foam off the top and put the cevze back over the heat. Let the coffee foam up again.
Very slowly you'll pour the coffee into the demitasse cups. You want to do it slowly enough that the foam comes up to the top.
Another thing to experiment with is adjusting the amount of coffee grounds you use.
Of course, you can also experiment with how much sugar you use. In fact, there are terms for the different sweetness levels in Turkish coffee. Extra sweet coffee is called "sekerli" and has roughly two teaspoons of sugar for each cup of coffee. Regular sweetness is called "orta sekerli" and uses one teaspoon per cup. Less sweetness is referred to as "az sekerli" and has around a half teaspoon per cup of coffee.
There are various spices you can add to the coffee. Try adding an eighth of a teaspoon of ground cardamom to the coffee pot, adding in with the coffee grounds and sugar. This will give it a hint of spice.
If you want the coffee to have a rich and delicious feel to it you can sub milk for water in the same amounts. You'll just have to be more careful about things scalding.
Another thing to experiment with is the type of coffee bean. Traditional for Turkish coffee would be a dark Arabica type bean, but feel free to try different roasts and different blends of light and dark roasts until you get a coffee flavor that you like.
You'll probably want to start with coffee grounds that are pre ground for you, because the powdery Turkish grind is difficult to produce with a standard at-home coffee grinder. If you love this style of coffee, you can eventually get a specific Turkish coffee grinder to produce really fine coffee grinds or find a coffee shop/coffee roaster that is willing to grind it for you, particularly if you're buying your beans from them.
Very slowly you'll pour the coffee into the demitasse cups. You want to do it slowly enough that the foam comes up to the top.
Another thing to experiment with is adjusting the amount of coffee grounds you use.
Of course, you can also experiment with how much sugar you use. In fact, there are terms for the different sweetness levels in Turkish coffee. Extra sweet coffee is called "sekerli" and has roughly two teaspoons of sugar for each cup of coffee. Regular sweetness is called "orta sekerli" and uses one teaspoon per cup. Less sweetness is referred to as "az sekerli" and has around a half teaspoon per cup of coffee.
There are various spices you can add to the coffee. Try adding an eighth of a teaspoon of ground cardamom to the coffee pot, adding in with the coffee grounds and sugar. This will give it a hint of spice.
If you want the coffee to have a rich and delicious feel to it you can sub milk for water in the same amounts. You'll just have to be more careful about things scalding.
Another thing to experiment with is the type of coffee bean. Traditional for Turkish coffee would be a dark Arabica type bean, but feel free to try different roasts and different blends of light and dark roasts until you get a coffee flavor that you like.
You'll probably want to start with coffee grounds that are pre ground for you, because the powdery Turkish grind is difficult to produce with a standard at-home coffee grinder. If you love this style of coffee, you can eventually get a specific Turkish coffee grinder to produce really fine coffee grinds or find a coffee shop/coffee roaster that is willing to grind it for you, particularly if you're buying your beans from them.