This is great! I love making Turkish after dinner, and I've been attempting it for a few years now. Finially a topic on it to discuss it...
aurelio Said:
Is any particular kind of bean and roast better suited to Turkish coffee or can I make it with any of my roasts? If I want to add some of the spices, any suggestions on amounts/ratio?
I found lighter roast taste best with Turkish coffee. I've been to places that roast their coffee and cardamon pods together on a grill(-ish thingy). The roast turns out uneven and I'm guessing an average of a light roast. And before they prepare your cup, they'll grind the coffee and cardamon pods together. At home, I normally just do a roast just after 1st crack for Turkish coffee. Add half the amount of sugar of cardamon powder into the ibrik when brewed.
I love this article about the method of brewing Turkish coffee. It’s amazing that just only 2 days ago I wanted to make a comment about the cardinal rules of boiling (and reboiling) because this method of brewing delivers a really strong bold cup enough to put hairs on your chest at the same time give you a soothing coffee experience.
When I first moved to Croatia, my future mother-in-law gave me a lesson on how traditional homes use the ibrik and how to use it. Her lesson matches Mark’s very detailed explanation including the option of the sugar being added preboiling the brew. Her method, which was without using sugar to get a more intense flavour so that when you put your add-ons later (milk, sugar or both), you can adjust the coffee from scratch. She also said that in some areas in Europe that serve Turkish coffee, they give you a sweet soft cube sort of candy (not s sugar cube) to suck on. This softens the taste of your coffee without sugar or milk.
The coffee here for the ibrik is normally sold pre-grounded in grocery stores but nothing is stopping you to buying your own beans and doing your own grind. On the packaging, you will see a picture of an ibrik informing you the process of brewing for that kind of coffee. As for the ibrik, they have modernized it a little and Teflon coated ones are now available for easy cleaning but with a metal spoon, you can easily scratch the Teflon if not careful. Although since I purchased an inexpensive espresso machine last year and not have gone back to the ibrik for some time, it is a wonderful way to prepare coffee and is almost effortless. Just needs patience while watching it brew, and just like all coffee preparations, the love for the stuff. I would like to recommend if I might, try the following:
1) Make your first cup without sugar to taste the real strength.
2) If you like your coffee with a little milk and sugar, try using just 2 table spoons worth of vanilla ice cream, this will keep the foam and melt in without stirring up the sediment. (This will require you to drink your coffee quicker since the coffee will get cold from the ice cream) They use a similar cold sugared cream here. I think whipping cream will also do the trick without cooling your coffee too fast.
3) After your third or fourth boil, let the ibrik sit for a moment (out of the fire) so that the sediments settle down to the bottom and your will get less on your cup. Since the coffee is boiled, it will still be very hot anyway. Mark’s explanation on pouring is spot on. Alternate pouring also prevents one person (if making for two) from getting most of the sediment.
4)For those who dislike the sediment totally, you can always use a filter paper from your home brewing machines when pouring but honestly, you loose out on your Turkish experience.
Enjoy! Gobs
"I never discovered anything with my rational mind." - Albert Einstein
I forgot how much I like good Turkish Coffee! Thanks Mark!
When I worked at a Turkish caffe, the rule was it had to had a head of foam, as FredLanger noted. I would say it took me a good month to "master" making a truly good authentic turkish coffee. It is easy enough to do, but takes a while to learn to do right.
If I recall, the secret was stirring early, then backing off and letting the foam build just before it started to boil. Then NOT stirring the mix thereafter. At least that's how I was taught by the Turkish owners.
Thanks for the excellent primer! Turkish coffee is so underrated. You gotta wonder why...its full bodied taste deserves fans from near and far.
Here in Berlin, Germany there's a sizable Turkish population (some 300,000) so ibriks and the right grind are easy to find. I've heard of a slightly different way to do this: First stir in the sugar, and then the coffee, but WITHOUT stirring it in. It sits on top and then slowly, gently sinks in forming an even layer on the water. Not sure if this changes anything, but it sure looks good and there's no clumping on the spoon or elsewhere.
I'm a very fresh member of this forum. I found it just by chnace while I was looking for tips and tricks how to make artistic Cappuccino. WHile I was looking for I have seen the article about brewing Turkish coffee. Being as a Turk and crazy cofee and tea drinker I would like to say something: First of all we do not boil the coffee ther or more times, but just two times. The first time is to make it froth. This is the important point of the Turkish coffe. You should take the cezve off the fire when the froth begins to turn in from the sides. If you are too late then you will lose the froth. Now you serve the froth to the cups. Most of the time you fill the 1/3 of the cups or near to the half of it. If you are experienced you won't need any spoon to share the froth to the other cups, otherwise sometimes you need to use a tea spoon (becareful, the Turkish tea spoon is smaller than the ones you use, this is also important for the measure of the coffe that you put in to cezve. Most of the time we use two heaping teaspoons of coffee per cup. Turkish coffe cups are a bit smaller than the Espresso cups) After pouring the froth you boil the rest of the coffee so it gets hot and then you pour the rest. Most of the people think that we drink coffee very sweet, but this is not really the case. Ofcourse there are people who drin k it sweet, but most of the people drink it middle, less or non sugar. If you have to make coffee for different tastes then you begin with froth and then you pour the non sugar and after that you begin to add sugar according to the tastes of the people. So you add some sugar, then boil the coffe and pour the less sugar ones, then add a little bit more sugar, boil it and pour the middle sugar ones and so on. This way of making coffee gives the people the idea that we boil the coffee many times in Turkey. There is always a glass of water by the coffe. Some people drink the half of it before the coffee and the other half after the coffee. Some drink all after the coffe to clean the coffe grounds in their mouth. Sometimes you can have a funny looking mouth if you drink the coffee ground. And some people drink some water after 2-3 sips of coffe to clear the taste of coffee in their mouth so they won't get used of the taste of coffee and when they take another sip it tastes again as if they are having the first sip. In general we do not put anything in the coffee in Turkey. In some arabic countries they put some cardamom or other herbs or spices in it, but this is very rare in Turkey. In the southeastern part of the Turkey they might use some cardamom in their coffees. They also have adifferent way of making coffee there. They boil it for seven times. This is more condensing it than boiling it. They begin with a very big ibrik and it goes down to a small one. This is done on a charcoal heat. The tradition is that you have to drink two cups of mirra. I don't know why, but when I find it out, then I'll let you know. In Turkey it is always said that the best Turkish coffee is made on a low heat charcoal fire. Here you can find more about Mirra: Click Here (maviboncuk.blogspot.com)
As we say in Turkey "One cup of bitter coffee has a sake(remembrance) for 40 years. May you all have delicious coffees. Mehmet
There's a reason why Tips and Tricks and How Tos has comments-ability... to generate this kind of great feedback!
Everyone who's posted, thanks - and everyone who's posted alternate ways to brew Turkish coffee, I especially thank you - for something that's over 500 years old, there's bound to be many ways to do it. The way I learned was from a Greek fellow, and it always brings back great memories and tastes (the way described).
But it's clear there are other ways to brew Turkish coffee. Read the feedback if you haven't, and experiment! Find your best way for your taste buds, and enjoy it.
friday Senior Member Joined: 30 Jul 2005 Posts: 1 Location: New York Expertise: I love coffee
Posted Sat Nov 19, 2005, 7:33am Subject: Re: Brewing Turkish Coffee
I have spent a lot of tie in Turkey. Turkish coffe is unique. I always oredered it "Saade", which is without sugar. It is definately not a sipping experience! Learning to drink while filtering it through ones teeth is unique also.
Posted Sat Nov 19, 2005, 8:23am Subject: Re: Brewing Turkish Coffee
Has anyone mastered making Turkish coffee on a cook-top stove? I have found that I lose the foam if I try to boil it more than once. I suspect that I have the stove too hot. Since a cook-top doesn't change temperature very rapidly, you need to figure out the sweet spot from the beginning.
hyacinth Senior Member Joined: 14 May 2004 Posts: 231 Location: earth Expertise: I like coffee
Posted Sat Nov 19, 2005, 9:02am Subject: Re: Brewing Turkish Coffee
jliedeka Said:
Has anyone mastered making Turkish coffee on a cook-top stove? I have found that I lose the foam if I try to boil it more than once. I suspect that I have the stove too hot. Since a cook-top doesn't change temperature very rapidly, you need to figure out the sweet spot from the beginning.
Posted Sat Nov 19, 2005, 10:27am Subject: Re: Brewing Turkish Coffee
Ok, great start! While I enjoyed the tip/trick, I must confess that after reading the very in depth article that Aaron wrote concerning frothing, I've almost come to expect that same level of depth in other things. Maybe Turkish coffee isn't the place to do it, but being it's one of the oldest and most unique (I described the process to my wife as "intimate" just because it is so hands on and personal) forms of brewing coffee, I would love to see an in depth (science and all) description of the process. Maybe I'll have to dig myself, hmmm.... Anyway, loved it, as usual! Great pictures to follow along with. Nice, clean, another victory indeed. Only one thing I didn't find, how does one pronounce Ibrik, or Cezve for that matter. I have hunted the web over and not found the answer to that one yet. Any ideas?
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