From Russia Without Coffee or, in search of Turkish coffee

by Natasha Williams

When I came to America from Russia seven years ago, the thing I missed most was a real cup of coffee. I used to carry instant coffee around in my purse adding tablespoons of the stuff to restaurant coffee to make it seem a little more like coffee from home. As fate would have it, I found myself opening a little cafe in Kentucky where finally I can always get a cup of real coffee --Turkish coffee. Turkish is not the kind of coffee you grab on the way to work. Coffee "to go" has always seemed a little funny for me. Turkish coffee is sipped slowly; it's a coffee for quiet enjoying or conversation, listening to music, being with friends. Turkish is especially good for those in love. I am glad that not all my cafe customers are "life to go" people.

So what is Turkish coffee, the elixir of lovers, this quintessential coffee drink? Remember the commercial about "Picante Sauce made in New York City" and "the folks in San Antonio, who know..." And the "folks" in the Middle East who invented coffee as a drink during the 16th century have been brewing Turkish coffee in little pots called ibriks or cezves ever since. From Egypt, where the cezve was invented, it spread through the Middle East, and then into Europe and Russia, and today to Middle Eastern and Greek restaurants from New York to San Francisco. The ibrik was originally designed to brew coffee in hot sand of the desert, but a stove top will do fine.

How to make Turkish coffee:
First fill the ibrik 2/3 full with water, add sugar to taste (if you like your Turkish coffee sweet) and top it with a heaping teaspoon of finely ground coffee. The coffee seals the narrow top creating an oven effect. As the water begins to boil it will foam up through the coffee. Let it foam up three times. Stir. Pour slowly into two small demitasse cups and it's ready for savoring . Pay attention to the foaming. It is the skill part of the process. If you don't, your ibrik will become volcanic and deposit your Turkish coffee on your stove.... What a loss and what a mess.

Where to get Turkish coffee:
In fact, any coffee bean can be prepared as Turkish coffee. You simply need a good coffee mill or a commercial grinder with Turkish setting. The main distinctive feature of Turkish coffee is the grind -- it is powdery fine, finer than espresso grind. Authentic Turkish blends are different in different regions of the world; for instance, most middle eastern Turkish is spiced with cardamom and rose water; in Greece, chicory; in Libya, coriander is added. So, in fact, you can prepare Turkish at home with any available coffee bean; all you need is a cezve or ibrik. You can find those at Middle Eastern groceries in major cities, or on the Net.

Published in: Caffeinated Magazine Jan. 98

Turkish Coffee