The art of Turkish Coffee
Turkish coffee is very popular so that most people in the world have heard about it, but although it is so well known, far fewer have ever tasted it.
In Turkey it is called "Türk Kahvesi" and it is a culture apart and has its own methods of preparation and serving. The Turkish coffee is one of those national drinks that are deeply embedded in their culture since the Ottoman Empire.
More than four and a half centuries ago the Turkish governor to Yemen discovered coffee beans of Arabia. He decided to take them back to his home country and give the Empire a taste of this drink. So the coffee culture began to blossom out in Turkey. They have introduced the Turkish coffee in Paris, Venice and London.
Coffee for Turkish people is not simply a drink. As mentioned, the Turkish Coffee has it own method of preparation. First of all, to make a gourmet Turkish Coffee you need a copper pot. Nowadays you can also find iron pots, but copper makes it gourmet. Pour in cold water in the coffee pot. One cup of cold water for each cup you are making. And then add an extra half cup "for the pot".
The slower the heat the better it is, that's why u should heat the pot as slowly as you can. Be careful and watch it to prevent from overflowing when the water boils.
When the coffee mixture begins to boil, pour some of the coffee equally between the cups. Continue heating until the coffee boils again (which will be very short now that it has already boiled). Then share the rest of the coffee between the cups.
You should wait for a few minutes before drinking, because there is no filtering of coffee at any time during this action. The coffee grounds should settle at the bottom of the cup.
Of course as gourmet coffee drinker are used to, Turkish Coffee should be made by fresh grounded coffee beans. Therefore there is a specially designed grinder which helps you grind the beans properly. This traditional coffee mill has a particular design, with a two piece moving handle and with a pot underneath to collect the ground coffee.
Note that to make Turkish coffee, beans must be ground very finely.