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Turkish Coffee

Turkish coffee (türk kahvesi قهوة تركية) is prepared using very finely ground, unfiltered coffee beans. It’s traditionally drunk throughout the former Ottoman Empire, in places such as Greece, the Middle East, North Africa and the Balkans.

Prep Time
5 mins
Cook Time
5 mins
Total Time
10 mins
Servings: 1 person
Calories: 2 kcal
Course: Drinks
Cuisine: Middle Eastern , Turkish , North African , Vegan , Balkan

Ingredients

  • ⅓ cup water , preferably spring water or filtered water
  • 2 tablespoons coffee , freshly finely ground
  • sugar , to taste (optional)
  • ¼ teaspoon cardamom , or ⅛ teaspoon of powdered cloves (optional)

Instructions

    Cup of Yum
  1. Place the room temperature water in an ibrik or, failing that, a small saucepan.
  2. Add the coffee, sugar and cardamom (or clove) without mixing the ingredients at this point.
  3. Place the ibrik on the heat, preferably a flame rather than an electric stove where the heat will be more difficult to control.
  4. Heat the mixture over medium to high heat and bring to a boil, the coffee should start to settle on the bottom of the ibrik after about a minute.
  5. Lower the heat to a medium temperature and mix with a wooden spoon to obtain a homogeneous consistency.
  6. After this step, do not mix any more.
  7. The coffee will then begin to generate foam around the edges of the ibrik. Remove from the heat to stop the boiling and then lower the heat to minimum.
  8. Put the ibrik back on the heat at a minimum, the coffee will then create more foam. Remove ibrik from heat before resuming boiling.
  9. Leave to rest for 15 seconds.
  10. Take a teaspoon of the foam, pour it into a cup and place the ibrik back on the heat.
  11. Heat the coffee again over low heat until it has a second rise of foam, and more importantly, remove the ibrik from the heat again before resuming boiling.
  12. Pour the coffee into the cup, trying to keep as much foam as possible above the coffee.
  13. Wait about 30 seconds so that the coffee grounds go down to the bottom of the cup (do not drink them) before drinking.

Notes

  • The quality of the water, filtered and lime-free, is very important for the preparation and tasting of Turkish coffee. Favor spring water or mineral water.
  • It is common to place the cardamom or clove directly with the coffee beans and grind them together.
  • For a sweet and/or spiced Turkish coffee, never add sugar or spices after cooking, once the preparation is complete. Since Turkish coffee has to generate foam and a layer of coffee grounds at the bottom, they cannot be mixed.