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Turkish coffee dates back to the late Ottoman or Turkish Empire during the 16-17th century. The Ottoman Chronicler traces the origin of the first coffee shop in Tahtalkala by Aleppo and Shams. Presently, Coffee is an integral part of Turkish Culture, Kahvalti in Turkey means “before coffee”.
Coffee preparation as well as coffee drinking has taken the shape of a celebration in Turkey. Turkish coffee is famous all over the world in varied names. Special attention is provided towards coffee making commencing from the equipment to the way of savoring it.
Utensils in the celebration of coffee making:
An ibrik, a special boiling pot of turkey, a teaspoon rare in shape and a traditional copper pot accompanied with wooden handle or an ordinary stove burner are used to initiate the celebration.
Preparation of Turkish coffee:
Starting from the ingredients such as cold water, sugar and very finely mashed coffee powder with a pinch of cardamom was sufficient, until a need for variety in the taste of coffee was necessitated in the modern times. An array of coffee preparations has lined up in the recent times. To experience a strong aroma and flavor use the newly roasted beans just before brewing. But the grinding must be done either in a mortar or a mill. However, a thickly foamed coffee is a Turkish specialty. It needs special equipments a tray full of sand is placed on the oven and the coffee pot is slipped on the burner when the sand is sufficiently hot. The different measures of sugar starting from sade (no sugar) to çok sekerli (a lot) blesses coffee with varied tastes.
Drinking coffee with cold water or mint liqueur is a luxury. Yet the charm of Turkish coffee lies in Tasseography, which is a way to know one's future.
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