Turkish coffee
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Turkish coffee (see name and variants for other names) is coffee prepared by boiling finely powdered roast coffee beans in a pot, possibly with sugar, and serving it into a cup, where the dregs settle. It is common throughout the Middle East, North Africa, Caucasus, and the Balkans, and in their expatriate communities and restaurants in the rest of the world.
Coffeehouse culture is highly developed in the former Ottoman world, and this is the dominant style of preparation.
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[edit] History
Coffee has its origins in Ethiopia and Yemen. By the late 15th and early 16th century, it had spread to Cairo and Mecca.[1][2]
The Ottoman chronicler İbrahim Peçevi reports the opening of the first coffeehouse in İstanbul:
| “ | Until the year 962 (1554-55), in the High, God-Guarded city of Constantinople, as well as in Ottoman lands generally, coffee and coffeehouses did not exist. About that year, a fellow called Hakam from Aleppo and a wag called Shams from Damascus, came to the city: they each opened a large shop in the district called Tahtalkala, and began to purvey coffee.[3] | ” |
Various legends involving its introduction at a "Kiva Han" in 1475 are reported on web sites, but with no documentation.[4]
Coffee has affected Turkish culture so much that the Turkish word for breakfast, kahvaltı literally means "before coffee" (kahve 'coffee' altı 'before'). In recent times, Turkish coffee has become less popular than tea (which was grown locally, and could be bought without hard currency), instant coffee, and other modern styles of coffee.
[edit] Name and variants
In Turkey, Turkish coffee was known simply as kahve ('coffee' < Arabic قهوة, qahwa) until instant coffee was brought in during the 1980s. Today younger generations refer to it as Türk kahvesi (Turkish coffee).
It is also called "Armenian Coffee" (Հայկական սուրճ haykakan surj), "Greek coffee" (ελληνικός καφές ellinkós kafés), and "Cypriot coffee" (κυπριακός καφές kypriakós kafés), in Armenia, Greece, and Cyprus, respectively.
In the Arab world, "Turkish" coffee is the most common kind of coffee, where it is called Arabic coffee (qahwa `Arabiyy, قهوة عربي Arabic coffee) or Shami coffee since it is from the Levantine and the Levantine Arabs, that coffee was originally introduced to Constantinople. Western forms are also known and are often called "Nescafé" through brand genericization. Only occasionally will an Arab refer to Turkish coffee as being from their native country, so constructions such as "Egyptian coffee," "Lebanese coffee," "Iraqi coffee," and the like are heard to draw a distinction in the flavor, preparation, or presentation of two different kinds of Arabic coffee (for instance, if an Egyptian were to use the term qahwa Arabiyy in this sense and distinguish it from qahwa Masriy, he would be using the former to refer to the Levantine style of Arabic coffee, as opposed to the latter, referring to the Egyptian style of the drink).
While the word for "coffeeshop" in Modern Standard Arabic is مقهى (maqha, literally meaning "place of coffee-ing", plural مقاه, maqahi(n)), the more common term in colloquial Arabic is simply قهوة (qahwa), meaning "coffee" in much the same way as French uses café for both things.
In Greece, this change was precipitated by the 1974 Cyprus crisis:
| “ | ...after the Turkish invasion of Cyprus in July 1974, when Greco-Turkish relations at all levels became strained, τούρκικος καφές became ελληνικός καφές by substitution of one Greek word for another while leaving the Turkish loan-word, for which there is no Greek equivalent, unchanged.[5] | ” |
As Browning points out, the words for "coffee" and "coffeeshop" remained unchanged in Greek as in the other Balkan languages, using the Turkish forms kahve and kahvehane: Greek καφές, καφενείο (and earlier as καφενές).[6]; Serbian kafa, kafana; Romanian cafea, cafenea; Bulgarian and Macedonian кафе, кафеана; Albanian kafe, kafene
In Israel beith kafe (בית קפה, coffee house), which is a foreign loanword, since though constructs in beith... are extremely common in classical Arabic and classical Hebrew, the word "kafe" is foreign to Hebrew, and simply the latinized version of the original Arabic word "qahwa" or "qahweh" (in Levantine Arabic) and since Levaninte Arabs introduced coffee to Turkey (see above) it became known to the west in the Turkish pronunciation of qahweh, as kahve, and thus kafe, and cafe, and cofee, etc etc...similarly the variety of coffee would become known as Turkish coffee, though it was originally the style made by the Levantine Arabs of the product recevied to them from the Southern Peninsular Arabs.
In Croatian and Serbian communities, it may be called simply domaća kafa 'domestic coffee' or kafa 'coffee'. This term is considered a politically correct in Serbian parts of Bosnia.
In the Republic of Macedonia, this type of coffee is also marketed as "Macedonian coffee" (Македонско кафе) along with the more common name "Turkish coffee" (Турско кафе). From the days of the Ottoman Empire through to the present, coffee has played an important role in Macedonian lifestyle and Macedonian culture. The serving and consumption of coffee has had a profound effect on betrothal and gender customs, political and social interaction, prayer, and hospitality customs.. Although many of the rituals are not prevalent in today's society, coffee has remained an integral part of Macedonian culture.
In Hebrew it used to be called (kafe) botz (קפה בוץ), i.e. "mud(dy coffee)", but in the late 1990s the Israeli public shifted to kafe turki (קפה טורקי), merely because it appeared in stores as a new manufactured good under that commercial name, under foreign Western influence. Nowadays, virtually no young Israeli would say (kafe) botz, which is symptomatic for the cultural assimilation/Westernization that country has undergone lately. As a sign of modern consumerism, the name kafe turki also helps to establish a distinction between fine ground coffee sold as such under that name and (kafe) botz, which can be merely a rudimentary way of preparing coffee by pouring hot water directly on (coarsely) ground coffee, i.e. filter coffee, but without using a filter. Culturally speaking, (kafe) botz was associated with young, dynamic people who did not care having their coffee prepared in a more "bourgeois" way. It played therefore a role similar to the Marlboro cigarette in the United States, with the same (hopeful) association with "being young, free and wild".
[edit] Equipment
The necessary equipment to prepare Turkish coffee consists of a narrow-topped small boiling pot called an ibrik, cezve, džezva, xhezve or μπρίκι (bríki) (basically a tiny ewer), a teaspoon and a heating apparatus. The ingredients are finely ground coffee, sometimes cardamon, cold water and (if desired) sugar. It is served in cups (fincan, fildžan,filxhan or φλιτζάνι (flidzáni)) similar in size to Italian espresso or Japanese sake cups. Some modern cups do have handles; traditional cups did not, and coffee was drunk either by handling the cup with the fingertips or, more often, by placing the cup in a zarf, a metal container with a handle.
In Hebrew, the pot itself is called findžan (פינג'ן), which seems to be a confusion, while at the same time there are no specifically designed cups. People in Israel use normal cups, hence the generic name sefel (ספל). The findžan is strongly associated with so-called "pioneers' songs" as part of a ritual, preparing Turkish coffee on a campfire, seen as belonging to a "Golden Age of Modern Israel". The findžan appears for example in a universally known song by Haim Hefer.
Traditionally, the pot is made of copper and has a wooden handle. The size of the pot is chosen to be close to the total volume of the cups to be prepared, since using too large a pot causes most of the precious foam to stick to the inside of it. Also, a certain depth of water is necessary in order for the coffee particles to sink. The teaspoon is used both for stirring and measuring the amount of coffee and sugar. The teaspoons in some other countries are much larger than the teaspoons in countries where Turkish coffee is common: The dipping parts of the teaspoons in these countries are about 1 cm long and 0.5 cm wide.
For heating, an ordinary stove burner is sufficient, but an overly strong heat source is undesirable, as the brewing time needs to be at least five minutes. As an alternative, the heating source can be a tray about 10 cm (4in) deep filled with sand. The tray is placed on the burner. When the sand is hot, the coffee pot is placed in the sand. This allows for a more even and gentle heat transfer. The coffee prepared this method is called la nisip ("on sand") in Romania.
[edit] Preparation
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As with other ways of preparing coffee, the best Turkish coffee is made from freshly roasted beans ground just before brewing. A dark roast is preferable but even a medium roast coffee will yield a strong aroma and flavour. The grinding is done either by pounding in a mortar (the original method) or using a mill (the more usual method today), and the end result is a fine coffee powder. Beans for Turkish coffee are ground even finer than the grind used in pump-driven espresso makers; therefore, Turkish coffee should be powdery. It is the finest grind of coffee used in any style of coffee making.
For best results, the water must be cold. The amount of water necessary can be measured using the cups. The coffee and the sugar are usually added to water, rather than being put into the pot first. For each cup, between one and two heaped teaspoons of coffee are used. In Turkey, four degrees of sweetness are used. The Turkish terms and approximate amounts are as follows: sade (plain; no sugar), az şekerli (little sugar; half a levelled teaspoon of sugar), orta şekerli (medium sugar; one levelled teaspoon), and çok şekerli (a lot of sugar; one and a half or two levelled teaspoons). The coffee and the desired amount of sugar are stirred until all coffee sinks and the sugar is dissolved. Following this, the spoon is removed and the pot is put on the fire. No stirring is done beyond this point, as it would dissolve the foam. Just as the coffee begins boiling, the pot is removed from the fire and the coffee is poured into the cups.
In Egypt, answering that you'd like it "sade" (ساده plain; no sugar, a loanword from Turkish/Persian) is completely fine, as it is interesting to also note that "sade" is the only kind of coffee allowed for mourning people who abstain from "pleasurable" sweetnesses).
A well-prepared Turkish coffee has a thick foam at the top (köpük in Turkish), is homogeneous, and does not contain noticeable particles in the foam or the liquid. This can be achieved only if cold water and a low heat are used. Starting with warm water or a strong heat does not leave enough time for either the coffee to sink or the foam to form. It is possible to wait an additional twenty seconds past boiling, which makes a homogeneous and delicious coffee, but the foam is completely lost. To overcome this, foam can be removed and put into cups earlier and the rest can be left to boil. In this case special attention must be paid to transfer only the foam and not the suspended particles.
There are other schools of preparing Turkish coffee that vary from the above. One such method involves starting with hot water alone, then adding and dissolving the sugar. The product is in essence a sugar syrup with a higher boiling point than water. The coffee and cardamom are added, and the mixture is stirred. It is then brought to a boil and just before serving is removed from the heat for a few seconds and returned to it, being brought to a brief boil a second time. This double (and sometimes triple) boiling is an essential part of the process, both ceremonially and — as connoisseurs claim — for the palate.
A common variation in the Arab world is allowing the brew to boil, the pot removed from the heat source just before it boils over, allowing it to settle, and then repeating the process two or three times. This results in even stronger and more concentrated coffee.
[edit] Drinking and tasseography
Turkish coffee is drunk slowly and is usually served with a glass of cold water to freshen the mouth to better taste the coffee before sipping, though sometimes, especially after dinner, with a small glass of mint liqueur. It is served with Turkish delight traditionally. In the Mediterranean and southeastern Turkey, pistachio grains (kakuli/menengiç) may be added into the coffee.
All the coffee in the pot is poured into cups, but not all of it is drunk. The thick layer of sludgy grounds at the bottom of the cup is left behind. The cup is then commonly turned over into the saucer to cool, and then the patterns of the coffee grounds can be used for a kind of fortune telling called tasseography (Turkish: kahve falı, Greek: καφεμαντεία (kafemanteia)), or tasseomancy. The drinker of the coffee generally does not read his or her own cup, but traditionally watches the tasseographer while he or she tells the fortune.
Many interpretations for symbols exist, but one common thread is the color of the symbols. Since most cups used are white or ivory and the grinds are dark, good contrast exists for the symbols. White is considered as a "good" symbol foretelling of generally positive things for the drinker, while the grinds are considered to form "bad" symbols.
Symbols can be many things including people, animals, and inanimate objects. Usually, the fortune teller will group nearby symbols together for a prediction.
[edit] Notes
- ^ Bonnie K. Bealer, Bennett Alan Weinberg, The World of Caffeine: The Science and Culture of the World's Most Popular Drug, Routledge 2001, p.11. ISBN 0415927226.
- ^ Alain Huetz de Lemps, "Colonial Beverages and the Consumption of Sugar" in Massimo Montanari, Jean Louis Flandrin, ed. Food: A Culinary History, p. 387
- ^ Quoted in Cemal Kafadar, "A History of Coffee", Economic History Congress XIII (Buenos Aires, 2002) full text
- ^ e.g. [1], [2], [3]
- ^ Robert Browning, Medieval and Modern Greek, 1983. ISBN 0521299780. p. 16
- ^ Babiniotis, Λεξικό της Νέας Ελληνικης Γλώσσας
[edit] External links
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