Water first, then the foam, and the grounds left in the cup: the small rules behind a five-century tradition of hospitality
How to drink Turkish coffee, in short: take a sip of the water served alongside it, give the grounds a moment to settle, then drink the coffee in small sips with its foam. The thick grounds at the bottom of the cup stay there. Because the sugar is cooked in with the coffee, you choose how sweet you want it when you order. Below we look at where these small rules come from, why the cup is served the way it is, and what a tradition inscribed by UNESCO looks like at the table.
How to Drink Turkish Coffee When the Cup Arrives
UNESCO's description of the tradition notes that Turkish coffee is served in small cups with water. GoTürkiye's Istanbul guide explains that the water comes before the coffee, to cleanse the palate so you can fully appreciate the aromas. Wikipedia makes the same point and flags a common mistake: the water is not a chaser, it is drunk first.
- Water first: one sip readies the palate.
- A short pause: the coffee is unfiltered, so let the grounds sink for a moment.
- The first sip, with foam: drink it hot, in small sips, without breaking the foam.
- Leave the grounds: the dark sediment at the bottom is not meant to be drunk.
Plain, Lightly Sweet or Sweet: Decide Before You Order
UNESCO sums up the preparation like this: freshly roasted beans are ground to a fine powder, then the coffee, cold water and sugar go into the pot together and are brewed slowly on the stove until the foam forms. Since the sugar cooks with the coffee, it cannot really be added afterwards, which is why you state your preference up front.
According to Wikipedia, the usual terms are sade (no sugar), az şekerli (a little sugar) and şekerli or çok şekerli (sweet); orta, meaning medium, is also widely heard in everyday ordering. GoTürkiye's recipe ranges from no sugar to two cubes. Sade keeps the roasted bitterness intact, while more sugar rounds it off. There is no right answer, only your own taste.
The Foam Is the Signature
The first sign of a well made Turkish coffee is the foam on top. GoTürkiye's step by step method has the pot taken off the low flame when the coffee first rises, at around 80°C, before it spills over, with the foam spooned evenly into the cups. The pot goes back on the heat and is lifted again at the second rise, around 90°C. The same guide warns against letting it boil, which makes the coffee bitter.
So there is no need to stir when the cup arrives; stirring only breaks up the foam, and the sugar has already dissolved during brewing. The Turkish Coffee Culture and Research Association likewise describes Turkish coffee as a culture of its own, defined by the way it is prepared, cooked and served.
Water and Turkish Delight on the Side
GoTürkiye describes the traditional service as a small glass of water and a piece of lokum, or Turkish delight: the water cleanses the palate and the lokum balances the coffee's bitterness. Wikipedia likewise notes that Turkish coffee is often served with something small and sweet.
The modest set up reflects how coffee is seen: less a drink than a gesture of hospitality. On the Bozacının Yeri menu, Turkish Coffee is described as finely ground coffee slowly brewed with water in a cezve and served in a small cup with its foam and grounds. If you want water to prepare your palate, there is Small Water on the menu too.
Forty Years of Remembrance: Coffee as Friendship
UNESCO inscribed Turkish coffee culture and tradition on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2013. The inscription describes it as a symbol of hospitality, friendship, refinement and entertainment, with an invitation for coffee offering a chance for intimate talk and sharing concerns. The rituals and the method, it adds, are passed down informally within families through observation and participation.
The most familiar expression of this bond is the saying that a cup of coffee is remembered for forty years, quoted by both GoTürkiye and the Turkish Coffee Culture and Research Association. GoTürkiye also points to traces in the language itself: kahverengi, the Turkish word for brown, and kahvaltı, breakfast, which literally means "below the coffee".
A Tradition That Spread from Istanbul
GoTürkiye says coffee reached Ottoman lands more than five hundred years ago and arrived in Istanbul in the early 16th century. Turkish Wikipedia credits the Ottoman governor Özdemir Pasha with bringing it to the city, and the cezve method over embers with giving the drink its own identity. English Wikipedia dates the city's first coffeehouse to 1554, opened by two merchants, Hakam from Aleppo and Shams from Damascus; other sources, including the Turkish Coffee Culture and Research Association, give 1555.
According to GoTürkiye, coffeehouses became important Ottoman meeting places for reading, poetry and literary conversation, and the Ottomans led coffee's spread around the world. The brewing method itself, the guide notes, has not changed in centuries.
Marriage Proposals and Fortune Telling
UNESCO notes that Turkish coffee plays an important part in ceremonial moments such as engagements and holidays. Wikipedia describes the marriage proposal custom in which the bride to be prepares coffee for the groom's family, and says she may traditionally put salt instead of sugar in the groom's cup to test his patience and temperament.
The cup has one more role after the last sip. UNESCO writes that the grounds left behind are often used to tell a person's fortune; Wikipedia explains that the cup is turned upside down on its saucer and the shapes in the grounds are read. GoTürkiye lists some common readings, such as a fish for good luck, a bird for good news and a double line for a journey. It is a game and a conversation starter, and whether you turn your cup over is entirely up to you.
Curious how a cezve coffee compares with one brewed under pressure? The menu also lists Espresso, which its description says is brewed quickly under pressure. Tasting the two side by side is a simple way to see how much the method shapes the cup.
Sources: UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage (Turkish coffee culture and tradition, 2013); GoTürkiye (Turkish Tourism Promotion and Development Agency) Istanbul Turkish coffee guide; Turkish Coffee Culture and Research Association; Wikipedia (Turkish coffee, Türk kahvesi).
Frequently Asked Questions
When do you drink the water served with Turkish coffee?
Before the coffee. According to GoTürkiye, the water cleanses the palate so you can fully taste the coffee's aroma.
Should you stir Turkish coffee?
No. The sugar dissolves while it brews, and stirring breaks the foam and lifts the settled grounds back up.
Do you drink the grounds?
No. Turkish coffee is served unfiltered, so the grounds settle at the bottom and are left in the cup, traditionally for fortune telling.
Can you add sugar to Turkish coffee afterwards?
Traditionally not. Sugar is cooked with the coffee and water in the cezve, so you choose plain, lightly sweet, medium or sweet when you order.
Is Turkish coffee on the UNESCO list?
Yes. Turkish coffee culture and tradition was inscribed on UNESCO's Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2013.
