RECIPE: Make Authentic Turkish Coffee Like A Native

At home, at work, or among friends, Turkish coffee is drunk all over the Middle East, every day. Some believe the left-over grinds can predict the future.

Café Turkí is taken for granted all through the Middle East. It’s the daily comfort of the people, always cheap and always on hand. Green coffee drinkers can even find organic Turkish coffee or use fair trade coffee beans bought in health food stores and some cafés. You can always buy the beans and then just order the size of the grind.

Traditionally, Turkish coffee is made in a finjan (above). It’s a special pot with a long handle, wider at the bottom so that most of the grounds stay behind when you pour the coffee out. In the Middle East, they’re commonly available. But if you don’t have a finjan, any small pot still makes good coffee.

Make your Turkish coffee from any bean you like. The important thing is that it be finely ground like espresso. A coarse grind won’t give you the aroma and flavor of the real thing.

You’ll often get a whiff of cardamom in the coffee as you go past someone’s steaming cup. This recipe includes the spice for you to use at your discretion.

Turkish Coffee Recipe
Ingredients:

1 cup cold water
1 heaping teaspoon extra finely ground coffee – experiment with less or more, according to taste
1/8 teaspoon ground cardamom
2 teaspoons sugar

Method:

1. Bring water and sugar to a boil in the pot.
2. Remove from heat and add coffee and cardamom.
3. Return pot to the heat and allow the coffee to come to a boil, while stirring. Remove from the heat when the coffee foams.
4. Pour the coffee into a cup or glass. Drink immediately; the finest aroma is considered to be in the head of froth.

Enjoy!

More about coffee on Green Prophet:

Green Drinks in Tel Aviv

Green Your Coffee Break