What is Turkish Coffee?

Turkish coffee is a very flavorful, and often strong, coffee. It is prepared in an cezve, a small pot that holds either one or two servings.

What do we need? A cezve and a heat source, coffee, water, and sugar. Cezves are available from several web sites. They are also known as a ibrik, briki, mbiki or toorka. The heat source is typically your stove, gas or electric. The coffee may be any roast but our personal favorites are Starbucks Breakfast Blend or the Our Turkish Blend Cafe.

What type of coffee grind? Turkish coffee uses the finest grind you can have. The coffee becomes more like a powder than anything else. On most machines, it is the finest grind possible.
Step 1: Add the sugar first. For an 8 oz. cezve, we recommend 2 level teaspoons. we use anywhere from 1 level tablespoon (=3 teaspoons) to 2 rounded tablespoons, depending on whoelse is joining ! Several people just use one packet of Equal, … yech.

Sugar

Step 2: Fill your cezve with water up to the point where the cezve’s “neck” starts. The water should come up to, but not into, the neck. You can’t really make a smaller amount, you would need a smaller cezve. The level is important for the physics behind how it works.

Water level

Step 3: This is a picture of a heaping teaspoon. Study it carefully! In a small cezve (4 oz.) use 2 heaping teaspoons. An 8 oz. ibrik, use 3. A 12 oz., use 6. Yes, we know that is not a geometrical progression, but this is an art, not a science.