HOW TO MAKE TURKISH COFFEE

• You will need filtered water, Turkish coffee, cezve (a special wide bottom pot, usually made of copper), Turkish coffee cups, and sugar.
• Always use cold, filtered water. To measure the amount of water for each cup, use the coffee cup you are going to use. My rule of thumb is 1 ½ cup of water per coffee cup. Once again, the “cup” measurement is the coffee cup that you are going to serve the coffee in, rather than a standard measuring cup.
• Turkish coffee is much more finely ground than regular coffee. I have never ground it myself and I wouldn’t recommend you do that either. Nowadays, you can find Turkish Coffee in most Middle Eastern or Mediterranean supermarkets. Kurukahveci Mehmet Efendi is one of the most popular brands of Turkish coffee.
• For each cup of coffee, I use a heaping tablespoon of ground coffee.  As I mentioned above, if your guests prefer their coffee with sugar, add the sugar in the very beginning, stirring the mixture until combined. 
• Slowly bring it to a boil over medium heat. This will take about 3-4 minutes, so keep a close eye on it. As the coffee warms, you will see a dark foam building up. This dark foam is very important. It is customary and important to serve Turkish coffee with foam on top. Closer to it coming to a boil, using a teaspoon, transfer some of the foam into each of your Turkish coffee cups. Return coffee pot to stovetop. As coffee comes to a boil, pour half of the coffee into the cups, over the foam. Return coffee pot to stovetop and boil the remaining coffee for an additional 15-20 seconds and pour the rest into the coffee cups, filling them to the rim.

• Turkish coffee is always served with water, because a sip of water will allow the person to clear his/her palate before drinking coffee for the best enjoyment. In addition to water, most people like to serve it with a small sweet treat like Turkish delights, chocolate, candy, etc.
• When it comes to serving Turkish coffee, it is important to start with the eldest guest in the room. It is a sign of respect to acknowledge their age and considered disrespectful not to do so.
• Since Turkish coffee is much denser than filtered coffee, it is not customary to drink more than one cup. I have read on some websites that some people add milk or cream to their Turkish Coffee, but to be honest, I have never seen anyone in Turkey add milk or cream to their Turkish coffee.

How to Make Turkish Coffee

∴ You will need filtered water, Turkish coffee, cezve (a special wide-bottomed pot, usually made of copper), Turkish coffee cups, and sugar. Turkish coffee is much more finely ground than regular coffee. Even though you can grind it yourself, nowadays you can find it in most Middle Eastern or Mediterranean supermarkets. Here in the US, I go to this websiteto buy it.

∴ Always use cold, filtered water. To measure the amount of water for each cup, use the coffee cup you are going to use. My rule of thumb is 1½ “cup” of water per coffee cup. Once again, the “cup” measurement is the coffee cup that you are going to serve the coffee in, rather than a standard measuring cup.

∴ For each cup of coffee, use a heaping tablespoon of ground coffee. If preparing a cup with sugar, add it in the very beginning, stirring the mixture until combined. However, if one or more of the guests prefers no sugar, prepare and pour that cup first. After returning the coffee pot to the stove, add in more sugar to suit the preferences of the remaining guests.

∴ Slowly bring the mixture to a boil over medium heat. This will take 3-4 minutes, so keep a close eye on it. As the coffee warms, dark foam will build. It is customary and important to serve Turkish coffee with foam on top.When the mixture is close to a boil, use a teaspoon to transfer some of the foam into each Turkish coffee cup. Return the coffee pot to the stovetop. As coffee comes to a boil, pour half of the coffee into the cups, over the foam. Return coffee pot to stovetop and boil the remaining coffee for an additional 10-15 seconds and fill the cups to the rim.

Frequently Asked Questions about How To Make Turkish Coffee

What kind of coffee/roast should I buy to make Turkish Coffee?

I have a few readers reached out asking me if Starbucks’ coffees would work if they were to ask the barista to grind it as Turkish coffee. To be quite honest, I have never tried this, but I do not think so. What I know for sure (and the one I recommend) is Kurukahveci Mehmet Efendi. This is the coffee that I use (and grew up drinking) when I make my Turkish coffee.

Do I need that special pot (cezve or ibrik) to make Turkish coffee?

The answer is, it depends. I recommend getting it as (1) it is a tradition to cook Turkish coffee in a cezve and (2) cooking it in a cezve will give you the thick foam (more in this below) on top. With that being said, if you are not concerned with those two things, you can make Turkish coffee in a very small saucepan.
I have one similar to this Copper Turkish Coffee Pot and have been using it for years.

How do you get that thick foam on top?

This is a much debated subject and you might get different answers if you asked different people. Below steps were what my mother taught me:

• Once you mix water, coffee and sugar (if using), give it a quick mix, but do not overmix it. Since you are cooking it in a very small pot (cezve), as it boils it will mix itself. I know that it is very tempting to want to mix it, but resist the urge.
• Once you pour your first pour, then you can give it a mix because the thick foamy part should already be in the cup.
• As you pour your second, be sure to pour very slowly to not break the foam.

What if I am making Turkish coffee for multiple people with different sugar preferences?

If this is the case, you can do one of two things. First, you can make them in different pots, but for that you would have to have more than one cezve. Second, you can start making it with no sugar, pour the first pour to all the cups and then add in the sugar in the second pour.

For example: Let’s say I making Turkish coffee for 2 of my guests. First person wants his sade (with no sugar) and second person wants his orta (1-2 teaspoon sugar). Below are the steps I would follow to make them at the same time in one pot (cezve):

• Start by cooking water and coffee for 2 servings with no added sugar
• Pour your first pour halfway into two Turkish coffee pots.
• Boil the second pour and fill up the first serving with no sugar.
• Then add in sugar into the pot, mix it, and bring it to a boil before you top off the second serving. Since Turkish coffee is pretty thick and served in such a small cup, it will have enough sweetness.

Where did you get the blue cups in the photos?

I borrowed those cups from a friend of mine. They were a gift to her from her husband. He purchased them from Pasabahce many years ago. I am not sure if they are still selling them, but since this was asked more than once I thought I can answer it here.

Where can I find Turkish Coffee cups?

If you ever visit Turkey and most other nearby countries, you can find variety of options for Turkish coffee cups. However, if that is not possible you can easily find them online. Additionally, you can use espresso cups. They are a little larger than Turkish coffee cups, but they would do the job.

On a personal note, my mother had a collection of gorgeous Turkish coffee cups that she collected over the years. After her passing, I kept a few of them to myself and gave the rest to her closest friends as memories from her.

What is Turkish Coffee reading (fortune telling)? Do you believe it?

It is a tradition that after you finish your coffee, you turn your cup upside down and let it cool down so that someone else can “read your cup”. This is a fun tradition, where someone (who is talented enough to make up stuff) looks into the cup and tries to guess your future based on the shapes of the coffee’s residue that stuck on the walls of your cup. If you are a believer of this kind of stuff, it could be quite entertaining.

My mom was one of those people, who would read people’s cups just for the fun of it. I no longer believe in such readings, but when I was a teenager and was falling in love with a different guy every week, I remember drinking a lot of Turkish coffee and begging her to read my cup to see if “my new found love” is going to ask me out any time soon. 🙂

How to Make Turkish Coffee

Learn How To Make Turkish Coffee from the way I learned from my mother with step-by step how-to photos along with the answers to frequently asked questions. 

• Prep Time: 5 min
• Cook Time: 10 minutes
• Total Time: 15 minutes
• Yield: 2
• Category: Drink
• Method: Cooking
• Cuisine: Turkish Cuisine

Ingredients

• 3 Turkish coffee cup-sized cups of cold filtered water (1 1/2 cup per cup)
• 2 heaping tablespoons Turkish Coffee (ground)
• Sugar – as requested

Instructions

1. Place the sugar (if desired), water, and Turkish coffee in metal Turkish coffee pot (Cezve).
2. Using a small spoon, stir briefly until just combined and place pot on stovetop.
3. Slowly bring coffee mixture to a boil over medium heat. This will take 3-4 minutes, so keep a close watch.
4. As the coffee warms, you will see a dark foam building up. Closer to it coming to a boil, using a teaspoon, transfer some of the foam into each of your two Turkish coffee cups. Return coffee pot to stovetop.
5. As coffee comes to a boil, pour half of the coffee into the cups, over the foam.
6. Return coffee pot to stovetop and boil the remaining coffee for an additional 15-20 seconds and pour the rest in to the coffee cups to the rim.
7. Serve with water and Turkish delight.

Nutrition

• Serving Size: Turkish Coffee Cup

Keywords: Turkish Coffee, How to make Turkish Coffee