Turkish Coffee with the Common sense of Coffee Culture

People must think of famous varieties such as Blue Mountain Coffee and Colombian Coffee, and they may also think of fashionable items such as civet coffee and elephant coffee, but many people will ignore Turkish coffee. In fact, the real coffee culture was created and spread by the Turks. There is a proverb spread in Turkey: "drink Turkish coffee together and talk about 40 years of friendship with you." The importance of Turkish coffee in the minds of Turks is evident.

It is said that coffee originated in the mysterious and distant mountains of the Middle East in the 13th century. Then in the Arabian Peninsula, the first cup of coffee was brewed, but it has not been promoted. It was not until coffee was introduced into the Ottoman Turkish Empire in the early 16th century that the Turks invented a way to preserve the original taste and purity of coffee. Coffee first became popular at the Ottoman court and became the most popular drink in the court. A position was even created for this purpose: chief barista. According to records, many chief baristas have been promoted to the ranks of the King's Sultan. Since then, coffee was quickly introduced from the Ottoman court to ordinary people. The first coffee shop, Kiva Han, appeared in Constantinople (present-day Istanbul) in 1554 and quickly became popular, with cafes all over the streets. Since then, the coffee shop has become an important social place in Istanbul, where people like to gather to read books, play chess, talk about poetry and literature, and coffee culture came into being. There is also a saying in Turkey: "if you drink coffee and don't chat, you won't call Turkish coffee." chatting around coffee has become an important part of Turks' leisurely life.

Turkish coffee is different in the way it is ground and cooked. Today, the coffee beans used in Turkish coffee are high-quality Arabica coffee beans from Central America and Brazil, which are mixed and roasted and ground into coffee powder. Turkish coffee must be cooked in a special small copper pot, which locals call Cevze. This small copper pot usually can only make two small cups of coffee. Heat 100 ml of pure water and 10 grams of coffee powder over low heat and stir slowly in one direction. when the coffee begins to boil, a layer of coffee foam will float up and gently divide the coffee foam into two small cups with a small spoon. then continue to make coffee until it foams again.

The reporter first enjoyed Turkish coffee in a Turkish family who came to China. After more than 20 minutes of production, the owner brought a small white porcelain cup, which was a little bigger than the one we drank from Kungfu Tea. It was black and covered with foam. Then he brought up a large glass of white water, which the reporter did not understand. When I raised my glass and took a sip, I suddenly felt that my mouth was covered with coffee grounds, and it was thick and bitter. I mistakenly thought that white water was for gargling, so I immediately took a big sip. Later, with the understanding of Turkish coffee culture, I gradually fell in love with Turkish coffee. Only then did I know that the water was used to clear the mouth before drinking coffee in order to taste the real taste of coffee more truly.

In Turkey, being invited to someone's house for coffee represents the most sincere respect of the host, so in addition to praising the mellow taste of the coffee, guests should also remember not to drink water even if they are full of dregs, because it implies that the coffee is not good. The Turks drink coffee slowly, and they even have a set of exquisite coffee ways, just like the tea ceremony in our country, when drinking coffee, they not only burn incense, but also sprinkle spices, smell incense, a dazzling variety of coffee pots, but also full of Turkish customs. A cup of Turkish coffee with cloves, cardamom and cinnamon is full of fragrance when it is hot. No wonder people praise it as "musky".

Turkish coffee has three flavors: added sugar, low sugar and no sugar. There is an old tradition in Turkey: when a young man goes to ask for marriage, a girl usually makes coffee for her guests, and if she is also a suitor, she will add a lot of sugar to the coffee, saying, "I am willing, I can't wait"; if the coffee is bitter and no sugar is added, it means "I firmly disagree"; if there is salt in the coffee, it means "you should hurry up and you'd better never show up here again."

After enjoying the fragrant Turkish coffee, do not leave in a hurry, or you will miss the magical coffee divination of the moment of witnessing miracles. Turkey specializes in coffee diviners, similar to feng shui masters in our country, who can be seen in cafes large and small in Turkey. At the same time, coffee divination is also an interesting activity that Turks and friends must choose when getting together. Whether professional or not, coffee divination is still very particular. For example, the cup for drinking coffee must be a small white porcelain cup with a tray, the diviner must be female (there are also a small number of male diviners), and the fortune teller must drink the cup of coffee and pray piously in his heart, and so on. Specifically, coffee divination is based on the shape of the coffee residue in the cup, the bottom of the cup can tell the past, and the wall can predict the future. It is said that coffee divination requires an interval of more than 40 days, otherwise it will not be accurate.

Whether coffee divination is accurate in the end, in the reporter's view, being able to read and talk are two indispensable skills for Turkish coffee diviners. A fortune teller who can read can read the meaning of coffee residue from person to person. For example, an arc-shaped trace, a diviner may say that it is a wave, indicating that you are about to go to the seaside for a holiday or go abroad; of course, it can also be said to be rainbow, mountain and other things with different meanings. What is more important, of course, is to be able to say that things in the world are universally linked. In this sense, Turkish coffee divination is really "accurate" when it comes to meeting a good diviner.

If you have a chance to come to Turkey, do not miss Turkish coffee, you will find that it is really not just coffee.