# Turkish coffee



## the_partisan

Does anybody else brew Turkish coffee? I'm Turkish, and the Turkish coffee served in Turkey is mostly from pre-ground beans, sometimes months(!) old, and from low quality commodity beans. I guess adding enough sugar along with the novelty factor/presentation makes it taste palatable. There are also no standardised recipes available and a lot of myths about how to make it. For example, there are places now brewing it over charcoal heat, like it would make any difference at all.

I have never done it myself before but since I got my Feldgrind and got hold of an "cezve" I've played around with it. I used 10g of coffee at 0+10 setting on the feldgrind, to 150ml of water for two cups. I mix the coffee and water well, and then just put on the stove on medium heat until it start boiling. Pour it and then wait a few mins before drinking to allow for coffee to cool down and the grounds to settle. It was quite enjoyable and is a nice way to finish off a meal. The end result:


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## MWJB

I brew with a cezve every now & then, it's a great way to brew. Usually around 10g:100ml, but you can vary it a bit without getting a big shift in extraction.

I use preboiled water, then a low heat on an electric hob.

I do drink it unfiltered at times, but also filter it a drip cone so I don't have to be so wary of silt in that last sip.

Never seen the need to add sugar, some of my cezve brews have been very sweet without.


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## the_partisan

How long do you brew with boiling water? I will try that as it will probably make the process quicker.

100g/L sounds quite lot, what do you normally use for, say a french press? Next time I might up the dose a little bit more, to try to get some more sweetness out, as at 10g/150ml, it was still a little bitter. I guess one could argue that the overall the brewing method is not very different than a french press (full immersion).


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## MWJB

Well, the boiling water drops to about 80C when transferred to the cezve, with the low set, electric hob, brew time can be 4-15mins, depending on brew size, (bigger brews take longer at the same heat setting) until it foams. If you're using a gas hob, maybe try starting with cold water?

Anything I have tried from 75g/l to 150g/l seems to work fine, strength goes up& down accordingly, but flavour balance is usually good. I doubt your ratio is directly affecting bitterness/sweetness as much, maybe solids in the cup, or brew time? For French press I'm usually 52-56g/l.

Yes, they're both full immersion but you're continually applying heat to the cezve (it's dropping right from the start with the French press), you can extract more from the coffee in the cezve, at much higher ratios than you can in a French press, in less time too. I don't paper filter my French presses (just brew carefully), but with the higher brew ratios with the cezve, it stands up to filtering much better.


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## the_partisan

Thanks, will give it another go with already boiling water as then I can grind the coffee while the water is boiling, as it takes a while to grind at that setting. There is a "Turkish coffee machine" in Turkey which is quite popular and it seems to brew quite fast (~2 min total brew time). It's a kind of electric cezve you could say. A video is available here:






What grinder/setting did you use? At 0+10 in Feldgrind, it looked powdery and fine enough, I haven't really tried other grind settings.


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## MWJB

I have tried a range of grinders (Sozen, Acar, Lido1) & settings, not actually tried the Feldgrind for Turkish (I also noticed how long it took to grind at 0+8 when I first got it), but I'd grind as coarse as you can whilst still giving you the flavour balance & foam you want. In terms of flavour, there's quite a range that will work, up to fine drip. My Turkish Acar grinder couldn't produce fine powder at any setting, the Lido1 made tasty brews at 0.25 to 0.5 of a turn which is the range I also use for drip & French press.


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## the_partisan

The Sozen one is supposed to be the best one, and sells for around £10 in Turkey. But I really doubt it has the same quality of engineering as say a Feldgrind or Lido. On the other hand I believe they're not adjustable for grind size? Unfortunately hand grinders (or coffee grinders in general) are not so popular in Turkey anymore, pretty much everyone buys pre ground coffee. So I doubt any progress is being made in that area.

Has Bean also have a nice Turkish coffee guide: https://www.hasbean.co.uk/blogs/brew-guides/14541965-ibrik-brew-guide


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## MWJB

The Sozen grinds faster at fine, talc settings than Feldgrind, or Lido. There is no reason to doubt the grind quality compared to the other two. Sozen have an adjustment screw under the burr, like a Lido1, they can go coarser for espresso, or even for small French press at finer grinds. That said they are fairly agricultural, arriving with manufacturing residue, and may be variable from model to model, but hey, at £35 in the UK you can't have everything.

More info on Turkish coffee & grinders here too...http://www.specialtyturkishcoffee.com/


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## the_partisan

I will drop by their shop in Eminonu next time in Istanbul. In Turkish but you can see how they're built:






The brew ratio in the Has Bean guide seems rather off though, 250ml sounds like enough for 4 cups. I usually use around 70-75g of water per cup.

The link you sent seems quite good, seems more accurate than most recipes you would find in Turkish. Although it seems 2min brew time is quite short, as on my electric stove the coffee would only start to bubble up at around 5min for 2 cups on med-high heat.

edit: realized the recipe was only for one cup and he used water at 60C, so I can imagine that taking a lot less time.


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## Missy

I've often tried to use an ibrik in the past (notably when I was at uni, and trying to recreate the "free Palestine" coffee from a tent at the miners gala) quite a few of us spent a long time trying and failing to produce anything drinkable. Now I feel an irrational urge to try again.

If the sozen is only £10 in Turkey it sounds like you'll be needing to fill a suitcase next time you visit @the_partisan !


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## the_partisan

It's 45 TRY here for example:

http://www.baristasepeti.com/ogutuculer/el-degirmenleri/sozen-klasik-el-degirmeni

I've asked them if they will deliver to UK, will let you know! I live in Denmark at the moment, so I'm not sure if it will be significantly cheaper to ship Turkey -> Denmark or Denmark -> UK. I suppose you will not have problem with customs when shipping from DK.


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## Missy

the_partisan said:


> It's 45 TRY here for example:
> 
> http://www.baristasepeti.com/ogutuculer/el-degirmenleri/sozen-klasik-el-degirmeni
> 
> I've asked them if they will deliver to UK, will let you know! I live in Denmark at the moment, so I'm not sure if it will be significantly cheaper to ship Turkey -> Denmark or Denmark -> UK. I suppose you will not have problem with customs when shipping from DK.


Ah I didn't twig that you aren't in the UK!


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## the_partisan

Missy said:


> Ah I didn't twig that you aren't in the UK!


Nope, but I have moved away recently from London. The shop wrote back to me and unfortunately they will not ship outside the country.


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## Spy

Turkish/Greek coffee overdose !


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## YerbaMate170

turkish/greek/armenian/arab coffee is interesting in that, as the OP mentioned there is no real "standardised" way but rather regional/personal variations. For example, the Armenian way (not necessarily the only Armenian way) is to mix coffee into cold water and heat together. There are also variations in terms of how many times you want it to bubble etc etc. A friend of mine lectured me about this a while back, I wasn't paying much attention, quite distracted by the smell of coffee...

As for making it on charcoal, believe it or not it does actually give a lovely smoky flavour.


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## Dallah

It's not Arab coffee. For Arabic coffee look up Qahwa. It's vile and I spent 10 years having to drink it so as to not insult my various hosts and business partners.


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## Vieux Clou

Only had it once, in the 60s. Wouldn't might trying it again, though, once the cardiac wallahs relax their grip on my fun.

Any idea how I might produce a Turkish-style blend - i.e what origins, roasts and proportions?


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## AliG

Dallah said:


> It's not Arab coffee. For Arabic coffee look up Qahwa. It's vile and I spent 10 years having to drink it so as to not insult my various hosts and business partners.


Was that the stuff made from unroasted beans in the Gulf?

Generally, I think Arabic coffee refers to regional variations of Turkish coffee, in the same way that Armenian, Greek etc. was mentioned above. It's not a hard and fast rule, but Arabic coffee usually has some cardamom and geranium/orange blossom water included for flavouring.


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## YerbaMate170

Dallah said:


> It's not Arab coffee. For Arabic coffee look up Qahwa. It's vile and I spent 10 years having to drink it so as to not insult my various hosts and business partners.


Qahwa just means coffee in Arabic, and many arab countries make their coffee/qahwa identical to turkish/greek/armenian.


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## YerbaMate170

Vieux Clou said:


> Only had it once, in the 60s. Wouldn't might trying it again, though, once the cardiac wallahs relax their grip on my fun.
> 
> Any idea how I might produce a Turkish-style blend - i.e what origins, roasts and proportions?


To be honest, you probably don't want to try and replicate the traditional turkish-style because they tend to use really dark roasted Brazilian (usually) beans. I was in Istanbul a few years ago and went to what were considered the "best" cafes for turkish coffee; a couple placed even roasted in-house but they all used really dark, Brazilian (probably non-speciality grade) beans...

I would say you're better off using a bean/roast that you like, and just preparing it in an ibrik/cezve.


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## Dallah

YerbaMate170 said:


> Qahwa just means coffee in Arabic, and many arab countries make their coffee/qahwa identical to turkish/greek/armenian.


I'm well aware that qahwa is Arabic for Coffee but at the same time it is indicative of the style with green beans and spices used in the majority of Arab as the traditional style. Turkish and espresso styles are available and common but they are not the traditional style of preparation.


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## the_partisan

Vieux Clou said:


> Only had it once, in the 60s. Wouldn't might trying it again, though, once the cardiac wallahs relax their grip on my fun.
> 
> Any idea how I might produce a Turkish-style blend - i.e what origins, roasts and proportions?


If you want to replicate the taste in Turkey, you can use medium roast (City/City+) beans from Brazil. Roasters in Turkey usually use cheap commodity beans from Minas Gerais. However you can brew it with any bean really, just like any other brewing method. I've personally had better results from medium roasts than very light, scandi-style roasts.


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## the_partisan

I've been doing this quite regularly now, and have had some really great results.

For two cups, I use 0+12 setting on the Feldgrind, grind 14g of coffee to 140 or 150ml of water and mix them well in the "cezve". Then I put it on maximum heat on my electric stove, for a total brewing time of around 4:30min, until it bubbles up. Pour into cups and wait 2-3 min before drinking.

As for the beans, with very light roasts, the coffee tasted rather sour, like an underextracted espresso. Probably needs more brewing time? It was also really tedious to grind them with Feldgrind, compared to darker roasts. I wouldn't really bother again grinding those kind of beans with Feldgrind at that setting. Medium roasted beans with a lot of sweetness from South America seem to work best for me. It still takes a while to grind, about 1 min for 14g, but it's not so bad.

I've never tried making a single cup, but I guess halving everything or thereabouts should work.


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## MWJB

The light beans are probably under-extracted, yes, try more time with them, see if they get sweeter. If they are a chore to grind, go a bit coarser.


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## UbiquitousPhoton

Arise thread! Just returned from holiday in Turkey, where everything was great, barring the coffee...

the he most annoying bit about it was that they had decent(ish) semi auto machines, what looked like a big mazzer grinder, but commodity beans, and complete lack of any training. Ah well, makes returning home *slightly* easier...


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## Yes Row

Completely agree. Never had a decent cup of coffee in 10+ trips to Turkey. I always take my CCD, Feldgrind with a beans stash

However love Turkish Cay, so much so I have my own Turkish Tea pot


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## the_partisan

UbiquitousPhoton said:


> Arise thread! Just returned from holiday in Turkey, where everything was great, barring the coffee...
> 
> the he most annoying bit about it was that they had decent(ish) semi auto machines, what looked like a big mazzer grinder, but commodity beans, and complete lack of any training. Ah well, makes returning home *slightly* easier...


There are quite a few places in Istanbul that serve decent coffee, but you have to look for them: http://europeancoffeetrip.com/best-coffee-in-istanbul-part-1/

In Antalya and other tourist areas I don't imagine there are any speciality coffee shops, as the general quality of everything is very low to cater for the masses of tourists.


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## UbiquitousPhoton

Dalaman, and yes, very very touristy.

Like I say though (and this is my new pet peeve), all the gear, but crap beans and no training. It amazes me that people will spend the money on the bits that don't count.


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## the_partisan

On my most recent trip to Istanbul I brought back this machine with me:

https://www.arcelik.com.tr/turk-kahvesi-makinesi/k-3300-siyah-icecek-hazirlama.html

Basically you put the water and coffee (and sugar, if requested) into the provided "ibrik", stir lightly with a wooden spoon, put it in the machine and push a button and about 1 to 2min later (depending on how many cups are you making) you get perfectly cooked Turkish coffee. Extremely convenient, as temperature control on an electric stove like I have is very difficult. It has some kind of sensor to detect overflowing. There was also a slightly more expensive model with a water tank in the back, but I avoided that as it was slightly larger.

Now I need to find an electric grinder which can grind as fine as Turkish, since doing it with a hand grinder can be a real chore for more than 1 cup. Any ideas?


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## Obnic

It's called 'arçelik' eeeewwwww!


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## DaveP

> Now I need to find an electric grinder which can grind as fine as Turkish, since doing it with a hand grinder can be a real chore for more than 1 cup. Any ideas?


Eureka Mignon Mk 2


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## MildredM

What an interesting machine (but how did they come up with that name).

Not sure about grinder suggestions - what are you currently using?


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## the_partisan

The range of machines is called "Telve" which means the part of coffee left in the cup after drinking. I think it's quite neat







It has also won the red dot design award.

BTW Arcelik is the brand's name in Turkish market, it's part of a huge Turkish conglomerate, and is typically marketed under Beko brand in UK, and also as Grundig, Blomberg, Arctic and many other names. Currently I'm using a Kinu M47 which is a hand grinder and a Vario with Steel burrs for brewed. So ideally it would be something to replace the Vario with but I think my only options are big bulk grinders.


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## the_partisan

I've coarsened up the grind now to roughly something that would just about choke an espresso machine, so that I don't get carpal tunnel syndrome from grinding too fine. Also adjusted the ratio as 1:11 rather than 1:10 to increase extraction. The best way to enjoy seems to be to stir the top gently and then skim the foam off (which taste very bitter and is full of grounds), wait several minutes to cool off and grounds to settle and then you end up with something similar to a stronger french press/cupping brew with more mouthfeel. My fellow countrymen would think that skimming foam is heresy though, as it's supposed to be the sign of a good coffee.

Haven't bothered with measuring extraction yet, but I don't expect it to be very high due to the high strength..


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## IggyK

If I want to give speciltist coffee from online roasters a go with this method.

What type of coffee goes best?

I've got my hausgrind and fancy giving it a go.


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## the_partisan

You can do it with any coffee, something like light-medium roast. Keep in mind it's quite a chore to grind at the finer settings and having very light roasted beans doesn't make it easier. Takes over a minute/minute and a half for me to grind 16g using Kinu M47 at setting 3. A little coarser is easier. OTOH the brew time is quite quick (~2-2:30min for 2 cups).


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## MikeBookham

I've got a cheap cezve in the cupboard and used it a couple of times a few years ago and used the re-boil 3 or 4 times method to make Turkish coffee. However I haven't been to Turkey so can't say if it had a genuine flavour or not.


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## caffaholic

Yup! it comes with a dark roast and the brew is strong. If you are not a regular or even an occastional strong coffee drinker, you may end up wasting money.


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## beeshgada

Hi Turkish Coffee drinkers,

I was looking for new turkish coffee flavors and saw this:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/323528606401?ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1555.l2649

Has anyone tried it?

Do you recommend?


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## the_partisan

You can use any bean for making Turkish coffee, it's a brewing method.

If you want similar flavour profile to standard Turkish coffee beans use Brazilian beans. Commercial / mass produced Turkish coffee beans use Brazilian Minas Gerais of dubious quality.


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## El carajillo

@ the_partisan, any thoughts / ideas where to buy a decent 2 -3 cup ibrik / cezeve ? Any recommendations on material ?


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## the_partisan

I don't think material would make any difference. I would pick stainless steel for ease of cleaning and maintenance.


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## Batian

I picked up a s/h one of these on eBay for a few pounds.

Works fine after a bit of practise with the on/off switch.


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## ZiggyMarley

We use one of these:https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B01N4V5...=9046033&hvtargid=pla-441084931807&th=1&psc=1

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B01N4V573D/ref=asc_df_B01N4V573D57961227/?tag=cfukweb-21&creative=22110&creativeASIN=B01N4V573D&linkCode=df0&hvadid=226302833456&hvpos=1o1&hvnetw=g&hvrand=10381936884382074020&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9046033&hvtargid=pla-441084931807&th=1&psc=1

seems to work well. Still buying small packets of ready ground for Turkish coffee, as I don't seem to be able to find an affordable grinder that will grind fine enough


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## IggyK

I used one ones these:

https://smile.amazon.co.uk/Dexam-Vintage-Turkish-Coffee-Black/dp/B01ER4QE0O/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1547382062&sr=8-4&keywords=ibrik


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## Inspector

Just for the info

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ibrik

It's called 'cezve' in Turkish

As far as i know material and freshness of coffee has a huge importance on crema. Tinned copper is believed the best when making Turkish coffee and it prevents the water-copper contact which creates oxidation.


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## ForumCat

the_partisan said:


> Now I need to find an electric grinder which can grind as fine as Turkish, since doing it with a hand grinder can be a real chore for more than 1 cup. Any ideas?


How about grinding your coffee as per normal in your standard grinder and finishing off in a mortar and pestle?






*ForumCat*


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