How to Brew Turkish Coffee

It was Turkish coffee that perhaps gave rise to the phrase, 'Coffee should be black as hell, strong as death, and sweet as love.' Brewing Turkish coffee is an art in its own right, and a touchstone of Turkish culture. For the experienced coffee lover, brewing your own Turkish coffee can be a lovely experience - and drinking it, even better.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Things You’ll Need:

• Fine coffee grinder
• Metal stirring spoon
• Ibrik (the brewer)
• Demitasse/espresso cups
• Sugar
• Spices (optional)

1. Ground the coffee thoroughly - finer than espresso. Add fresh, cold fresh water to your ibrik - but only so far as the neck of the ibrik itself, to allow room for foam.
2. Add large teaspoons of coffee - a teaspoon that overflows the bounds of the spoon itself. A four-ounce ibrik would need about two heaping teaspoons, and three for an eight-ounce ibrik.
3. Add sugar, according to your taste. Stir the slurry of water, coffee and sugar until the sugar dissolves. You can also add various spices - cardamom or anise, for example - at this step.
4. Do not stir. Brew your coffee over medium-low heat. Watch carefully. Again, do not stir.
5. Pay attention as the mixture starts to froth. As the froth works its way up to nearly the top of the ibrik, remove the ibrik from the heat. Turkish coffee can froth up extraordinarily quickly, and can easily make a mess if not watched. Once the coffee has been removed, let it settle.
6. Return the ibrik to heat, and repeat Step 4 twice more, for a total of three boils. Optionally, you can stir the foam after the final third boil - this settles the grinds, but reduces the foam.
7. Let sit for thirty seconds, and serve. Serve only a little at a time - add 10-15 milliliters for each cup, and return to the first cup to add another round of 10-15 milliliters. Drink, and enjoy.

Tips & Warnings

• The coffee is best ground with a brass, Turkish mill, which should be available at most Turkish or Greek food stores. Zassenhaus grinders can also grind coffee to Turkish fineness.