Friday, March 12, 2010
Friday, February 5, 2010
First Turkish Coffee Hour Finds Success
By Nicole Güven
The Turkish Student Organization hosted its first International
Coffee Hour on Thursday, bringing baklava, Turkish delight, coffee,
and Turkish culture to the Global Programs Lounge.
“We want to carry on doing it because as you see we have a
good crowd,” said Esra Kurum,secretary of the Turkish Student
Association. “I wasn’t expecting this many people. But people in
America really like coffee, and Turkish coffee is the finest. It’s
kind of heavy, but people like it.”
The president of the Turkish Student Association, Safakcan
Tuncdemir, described the Turkish coffee‐making process, which varies
greatly from American coffee brewing. Turkish coffee is very finely grounded. Water is added to a special pot called cezve along with
a tablespoon of coffee for each cup and sugar if preferred. All the
ingredients are mixed and heated. The coffee sinks down when the
mixture gets warm. When the coffee sinks, the mixture should be
stirred, but not too much or the foam will redistribute. Most people
like the foamy structure of the coffee.
Turkish coffee is served in small porcelain cups called fincan.
They are very decorative and indicative of Turkey’s famous porcelain
industry based in Kutahya. The coffee cups are small because
Turkish coffee is very strong and served in small amounts.
Coffee has a special part in Turkish culture. It is traditional to
drink it after meals. The Turkish word for breakfast, kahvalti, literally
means “before coffee.” “If someone offers you coffee,
that means that person wants to share a secret with you,” said
Tuncdemir. “It means he’s a close friend and can talk to you. We
drink tea regularly, five or six times a day. You can drink tea
anywhere, in buses, cafes. It’s like a fast food; it is the ‘fast drink’ of
Turkey. With coffee, you have to sit, you have to talk. It’s a more
special gathering.”
The event drew a diverse crowd and many enjoyed the desserts
that accompanied the coffee. Baklava, a sweet dessert consisting
of layers of pastry dough, pistachios and syrup, and Turkish
delight, a jelly‐like dessert of various flavors and ingredients covered
in powdered sugar, were devoured by the crowd in under half
an hour. Photos were on display of the other events the organization
is involved in, including a Turkish soccer team, a dance
group, and the only non‐English speaking music band in Centre
County called Anatolian Fusion. Also displayed were a hookah, a
popular device used in Turkey to smoke flavored tobaccos, and the
country’s red flag with a white crescent moon and star
The Turkish Student Association was very happy with the
large turnout and hopes to host another coffee hour later in the
semester. Kurum summed up the benefits of being a part of an
international student organization and participating in international
events. “People should go and see every association,” said Kurum.
“The United States is multicultural. So it’s good to explore. For
me, it’s good because I’m in a foreign culture, so it gives me a
chance to drink more Turkish coffee with Turkish people and
eat our cuisine. It’s a good thing to keep on doing what you do at
home and to speak Turkish at the very least. That’s why I like
being a part of this association. I get to explore my culture with
my friends.”
Friday, January 29, 2010
The rise and fall of the Turkish coffeehouse
Friday, January 29, 2010
GÜL DEMİR - NIKI GAMM ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News
Istanbul got its first taste of coffee in 1554, when Syrian traders Hakim and Sems opened a coffeehouse in the city's Tahtakale district, although individual residents must have previously savored the hot brew during trips to other places in the Middle East. Among the different types of coffeehouses, one popular kind would have a minstrel or minstrels who would sing, known as an aşık. Turkey's last great minstrel, Aşık Veysel, garnered a following when he started singing in a coffeehouse
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Since no one knows exactly when coffee was first introduced, it’s not possible to celebrate an anniversary. But coffee lovers around the world don’t need a special day; for them, every day is coffee day.
The first records of coffee drinking come from the Yemen area, where the beans grew wild, although some say coffee initially came from Ethiopia. It was seen as a precious commodity to be protected before people realized they could sell the beans and get a good return on them.
Coffee drinking has had its ups and downs. It was viewed with suspicion as a powerful, addictive drug and attempts were made to stop people from drinking it. Religious mystics who belonged to one of the many Sufi lodges that sprang up are thought to have used coffee as a stimulant for their often strenuous religious services.
There were mixed feelings about coffee drinking from the beginning because of its effect on people. This is even less surprising since coffee was not drunk in the diluted fashion now favored by the Western world. It came hot and thick and if you weren’t careful, you would end up with some of the grounds in your mouth. Actually, the same holds true for Turkish coffee today. One researcher on coffee and coffeehouses cites a document dated to 1511 that he believes shows the first time that coffee was banned, an incident that happened in Mecca.
Istanbul got its first taste of coffee in 1554, when Syrian traders Hakim and Sems opened a coffeehouse in the city’s Tahtakale district, although individual residents must have previously savored the hot brew during trips to other places in the Middle East. One source has suggested that was the case because there were Mamlukes, who were part of the rulers of Egypt’s army, found in Erzurum quite early on. Ottoman Sultan Selim I took Egypt in 1517 when there were already hundreds of coffeehouses in Cairo. In doing so, the coffeehouse became a center for men who, for one reason or another, weren’t working or didn’t want to go home directly after work.
Little coffeehouses sprang up all over the city and then spread out to towns and villages. By 1595, a foreign observer noted that there were some 600 coffeehouses in Istanbul, attracting men with time to spare. No food was served, although no one would object to a customer bringing food in. The coffeehouse became a center where information was exchanged about the local area and beyond. Those who couldn’t read could find help and advice there.
The coffeehouse also provided a place for different social groups to gather; some even boasted musicians, theatrical performances, storytellers or wandering minstrels. The mix that allowed for socializing also made coffeehouses venues for political talk and they were considered potential hotbeds for revolt. Attempts were made to stamp them out, without much success – with one exception. In 1623, Sultan Murat IV came to power and personally forbade the sale of coffee. Though edicts issued by religious authorities were regularly flouted, the coffee ban was one prohibition that was obeyed, at least as long as the sultan lived, because he had the force to back it up. The coffeehouses reopened in 1640, upon his death.
Architecturally, the Ottoman coffeehouse would usually be a one-story building with a very high ceiling and tables and chairs or benches covered with cushions around a large open space. It was not unusual to find a fountain in the middle of the main area, and there might be rooms off to the sides. In winter, heat would be provided by braziers, or metal fire boxes, while in summer, the favored coffeehouses were those that opened on a veranda or patio, preferably shaded by tall, old plane trees. If there was a view, so much the better.
Among the different types of coffeehouses, one popular kind would have a minstrel or minstrels who would sing, known as an aşık. Turkey’s last great minstrel, Aşık Veysel, garnered a following when he started singing in a coffeehouse. If another minstrel happened to be around, they might start a duet or – more likely – an improvised duel, with one starting off the stanza of a song and the music to go with it and the second having to respond. More formal competitions might be even organized to attract an audience.
Eventually coffee was accepted as a drink that did not violate the Muslim prohibition against alcoholic beverages. It became part of socializing, even for women, although they were never to be found in coffeehouses until modern times. Even today, a Turkish woman might feel uncomfortable entering such an establishment. Women in Ottoman times would drink coffee in harem settings or at a hamam (Turkish bath); a number of paintings showing such gatherings can still be seen today. The ceremonies were perhaps not as elaborate as those conducted as part of serving tea in Japan, but special cups and pots were used. Learning about them was part of a well-brought-up girl’s education and when a young man’s parents came to call on her family to ask her hand in marriage, she had to show off her ability to make coffee.
Once a man found a coffeehouse that he felt compatible with, he would usually continue to frequent that place. Because of this, it was possible to leave messages for people at coffeehouses, knowing that sooner or later, the intended recipient would get it. Coffeehouse ownership would traditionally pass from father to son, with the boys in the family waiting on tables and cleaning up. The spread of television and the broadcasting of football matches have kept the coffeehouse popular on special occasions. Men with time on their hands still frequent coffeehouses to play dominoes or other games with their friends, or simply to sit there with their horse-racing forms or crossword puzzles.
Coffee drinking in Turkey was eventually supplanted by tea drinking. In spite of experiments with coffee-growing, the country’s geography is not suitable for it, and so coffee has to be imported. It never lost its popularity, but simply became so expensive that it was beyond the reach of many households. In fact, its importation was banned in the 1970s because the foreign currency required to purchase it was far too scarce to be used for something as nonessential as coffee. People who had foreign friends visiting would ask them to bring coffee and even five-star hotels were reduced to finding circuitous routes for their supplies. Nescafe thus became the coffee of choice and coffeehouses became more like teahouses. Now that coffee is once again available, customers will be offered a choice of tea or coffee, but tea is mentioned first.
Most recently, Turks have fallen under the spell of “modern” international coffeehouse chains that appeal in spite of their higher prices, but are visited only occasionally for that same reason. Moreover, the traditional Turkish coffeehouse has all but disappeared from many neighborhoods in big cities and those that do exist are often too far out of the way to be conveniently visited.
That doesn’t mean the traditional Turkish coffeehouse isn’t respected as part of the country’s culture. It just isn’t there anymore to be used as a community social center and it doesn’t seem as if it will ever come back.
Sunday, December 6, 2009
City of Coffee: Houston Coffee Culture
By Robb Walsh Published on November 10, 2009 at 1:08pm
Some people drink coffee for the jolt. Some people drink it for the flavor. But coffee is, in fact, part of an ancient social ritual as elaborate as the culture of alcohol.
Ethiopian Coffee
Blue Nile Restaurant - 9400 Richmond, 713-782-6882
At $10 for three people, or $20 dollars for six, the Ethiopian coffee ceremony at Blue Nile Ethiopian restaurant is one of those exotic luxuries we can all afford. The coffee ceremony is an ancient and integral part of Ethiopian culture.
First the frankincense is lit, and then you are given a basket of popcorn — it is customary to enjoy a salty snack with your coffee. Blue Nile buys the best imported Ethiopian coffee and then hand-washes, hand-crushes and roasts it for the coffee ceremony. The beans are brought to your table so you can take in the aroma.
The fresh-roasted coffee is then brewed in a traditional clay pot called a jebena that is balanced on a straw ring. Hot water is added to the beans in three distinct brewings; the first is called abol, the second tona and the third baracka.
It is impolite to stop before the baracka, which is said to bestow a blessing. Luckily, the cups are very small.
Turkish and Bosnian Coffee
Turquoise Grill Brick Oven Bistro - 3701 Kirby Dr., 713-526-3800
Empire Turkish Grill - 12448 Memorial Dr., 713-827-7475
Cafe Pita - 10890 Westheimer, 713-953-7237
There were no bars or taverns in the alcohol-free Ottoman Empire, so the coffeehouse was the center of social life. And it was the Turks who gave us many of our coffeehouse traditions. My friends from Bosnia and Croatia consider it vaguely antisocial to drink coffee at home. You drink coffee in a coffeehouse. But having a Turkish or Bosnian coffee is not like knocking back a quick cup of joe in a diner — it's a social occasion.
The preparation of Turkish-style coffee is very complex. The powdery coffee grounds are slowly cooked with cold water over a gentle heat source in a single-serving copper ewer until the highly desirable foam forms on top and the fine grounds sink to the bottom. There are various methodologies; some call for double or triple heating.
In Turkish coffeehouses, you specify the degree of sweetness, and the sugar is mixed with the coffee during brewing. The four degrees of sweetness are sade (plain; no sugar), az sekerli (little sugar), orta sekerli (medium sugar), and çok sekerli (a lot of sugar). Bosnian coffee is served with sugar cubes. You put them in the bottom of the cup and pour the coffee over the top.
The coffee is often served on ornate copper platters. On each platter, you get a teaspoon and a saucer with a small, white, handle-less cup. There's also a long-handled copper ewer full of foamy hot coffee. The candy called lokum or Turkish delight is a traditional accompaniment.
The unfiltered coffee is hellaciously strong. When you get down to the thick layer of grounds in the bottom of the cup, you turn the cup over onto the saucer if you want your fortune read. Tasseomancy, as the witchcraft of reading fortunes in coffee grounds is known, is my favorite part of the Turkish coffee ritual.
Espresso Bars
Coffee Groundz - 2503 Bagby, 713-874-0082
Tuscany Premium Coffee - 5 E. Greenway Plaza, 713-961-0584
Catalina Coffee Shop - 2201 Washington Ave., 713-861-8448
Empire Cafe - 1732 Westheimer, 713-528-1847
Many, many locations
The first coffeehouse opened in the trading capital of Venice in 1640. It was modeled after the coffeehouses of the Ottoman Empire and served the same sort of Turkish coffee. The beverage was extremely popular, and by 1763 Venice had 218 coffee shops. The Muslim beverage gained in popularity across Italy when Pope Clement VIII declared it acceptable for Christians.
Espresso, which is made by forcing hot water under pressure through finely ground coffee, was invented in Italy around the beginning of the 20th century. Luigi Bezzera of Milan filed a patent for a lever-and-piston-operated espresso machine in 1901. Espresso became the base for other popular coffee drinks, including cappuccino, latte and macchiato.
In 1948, Gaggia introduced a spring-piston espresso machine that was capable of producing higher pressure. Cimbali introduced a hydraulic machine in 1956. In 1960, the first electric pump-operated espresso machine debuted — the FAEMA E61 began the history of the modern espresso bar.
Decent Restaurant Coffee
Houston's Restaurant - (several locations)
Kojak's Cafe - 1912 W. 18th St., 713-426-1800
Crave Cupcakes - 1151 Uptown Park Blvd., 713-622-7283
Kraftsmen Baking - 4100c Montrose, 713-524-3737
(Look for the golden arches)
The average cup of coffee in Houston is a cheap robusta blend brewed weak. For a good cup of coffee, look for some indication on the menu that the restaurant is using a 100 percent arabica blend. Believe it or not, McDonald's uses excellent coffee beans in its exclusive blend — too bad they brew it so weak. Upscale restaurants are your best bet. Many of Houston's top chefs have created their own exclusive blends.
Friday, October 23, 2009
Traditional Turkish Coffeehouses..
On my previous post there was a lovely photo of two men playing backgammon from Oytun Orgul. The photograph was taken in the Tahmis Coffeehouse in Gaziantep , a city in the south-eastern part of Turkey.
I have visited the very same coffeehouse couple years ago as most of the visitors of Gaziantep. Tahmis is a famous place as it was operated as a coffeehouse since 1903 by the members of the same family. During the Ottoman period, the building was known to built to supply income to the nearby lodge used by Mevlevi dervishes.
The first coffeehouses started to open in İstanbul in the 15th century. Along way to Starbucks... And since then they have played an important role in the Turkish culture. With the effect of the Islam while women entertain themselves inside the houses, men usually meet at a coffeehouse for recreation and communication. Traditionally it is a male dominated place.
A traditional coffeehouse is very much look like Tahmis, very basic furniture and a small kitchen for tea or coffee. While customers mostly chat, it is also very common to play backgammon and other card games. 
While the modern coffee shops and chains invaded the big streets of the cities, you could still find tradional coffeehouses everywhere. In big cities just look at the side streets or lower and middle income neighbourhoods. In rural areas, they are usually at the center of the town. Although it is a male dominated place, there is no law against women to enter other than the cultural values.
I usually like to spend some time at a coffeehouse, when we are visiting small villages. It is an excellent way to meet with the locals and learn all the gossip. Why coffeehouses are still very popular? Maybe you could find the answer in an old Turkish proverb; '' one cup of coffee is worth 40 years of friendship''
Sunday, September 13, 2009
Turkish coffee maker
Designed by architect Jean-Michel Wilmotte for Sawaya & Moroni.
(Image found at Cyberpresse.ca.)
Read more on this article...
Monday, August 3, 2009
Little cup, big tradition
By Leah Schaffer
It’s easy to get whisked away in the ambiance of a European city. Coming from a country with a history that began relatively recently, it is hard to resist the desire to mold myself into the rich history of a place.
I could tell from the minute I stepped off the bus that I was a foreigner. My clothes were different, my hair was different, my speech was different—everything about me screamed small-town America in the middle of the metropolis of Istanbul, Turkey. I immediately settled into a constant panic, trying to do whatever it took to blend in as best I could—as is the case for many travelers in new and unfamiliar places. It’s the reason why we fly through 13 gigabytes of digital camera memory; it’s why we “ooh” and “aah” over the sugary sweet compliments of shopkeepers and restaurant owners and then flock to whatever authentic goods they have to offer. You can buy a thousand evil eyes and dozens of ceramic plates or, if your pocket allows for it, even a couple of carpets. But if you really want to submerge yourself in the Turkish culture, you need to look no deeper than the bottom of the teeny, tiny Turkish coffee cup.
The first coffee to arrive in Turkey was brought by the Yemeni in 1543 during the reign of the Ottoman Empire. The Turkish people responded to the new coffee craze by establishing the world’s first coffeehouses a little more than 10 years later. Not unlike the atmosphere of Starbucks, they became places for people to read, play chess, and discuss music, art, and the latest town gossip. The Turkish term keyif, which means “idly enjoying the moment,” is used to describe the mood: imagine lounging around on plush cushions surrounding decorative pools with running water meant to soothe the senses. Walls to the left and right are covered with neat, little coffee cups and other small trinkets familiar to the coffee culture. Directly in front of you is one of the best panoramic views of the city. It may sound very much like posh coffeehouses tucked away in Manhattan or Los Angeles, but this was the making of a civilization in the mid-16th century. Despite being briefly banished after occasionally drawing large crowds prone to vandalism and flighting, coffee has brewed ever since to become an important component of Turkish culture.
At school in the United States, I carry an oversized coffee cup around with me through my day of classes, meetings, and daily routine. I claim it as a necessity and cling to it as a very part of my personality. Having left my coffee cup back at home, I was still determined to experience beans around the world—the aroma, the taste, the strength.
But as I would come to find out, Turkish coffee, though they know it as coffee in the most general sense, is extremely different from what we might expect from an American cup-o-joe from Starbucks. Much like Italian espresso, Turkish coffee arrives steaming in a small cup called a fincan, after being brewed for 15 or 20 minutes over charcoal in a small pot known as a cezve. It’s meant to be sipped. It isn’t just a grab and go sort of thing—it does not appeal to the American way of haste. Instead it has evolved into something which has a purpose that extends fully past the actual body of the brew.
There are several customs that surround the tradition of Turkish coffee. If I were a Turkish young woman of an age appropriate for marriage, my family would begin entertaining the parents of potential suitors.
Though my say in whom I marry may not exist in all cases, I do have a say in how the coffee is prepared for our guests. The parents of my suitor should expect a good cup of coffee as a sign of my potential to be a good wife, mother, and housekeeper. And, if I really don’t like the chump, I make a wickedly bad cup of coffee and convince his parents that their time would be better spent in another home. As the tradition goes, the woman prepares the coffee with a sweetness reflective of her desire for or against the marriage. Extra sweet means, “Let’s do this!” No sugar means, “No, thank you.” And in extreme cases a spoonful of salt might accidently be confused for the sugar, suggesting, “Over my dead body!” But, perhaps my favorite Turkish coffee tradition follows after the coffee is gone, when all that is left is your life’s fortune.
When we non-Turks make coffee, we grind the beans and filter the grounds in a compartment of the coffee maker so that when we pour the brew into our cup, we needn’t worry about anything unwanted floating about as we sip. The preparation of Turkish coffee, however, does not include this separation. So after sipping away the coffee, you are left with a very chalky, silt-like coffee ground substance at the bottom. Don’t be confused (as we all were at first) in thinking that you’re supposed to bottoms-up and deal with the grit on your teeth afterwards! That’s a mistake you definitely won’t want to make—not just because it leaves a black residue and bitter taste in your mouth, but because it leaves you with nothing left to read. Instead, take the saucer from beneath the cup and place it upside down on the top. Spin it in a full circle three times, and then carefully, holding the two tightly together, flip them so that the saucer is now right side up and the cup is upside down. Let it sit for some time.
Gradually, you’ll begin to see a little puddle creep from beneath the rim of the cup. In a little while, take the cup off the saucer and flip it back right side up and hand it to your friend. As the tradition goes, they will read the streaks of coffee grounds in the cup, using any shapes or images that have formed as a way to predict your relationships, your dreams, your shortcomings—anything they want, really (so choose your fortune readers carefully). Then, you’ll read your friend’s coffee grounds, so take revenge through your interpretation, if need be.
In the end, it’s not about the coffee. It’s not about how it’s made, where it comes from, what it’s served in. It’s not really even about the traditions that have developed around it. Apparently, most Turks nowadays actually prefer tea over coffee. But, coffee has remained an important axis around which society and relationships revolve. It’s a sign of hospitality and good wishes. It’s a way to bring people together and make them sit and enjoy each other’s company and conversation—slowly. According to the Turkish saying, “To drink one cup of coffee together guarantees 40 years of friendship.”
It was a Wednesday afternoon around lunchtime, and my friend and I were running around the city trying to complete our errands and grab a bite to eat before we needed to be somewhere else. It took a complete stranger standing in the middle of the walk to offer us a cup of Turkish coffee at his restaurant for us to slow down, stop trying to do everything a tourist is supposed to do in a few days in the city, and enjoy our surroundings. After we had thoroughly sipped our coffee, we reached into our pockets and asked him how much we owed him. He looked at us (with an extremely charming Turkish smirk, I might add) and shook his head. He wanted nothing but for us to have enjoyed ourselves and his coffee. We thanked him, grabbed our books that we had been reading, and sped off, realizing that we had been sitting there for over an hour and were running late.
Read more on this article...Thursday, July 9, 2009
Posted by shingirmingir
In the old days Turkish girls used to be brought up to make perfect coffee with a perfect amount of foam on the top of the small cup. Turkish coffee is not only aesthetically pleasant, but it tastes heavenly, as well; at least when it is made pure and strong, almost bitter, and with no milk or sugar. Whether or not a girl was considered a catch was defined after the level of her skills for making coffee. Unfortunately my parents never taught me to make perfect Turkish coffee, but my father did teach me to enjoy it; when I was younger he always made me smell the coffee before he put it on. Mmm…smell, he would say and would take a deep breath and fill my lungs with the aroma.
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Turkish coffee
I’m Steve Woolsey
Designer, Composer, Writer, Performer.
turkish coffee
June 24th, 2009
I have been trying to find a decent cup of Turkish coffee in the area for some time. I’ve even tried to find the right tools and ingredients to brew it at home. Ever since I first had a cup in the Czech Republic, it quickly ascended to the top of my beverage-based experiences.
I recently found a cafe not far from my apartment that serves said coffee. It’s called Sweetness 7 (corner of Grant & Lafayette in Buffalo). I had been there a few times prior, but hadn’t realized that the menu included this delicacy.
A few days ago I stopped over to try a cup (a mere $2!), and was surprised and impressed to find what lengths they went to provide an excellent Turkish coffee experience. It was served on a fancy little tray with a small cup for drinking, a small flask of cream, the entire pot of coffee straight off the stove, and one of the best walnut brownies I’ve had in some time.
This is an experience that I will seek out several times a week, for as long as I live in this city.
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Detailed instructions on making Turkish coffee
