Perfect Cup of Turkish Coffee
In Turkey, filtered coffee is almost non-existent. It's either instant coffee, brands like Nescafe, or the intangible cultural heritage of the Turks, Turkish Coffee. In Istanbul, first coffeehouse were established in the mid 1500's.
Coffee has a significant cultural role in Turkey. It even lends its name to Turkish words like "kahvalti" (breakfast) which means "before coffee", and "kahverengi" (brown) which means "the color of coffee". Unlike filtered coffee, fine-grained Turkish Coffee is prepared with cold water, and then boiled in a "cezve" and allowed to settle before serving.
But beware! Although Turkish Coffee is available everywhere, from restaurants to patisseries to hotels and teahouses, not all prepare it "perfectly". Designated coffehouses usually do a good job, but even they differ - as I found out after drinking this pictured "perfect cup". If you are ever in Izmir, and want a "perfect cup", visit the historic Kizlaragasi Hani in Kemeralti Historic Market. The coffeeshop is on the second floor.
More coffee history in another post.
