Word Verification for Comments

I have received enormous amount of spam comments since last two months. So, I have to add word verification for the comments. Sorry for taking your time, but I don't have any other option. Those spams have started to consume serious time...

Starting from now, if you want to leave a comment on Turkish Coffee Blog, then you should complete a quick word verification step. Thank you for your understanding coffee pals! :-)

A slight change in the name of the blog

Guys, I have just made a little change in the name of my lovely blog!

The old name (Mahir's Turkish Coffeehouse) is quite long. So, starting from today I use Turkish Coffee Blog as the blog title. Hope you like it! :-)

Brewing Turkish coffee in cup

An old and interesting way of preparing Turkish coffee is brewing it in a cup! Yes, you read it correctly! :-) Not in a pot, but in a Turkish coffee cup... In Turkish, this special Turkish coffee recipe is called "fincan kahvesi".

There are two alternative ways to prepare a fincan kahvesi:

1) Do nothing (lazy) way :)
The first method is actually is similar to the pot way. Just put coffee, and if you want sugar, as much as you desire into your cup. Then, place your cup on a heating device. Traditionally, the heating device is a brazier, as it is shown on the photograph below. Unlike the pot method, you do not need to stir or do anything else after this step. But, do not forget, the heat coming from the brazier should not be strong. Just keep your cup on the braizer for 2 or 3 minutes. Okay, now your coffee brewed in cup is ready to serve. Of course, you should be careful as the cup is really hot! :-)

2) A little bit hard work way
In this method, you start with pouring coffee (and if you want sugar) and hot water (just fill half of the cup) into your cup. Then place your cup on a heating device. Do not stir; just wait about half a minute. Then pour some more hot water to fill the cup. After this point, you should start stirring. When the cup is fulfilled with foam, take it from heating device and wait one minute before serving.

Preparing Turkish Coffee in Sand

At the old times, brazier was a typical device used commonly in Turkish homes. As they were so indispensable, it was believed that person controlling the tongs of the braziers is at the highest level of the home hierarchy. Braziers were used to cook meals, heat up rooms and brew Turkish coffee.

Turkish coffee prepared over a brazier is called “kül kahvesi” in Turkish. It literally means “ash coffee”, since the coffee is brewed with coal ash located in a brazier.

Today, braziers are not common in Turkish homes any more. They are almost forgotten. I have to say finding such brewed coffee is really difficult nowadays. You can drink original kül kahvesi only at a few special restaurants. Or, if you are really lucky, you may meet with Turkish people who keep and use the traditional braziers.

However some people, especially older generations, still believe that coffee brewed over brazier is much better than coffee prepared over stove or with automatic machines. This belief motivated some Turkish companies to produce machines that simulate brazier heat. The logic behind this thinking is actually simple. They fill a metal container with sea sand and warm up the sand with electricity. A traditional coffee pot is placed in the hot sand, and that is all! The heat is gently transferred to the pot; therefore the pot received the same level of heat from all directions. This process allows brewing the coffee a little bit slower, but it is believed it is tastier. It takes about 3 to 4 minutes to prepare the coffee.

Maybe, these machines are not perfect substitute of taste of the traditional “kül kahvesi”. But, they offer chance of brewing Turkish coffee in a different and nostalgic way.

Share Your Coffee Experience!

Why do not you share your Turkish coffee experience with me and all of the followers of this blog! :-)

You can join this coffee experience in two ways:

First, you can send me your Turkish coffee photos. While preparing, drinking, or any other exposure that captures you and Turkish coffee... (be creative! :)

Second, I would like to read your Turkish coffee stories. Please write me about your Turkish coffee experience.

I am going to publish all the photos and stories sent by you on my Turkish Coffee Blog's coffee experience section. I'm waiting for your contributions!!!

You can email Turkish Coffee Blog to share your coffee experience.