How coffee drinking became a national ritual in Turkey

2025-10-01 08:47:00, Blog CNA

To call Turkish coffee "just a drink" certainly understates it. Turkish coffee is a ritual, a conversation, and, as perhaps the ancestor of all modern coffees, is a nearly 500-year-old piece of history, inscribed by UNESCO on the list of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

Its roots go back even further. Lani Kingston, an associate professor at Portland State University, says a single coffee bean dating back to the 12th century was found at an archaeological site in the United Arab Emirates. By 1350, coffee serving utensils appeared in Turkey, Egypt, and Persia.

But the story of Turkish coffee doesn't begin in Turkey, but in Yemen. In the 15th century, Sufi mystics are said to have consumed it to stay awake during long nights of prayer and devotion. In 1538, when Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent, known in Europe as Suleiman the Magnificent, invaded Yemen, coffee found its way to the Ottoman Empire. Within a year, the beans had reached Constantinople - the ancient city that is now Istanbul.

In 1539, the famous Ottoman admiral Hayreddin Barbarossa registered a property that included a "kahve odas?" or coffee room.

By the 1550s, the first “kahvehans,” or coffeehouses, began to appear in Istanbul. The drink’s newfound popularity quickly reshaped cultural life. The Ottoman method of preparing coffee in a cezve-ibrik, a practice also practiced in Greece but with roots in Ethiopia, became the hallmark of traditional Turkish coffee. As gastronomy scholar Merin Sever explains, the fundamental difference between Turkish coffee and other coffees is that cezve-ibrik is essentially a cooking process; it is not boiled, but “cooked” in water like a broth, producing an unfiltered beverage.

Coffeehouses were controversial. Religious scholars and political leaders throughout Asia and Europe viewed them as places for subversive activities and idle chatter. The governor of Mecca, Hay?r Bey, banned coffee in the city in 1511, a decree that would last 13 years, due to concerns that it would lead to extremist ideas. Ottoman sultans repeatedly closed coffeehouses for similar fears. However, they never completely disappeared. Even in 17th-century England, King Charles II tried to close them, suspecting that anti-royal rebellion and treasonous talk were taking place in those coffeehouses.

Turkish coffee in modern times

How coffee drinking became a national ritual in Turkey

Nowadays, coffee is the unofficial drink in Turkey. It also serves as an excuse for people to meet. As in many countries, when two friends who have been far apart want to have a chat, they say: "Let's have coffee." In Turkey, this means something more specific: "Come to my place, friend, and I will make you a cup of Turkish coffee."

The preparation ritual is precise and careful, involving a small, long-handled pot called a cezve, placed over a fire, preferably hot coals or sand. The best coffee beans are slowly brewed to release a rich flavor and create a beautiful surface layer of foam, considered a sign of quality.

A well-made Turkish coffee should be served hot and with the foam intact, along with a glass of water and a piece of Turkish delight. The water cleanses the palate, while the Turkish delight balances the bitterness of the drink.

Coffee etiquette is equally important. Although it is served in small cups, it should be drunk calmly and slowly, not in a rush like an espresso. This gives the coffee time to dry and keeps it at the bottom of the cup.

When the cup is empty, it is time for the ritual of tasseography, or reading the coffee in the cup. The cup is inverted onto its saucer, allowed to cool, and then the shapes and symbols perceived in the remaining coffee are "read" for meaning.

Coffee rituals in Turkey find their way into other national traditions as well. During the courtship period, a bride-to-be prepares and serves Turkish coffee to her groom and his family. As a test of his character, she adds a generous amount of salt to the groom's coffee. If he drinks it without complaining, he proves his patience, maturity, and worth.

The journey of Turkish coffee around the world then and now

How coffee drinking became a national ritual in Turkey

But coffee didn't just stay in Turkey, it soon moved west. The Venetians were the first to encounter it through trade links. In 1652, in London, Pasqua Rosée opened what is believed to be the city's first coffeehouse on St. Michael's Lane.

For a penny, patrons could drink as much as they wanted while joining in lively conversation. Like the "kahvehane" of Turkey, these "penny universities" were centers of news, politics, and, sometimes, dissent. Specifically, they were places of male dissent. Women were not allowed to drink coffee in either culture, but in London women could at least work in a coffeehouse.

Nowadays, a lot of work is being done to introduce Turkish coffee to the world. Ay?e Kapusuz organizes Turkish coffee job fairs in London, while in New York, Uluç Ülgen, also known as Dr. Honeybrew, runs the Turkish Coffee Hall, offering theatrical coffee drinking and fortune-telling sessions.

"Despite the bitter taste of Turkish coffee, Americans drink it to the last drop for the cup-reading display," he says.

Where to drink good coffee in Istanbul

How coffee drinking became a national ritual in Turkey

To enjoy a true coffee experience in Turkey, Kapusuz advises finding a place where it is slowly brewed in cezves, preferably over hot sand, and served warm with thick foam, plus Turkish delight and water.

In Istanbul, Kapusuz recommends Haf?z Mustafa, Mandabatmaz on ?stiklal Street and Nuri Toplar in the city's Egyptian Bazaar. For a modern twist, Hac? Bekir in Kad?köy is suggested.

Coffee cup readings can be found in Istanbul's Sultanahmet district or near Tünel in Beyo?lu, but researcher Do?an suggests a more personal approach, as the experience is more about storytelling and human connection than fortune-telling. This could simply mean asking a local coffee drinker for help in finding the surprise story waiting at the bottom of a cup./ CNA