6 Tips to Make Turkish Coffee

Do you want to make Turkish coffee at home, but you do not know how? Making this coffee is very easy, especially when you have the full recipe, tools, and ingredients.

Turkish coffee, as the name suggests, originates from Turkey. But, other regions have borrowed the Turkish brewing culture. You can find Turkish coffee in the Middle East, North Africa, and Eastern Europe.

For a coffee lover who loves a strong cup of coffee, you need to try this coffee. It has a high caffeine concentration and moderate sugar. 

If you’re interested in learning how to make it, then you are in the right place. At Papascoffee, we help beginners, baristas, and coffee lovers who love to brew coffee at home.

Let’s get started.

What is Turkish Coffee?

Turkish coffee is made by combining finely ground coffee beans, sugar, and water. The mixture is placed on hot sand or heat to boiling. It has a strong aroma with a thick and frothy foam.

This type of coffee is different from other coffee beverages like espresso and cappuccino.

To brew, you need extra finely ground coffee than that of the espresso coffee. You can buy the pre-ground coffee from a store. But this does not mean that you can’t grind fresh coffee beans at home. 

You can use your manual or automatic coffee grinder to grind whole coffee beans. 

What Do You Need to Make Turkish Coffee?

Making this type of coffee is very easy. You will need:

1. Coffee (coffee beans or pre-ground coffee)
2. Coffee grinder for the coffee beans
3. Coffee pot
4. Water
5. Sugar
6. Spoon

A Turkish coffee pot has different names. That is Ibrik or Cezve. It has a long handle, and the material used to make it is copper or brass.

How to Make Turkish Coffee

Before brewing coffee, there are three things you need to have in mind. Unlike other coffee beverages like espresso, which require a filter, Turkish coffee does not need one. 

It is an unfiltered coffee, brewed in pot or cezve and served in small cups. Did you know that you can also make Turkish coffee using sand? We’ll also give you a brewing recipe using sand.

The reason why the coffee should be extra fine is that it is unfiltered. You take your coffee with the grinds too. You can also use a Turkish coffee maker to make coffee.

Last update on 2023-09-24 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API

In our Turkish coffee recipe, we’ll be making 2 cups of coffee. 

What you need:

1. Coffee pot
2. 3 cups of cold water
3. Two scoops of finely ground coffee
4. Sugar
5. Source of heat

Method:

1. Add three cups of cold water to the coffee pot or cezve.
2. Add two scoops of finely ground coffee into the pot. Also, add sugar to the mixture. Do not stir.
3. Place the pot with the mixture on medium to low heat. 
4. When the coffee starts to sink, stir the mixture to dissolve the sugar. This should take you 3-4 minutes.
5. Stir the mixture several times until there is form. Be careful not to overmix.
6. When the bubbles start to appear, lower the heat or remove the pot from the heat source. The bubbles should be small in size.
7. Place the pot on the heat source and wait for a thick foam to appear. Be careful not to let the mixture boil. Therefore, you should be using low heat. 
8. If the mixture comes close to a boiling stage, remove the pot from the heat source. Repeat this process one more time for even dense foam.
9. After the repeat process, wait for the coffee to settle, then serve it hot in a small cup.

As with the Turkish people, add spices to enhance the flavor of the coffee. These spices are cardamom and cinnamon. The coffee spices should be finely ground to taste.

You can also add a drop of milk to the coffee. 

How to use Turkish Coffee Sand

You can also use sand as your heat regulator. Yes! You read it right, sand. You place it on a pan, then heat it. The sand acts as a heat regulator. The coffee pot sits deep into the sand. 

Here is how you make sand Turkish coffee. We will use the recipe above. 

What you need:

1. Coffee pot
2. 3 cups of cold water
3. Two scoops of finely ground coffee
4. Sugar
5. Source of heat
6. Pan/wok

Method:

1. Fill the pan/wok with sand. Place it on a burner or heat source and turn the heat up high. The sand should be so hot that you cannot place your bare hands. 
2. Grind your coffee beans finely. The ground coffee should be extra fine than the one used for espresso.
3. Add three cups of cold water into the coffee pot. Next, add sugar to the water. Finally, add the two scoops of finely ground coffee. Do not stir.
4. Place the coffee pot in the sand. The deeper the coffee pot goes into the hot sand, the better it is for heat distribution. 
5. Place hot sand around the coffee pot.
6. As the water heats up and the coffee starts to sink, stir the mixture to dissolve the sugar.
7. Stir the mixture several times, but be careful not to overmix. In about 3 minutes, the coffee brewing will begin to foam.
8. Wait for the mixture to produce a thick foam. Be careful not to wait for the coffee to boil. If it comes close to boiling, remove the pot from the hot sand.
9. Repeat the process once or twice, depending on the desired foam. Wait for close to twenty seconds before returning the coffee pot to the heat source.
10. After the sediments settle, serve the coffee in small Turkish cups. You can also use espresso cups.

Also, depending on preference, add the ground spices to taste. The small Turkish cups help in retaining the foam. That is how you make this coffee.

Be careful when removing the pot from the hot sand. You can get burns if the sand spills on your hand.

However, the sand method may be a bit slow for someone who is in a hurry. To save time, you can use the first recipe. It is easy to make and does not require barista skills.

How to brew Turkish coffee with a Saucepan

If you do not have a cezve or coffee pot at home, you can use a saucepan to brew coffee. Here is what you will need to brew coffee.

What you need:

1. Two cups of filtered water.
2. One tablespoon of finely ground coffee.
3. Saucepan

To brew coffee with a saucepan, follow the method above, and brew to your desired taste. A saucepan works well when making coffee for two to three people.

A saucepan also produces foam like a Turkish pot. One of the tricks of using a saucepan is to use one that is the same size as the people serving.

That is, if you are making coffee for two to three people, use a small saucepan.

How to Serve Turkish coffee

After the ground coffee settles at the bottom, serve the coffee in small cups. But that is not all.

The coffee is served with a glass of cold or room temperature water. The cold water helps to clear the palate before drinking coffee. It helps you enjoy the full flavor of the coffee.

Besides water, it is also served with chocolate or candy. Remember to wait for the sediments to settle, then sip your coffee.

6 Tips to Make Turkish Coffee

To make authentic and delicious coffee, you need to have the right recipe. It is easy to make and does not take a long time to brew. Check the tips below to make this coffee.

1. Finely ground coffee

You can buy pre-ground Turkish coffee from a coffee store. Also, if you prefer to grind your coffee beans, use the finest grind. The best grinder for the coffee beans is a manual grinder.

The coffee to use has to be extra fine than the one used for espresso and cappuccino. You may use any coffee, but Arabica seems to be the most preferred choice.

2. Coffee pot

If you do not have a Turkish pot or cezve at home, you may consider getting one. It is designed for making this type of coffee. It has a long handle and is made of copper material. 

It protects the barista from getting burnt. The pots come in different sizes. Other than the handle, it also has a lip for pouring coffee into a cup. 

3. Thick Foam

When making this coffee, you need thick foam. Do not bring the coffee to a boil so as to retain the foam. Also, when serving, serve coffee in small cups so that the foam does not evaporate.

The thick foam is part of the coffee. To have a dense foam in your coffee, repeat the brewing process once more or twice. In the repeat process, do not bring the coffee to the boiling stage.

4. Serving 

Serve the coffee with a glass of cold or warm water. It helps to clean the palate before enjoying a cup of coffee. 

You can also serve it Turkish delights like chocolate or sweets. Since the coffee has a high caffeine concentration, you may require something to neutralize the taste.

Adding spices to the coffee adds up to the taste. Use cardamom or cinnamon spices to taste. Grind the flavored spices finely to mix with coffee. 

5. Use cold water

Use cold, filtered water in the initial stage of the coffee-making process. It helps in making a quality Turkish brew. Start by adding the right amount of water, add sugar then, lastly add coffee.

Filtered water does not contain water impurities or minerals. They can interfere with the original taste of the coffee. 

6. Use low heat

When making Turkish coffee, maintain low to medium heat. Do not rush the coffee-making process. The low heat contributes to the thick foam.

With low heat, you will stir the mixture two to three times before getting the thick foam. Remove the pot from the heat source once the bubbles appear.

Most popular Turkish coffee brands

If you have pre-ground coffee, remember to keep it in an air-tight container. It can get stale faster if left exposed. Also, make sure that you store it in a dry area. It needs to be fresh for each brew.

The best brands to use are: 

Kurukahveci Mehmet Efendi Turkish Coffee

Last update on 2023-09-26 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API

Kurukahveci contains pure ground coffee that is caffeinated. Use one tablespoon or 5 grams of coffee to prepare a small pot of Turkish coffee. 

Al Ameed Gourmet Turkish Ground Coffee

Last update on 2023-09-26 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API

Al Ameed Coffee has medium roast, ground coffee that is 100% Arabica. It has cardamom spice to enhance the taste of the coffee. The coffee beans preserve the freshness and aroma of the coffee. 

Pros and Cons of Drinking Turkish coffee

Is That All for The Coffee?

Brewing Turkish coffee is very easy. You need to have finely ground coffee, a cezve or coffee pot, and the recipe. 

If you do not have a Turkish pot, you can use a saucepan to brew. There are two brewing methods, and so you use one that works best for you. Don’t forget to stir coffee several times to make a thick foam.

The coffee should not boil. Since it is highly caffeinated, serve it with cold water or Turkish delights. 

And that is how easy it is to make Turkish coffee. Have you made it before, and how was your experience?