Turkish coffee

Turkish coffee (Turkish: Türk kahvesi) is a method of preparing unfiltered coffee. Roasted and then finely ground coffee beans are simmered (not boiled) in a pot (cezve), optionally with sugar, and served in a cup where the grounds are allowed to settle. At present, it is found in the Eastern Europe, North Africa, the Caucasus, the Balkans, and Middle East.

Turkish coffee is an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Turkey confirmed by UNESCO.

History

The earliest evidence of coffee drinking comes from 15th-century Yemen. By the late 15th century and early 16th century, coffee had spread to Cairo and Mecca. In the 1640s, the Ottoman Bosnian chronicler İbrahim Peçevi reported the opening of the first coffeehouse in Istanbul.

Name and variants

The word 'coffee' comes from the Arabic word قهوة qahwah. The importance of coffee in Turkish culture is evident in the words 'breakfast', kahvaltı, whose literal meaning is "before coffee" (kahve 'coffee' + altı 'under/before') and 'brown', kahverengi, whose literal meaning is, "the color of coffee".