There are many questions and thoughts surrounding Turkish coffee, which is one of the topics that most intrigues tourists visiting Istanbul and Turkey. As a historian and tour guide who was born and raised in Istanbul, I have decided to answer many questions about Turkish coffee culture in a single article. I wanted to share not only the questions most frequently asked by my guests during my tours, but also details you won’t find anywhere else.
I’ll begin by summarising what Turkish coffee is and what we know about its history. I’ll then explain how you should drink Turkish coffee, what it tastes like, what makes it so special, and even how you can make it at home. As an Istanbul-based tour guide, I’ll also share my personal recommendations for the best places to enjoy Turkish coffee in Istanbul – venues I’ve visited myself.
If you’re all set, let’s dive in!
Turkish Coffee and Its History
The Journey of Coffee to Become Turkish Coffee
We do not know exactly where the word ‘coffee’ originates. According to a widely held view, ‘coffee’ is a word of Arabic origin, deriving from the words ‘kahva’ or ‘qahwah’. In Arabic dictionaries and poetry from the Middle Ages, it appears with the meaning of ‘wine’. Many believe this name originated from the fact that people formerly called the region in Abyssinia (Ethiopia) where coffee grows ‘Kaffa‘.
Its Latin name is “Coffea arabica.” This refers to a plant belonging to the Rubiaceae family, growing to a height of 7–8 metres, and to the beans it produces. The renowned 17th-century scholar Katip Çelebi states that a man named ‘Sheikh Abu’l-Hasan al-Shazeli‘ discovered coffee in 1258 during his pilgrimage to Mecca. People traditionally regard al-Shazeli as the inventor of this miraculous beverage. He reputedly boiled and drank the coffee beans someone gave him during a conversation.
According to another account, however, shepherds tending herds of goats and camels noticed that their animals became more lively after eating the fruit of a certain tree, and they recounted this to their dervish. The dervish Shazeli then boiled the fruit of this tree and drank it, and found that he too experienced the same vitality.
The local people knew the coffee plant, which grows in Abyssinia (Ethiopia). Coffee, which thrives in the soil of Yemen, entered the food and drink culture as a solid foodstuff before people used it as a liquid beverage. People ground the coffee beans into a flour and consumed them in the form of a kind of bread.
It was the Arabs who, in the 14th–15th centuries, were the first to use the coffee plant—brought from Abyssinia (Ethiopia) to Yemen—not for its fruit but by harvesting its beans, thereby creating the hot drink we know today.
The Origins of Turkish Coffee
In the 16th century, Istanbul became the final destination of the Yemen-Egypt coffee trade. According to the historian Solakzade (a 17th-century Ottoman historian), Muslim merchants brought coffee to Istanbul in 1519 in the years following Selim I’s campaign against Egypt.
Records indicate that people were consuming coffee in Istanbul as early as the mid-1510s. Coffee reached Istanbul via Muslim merchants, travelling through the cities of Yemen, Jeddah, Cairo and Alexandria. Ships carrying coffee from Alexandria arrived in Istanbul, and merchants distributed it throughout the city from Eminönü, where the large warehouses were located. Today, Eminönü still retains its status as the centre of Turkish coffee in Istanbul.
Some sources, however, state that coffee arrived in the Ottoman Empire, and specifically in Istanbul, in the mid-16th century. According to these sources, two men named Hakem from Aleppo and Şems from Damascus brought coffee to Istanbul and ensured that its consumption became widespread there.
Historians generally accept that the first coffeehouses in Istanbul opened in the early 1550s. So coffee must have arrived in Istanbul no earlier than the beginning of the 16th century and no later than the 1540s. This beverage attracted widespread public interest as it evolved into Turkish coffee. By the 1550s, it had already become a much sought-after drink in coffeehouses.
What is Turkish Coffee?
People call the method of preparing and brewing coffee invented by the Turks “Turkish coffee.” Although the same coffee plant produces the coffee beans used in other types of coffee, Turkish coffee differs from them in terms of its preparation and presentation. For this reason, with its distinctive aroma, foam, flavour, brewing method and presentation, it has developed its own unique tradition and identity.
Another distinctive feature of Turkish coffee is that people are the only ones who consume it with its grounds, setting it apart from other coffees consumed worldwide. It is the oldest coffee brewing method in the world, consisting of foam, grounds and coffee. People boil it before drinking, unlike other types of coffee. Compared to other types of coffee, it contains less caffeine.
The writings of authors and foreign travellers, as well as wars and conquests, have made it known. Its preparation and presentation have become synonymous with Turkish identity. This led people to name it ‘Turkish coffee’.
Although Turkey does not grow coffee, it has become world-famous under the name ‘Turkish Coffee’. It has made many people very curious about it. This is due to coffee’s very early introduction to the Turkish world, its rapid acceptance, and the development of a cultural milieu centred around this beverage.
Coffee’s Journey to Europe
Long after people first began drinking coffee in Istanbul, Ottoman merchants introduced it to Italy, then to France. It then spread throughout Europe. The Ottomans introduced coffee to Venice in the 17th century. Venice was the first centre in the Western world where the habit of drinking coffee took root.
It was first brought to Italy in 1624 by a diplomat on an official mission for the Ottoman Empire. As merchants brought only a small quantity at that time, the Ottomans did not properly introduce coffee to Venice until 1640, when they brought it there again in the same manner.
Coffee had spread to Europe thanks to travellers and merchants. But it only truly became famous after the Ottoman Siege of Vienna in 1683. The Ottoman Empire’s armies were defeated in the siege and withdrew from Vienna. They left behind a large quantity of coffee. A man had served as an interpreter between the Ottomans and Vienna during the war. He was familiar with the taste of coffee. In return for his services at the end of the war, he took all 500 sacks of coffee the Ottomans left behind. He then opened the first coffeehouse in Vienna.
Coffee Spreads in Europe for the First Time
Following the Siege of Vienna, coffee spread throughout the city. It was the Ottomans who introduced it to Hungary, Poland and Czechoslovakia.
Coffee was also first introduced to France in 1669 through the Turkish ambassador Süleyman Ağa. As a result, it became an indispensable habit for many of the era’s prominent figures.
Coffee had now become a source of attraction. Although smugglers sometimes carried it out due to the financial gains it brought to the Ottoman Empire, the authorities turned a blind eye to this trade. In 1739, some thirty to forty ships carried cargo from Egypt to Genoa, Sicily, Messina, Ancona and Malta rather than to Istanbul. This offers the most significant evidence of this.
The Birth of Coffeehouses and the Coffeehouses of Istanbul
The tradition of drinking coffee has been around for approximately five centuries. People believe the first coffeehouses appeared in 1511. People think someone opened the first coffeehouse next to a mosque in Mecca. Shortly afterwards, coffeehouses began to open in various cities across Arabia, as well as in Aleppo, Cairo and Damascus. By the middle of the same century, coffeehouses had also appeared in Istanbul.
Although some say the first coffeehouse in Istanbul opened in 1554, many people hold differing views on this matter.
The German researcher Wolfgang Land states that the first coffeehouse in Europe opened in Istanbul in 1551. The Turkish historian İsmail Hami Danışmend claims it began operating in 1555 during the reign of Suleiman the Magnificent. Nevertheless, we know that there were around fifty coffeehouses in Istanbul during the later years of Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent’s reign. According to Ali Mustafa Efendi, a historian of the period, coffeehouses first appeared in Istanbul in 1553. The Arab world had long known them.
The Ottoman Empire had two types of tradespeople involved in the coffee trade. One group consisted of those who ran coffeehouses. The other comprised those who sold coffee. In Istanbul, during the 1600s, there were 70 coffeehouses, run by 100 people. During the same period, there were 300 shops selling coffee, employing 500 people.
The Turks introduced not only coffee but also coffee houses to Europe
We know that, roughly a century later, coffeehouses spread from the Ottoman world to major European cities such as Vienna, Paris and London. Coffeehouses first became widespread in Arabia, Iran and Anatolia during the 16th century. From the 17th century onwards, they became fashionable and began to proliferate in Europe as well.
People say that the English adopted the clubs common among them from Turkish culture, and these subsequently spread throughout Europe. The culture centred around Turkish coffee and coffeehouses is so extensive that some Western travellers have devoted their writings solely to these subjects. Many Greek words relating to coffee and coffeehouse culture are, with certain variations, of Turkish origin.
In these establishments, people from all walks of life and all social classes would gather; they read books and held conversations.
Interesting Fact: The Mobile Coffee Vendor
Over time, this drink – which coffee lovers came to call the ‘black pearl’ – has become an indispensable part of our lives, and mobile coffee vendors began to appear in Istanbul. These mobile coffee vendors operated in areas where access to coffeehouses was difficult. Until before the First World War, these vendors could be found in mosque squares, parks and marketplaces.
The 3 Best Places to Enjoy Turkish Coffee in Istanbul
1- Eminönü – Kurukahveci Mehmet Efendi
2- If you’re in the Grand Bazaar – Şark Kahvesi
3- If you’re in Kadıköy (Asian Side) – Fazıl Bey’in Türk Kahvesi
Turkish Coffee FAQs
What makes Turkish coffee so special?
The key characteristics that make Turkish coffee special are its preparation, presentation and flavour. With its pleasant aftertaste, texture and aroma, it stands out from other types of coffee, offering its consumers a unique experience. This experience, which begins with the aroma wafting from a distance even before it reaches the table, reaches a whole new level with the pleasure it brings whilst drinking and the Turkish delight served alongside it. As such, it is very difficult to find a more satisfying drink than Turkish coffee.
What does Turkish coffee taste like?
Compared to other types of coffee consumed around the world, it is more aromatic, smoother and thicker. Its flavour lingers on the palate for a long time. Depending on the brewing method (over an open flame, on embers or in ashes), it can develop different flavours. A classic Turkish coffee is easy to drink and highly satisfying. As it is boiled rather than brewed, it has a more developed flavour. Contrary to popular belief, it is not bitter; instead, it is well-balanced and leaves a flavour that lingers throughout the drinking experience and even afterwards.
How is Turkish coffee prepared at home?
Cooking over an open flame, on embers and in ash are the most prominent traditional cooking methods. As a result, even dishes made using the same ingredients develop different tastes, flavours and colours. The traditional method of brewing Turkish coffee involves simmering it slowly over charcoal, embers or sand. Turkish coffee brewed in ashes, in particular, remains the primary brewing method to this day, just as it has been throughout history. The one thing that cannot be found anywhere else but in Turkey today is frothy Turkish coffee, slowly brewed in a copper cezve over wood ash.
How is Turkish coffee drunk?
Serving water in a glass alongside Turkish coffee is a fundamental ritual. The aim is to cleanse the mouth before drinking the coffee and prepare it to fully appreciate the coffee’s flavour. The water creates a neutral environment in the mouth, allowing the coffee’s flavour to come through more clearly. In other words, the water served with Turkish coffee is drunk before the coffee, not afterwards. It is always served with Turkish delight. The sequence is as follows: first the water, then the Turkish coffee; after drinking the coffee, one waits a little while, and the feast concludes with Turkish delight.
What is the difference between Turkish coffee and regular coffee?
The most notable difference with Turkish coffee is the method of preparation. Whilst coffees around the world are prepared using a brewing method, Turkish coffee is prepared by boiling. Another difference is that, as the grounds settle at the bottom in Turkish coffee, there is no need to filter or strain it. It is considered healthier as the grounds that accumulate at the bottom are not consumed. Culturally, it is also favoured in ceremonies such as the ‘engagement’ ceremony held before marriage (where it is served whilst seeking the bride’s family’s consent). In this context, whilst everyone in the room drinks the familiar Turkish coffee, the coffee prepared for the prospective groom is deliberately made salty. The aim here is as much to test the groom’s patience as it is a form of jest. In other words, Turkish coffee, unlike other types of coffee, is always at the centre of the rituals experienced within society.
A Visual History of Turkish Coffee in Istanbul
Conclusion
For us Turks, coffee is something we value greatly; it is a very important part of our culture. So much so that we say, ‘A cup of coffee is remembered for 40 years.’ Accordingly, conversations over coffee are that important to us.
I’ll continue to share insights from Istanbul and Turkey that you won’t find anywhere else. You can access these posts on my blog. Your feedback is important to me. I reply to all emails and messages sent to my social media accounts. You can contact me directly via the contact form here.
See you next time!
