A Taste of Turkish Coffee
Aug 09, 2022 • 2 min Read
In the Philippines during the 80s and earlier, coffee was commonly taken as a pep formula to invigorate the day and edge the thought processes. The more common brews were black, with milk and sugar, and Irish coffee. There were no espresso and its various blends then, simply because there were no espresso machines nor there were coffee shops that we know of today.
Coffee consumption in the country had now evolved from the individual’s pep formula to a community drink in a specialty hub called coffee shops. The different coffee blends make the consumers’ tastes more discriminating. Coffee becomes the drink among friends, drinks to discuss business or life’s probabilities, or even just for savoring one’s reveries.
Reveries became more interesting when Mr. Hayrullah Yasar introduced us to Turkish Coffee. Coffee is a traditional Turkish drink and ingrained in their culture. Hayrullah shared that coffee is always a part of a Turkish celebration whether it’s a Bairam (either of the two Muslim festivals falling at the end of Ramadan), a festivity, or a wedding. He said that there is a Turkish adage that says, ‘a cup of Turkish coffee will be remembered for 40 years.’ It must be that good to have the taste lingers for that long. He said that Turkish people considers coffee as, ‘the stimulant of the heart and mind and a mysterious beverage that strengthens friendship and takes your tiredness away during the day.’ Hayrullah’s description mystifies. The commonality with us though is that coffee relaxes, invigorates, and fosters friendship. The choices of beans are either arabica or robusta.
The difference is that coffee has been with the Turkish people since 1543, or even earlier, when coffee beans obtained from Yemen were introduced to the Ottoman capital. Turkish coffee is made from very finely ground Coffea arabica beans and brewed by boiling in the traditional copper pots called cezve. It is thicker, more aromatic, and foaming when served. Turkish coffee is not filtered and served with the ground. The Turkish way is that it served in cups called fincans. Although Hayrullah said that it can be boiled in the boiling pot. It is also said that more nutrient values are in the Turkish coffee since it is unfiltered and from finely ground beans. Turkish coffee and the tradition surrounding it has been included on the UNESCO List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2013 in recognition of its cultural importance as a sign of hospitality, friendship, and kindness.
Indeed, coffee fosters friendship whether in the present coffee shops or by way of cultural traditions.
The two famous Turkish coffee brands Kurukahveci Mehmet Efendi and Ülker are being distributed by DeyHay Enterprise. These products can be accessed through their Lazada shop deyhay-enterprise and FB Page DeyHayEnterprise.