Preparing Turkish Coffee in Sand

At the old times, brazier was a typical device used commonly in Turkish homes. As they were so indispensable, it was believed that person controlling the tongs of the braziers is at the highest level of the home hierarchy. Braziers were used to cook meals, heat up rooms and brew Turkish coffee.

Turkish coffee prepared over a brazier is called “kul kahvesi” in Turkish. It literally means “ash coffee”, since the coffee is brewed with coal ash located in a brazier.

Today, braziers are not common in Turkish homes any more. They are almost forgotten. I have to say finding such brewed coffee is really difficult nowadays. You can drink original kül kahvesi only at a few special restaurants. Or, if you are really lucky, you may meet with Turkish people who keep and use the traditional braziers.

However some people, especially older generations, still believe that coffee brewed over brazier is much better than coffee prepared over stove or with automatic machines. This belief motivated some Turkish companies to produce machines that simulate brazier heat. The logic behind this thinking is actually simple. They fill a metal container with sea sand and warm up the sand with electricity. A traditional coffee pot is placed in the hot sand, and that is all! The heat is gently transferred to the pot; therefore the pot received the same level of heat from all directions. This process allows brewing the coffee a little bit slower, but it is believed it is tastier. It takes about 3 to 4 minutes to prepare the coffee.

Maybe, these machines are not perfect substitute of taste of the traditional “kul kahvesi”. But, they offer chance of brewing Turkish coffee in a different and nostalgic way.