Equipment to Prepare and Serve Turkish Coffee

It's thought that preparation of Turkish coffee is a hard and complex process. Also, it's believed that it needs a number of sophisticated equipment. However, this myth is not true. Once you learned it is very easy to prepare Turkish coffee. You just need some basic equipment.

To grind
As explained in preparation section, you can skip the grinding step by buying ground Turkish coffee. Therefore, you can prepare your Turkish coffee faster. Of course, you will have a better result by using freshly ground coffee beans.

If you decide to use grind your own coffee, you have two options:

- First one is to use a Turkish grinder (mill) (kahve degirmeni) to grind your coffee yourself. You can buy a special Turkish grinder online or you can ask your local coffee stores. (Please click on link for more information about manual coffee grinders.)

- Second option is to grind your coffee at your local grocery store. In the States, most of the grinders at your local grocery or coffee stores have a Turkish coffee setting.

Dark or medium roast are okay for Turkish coffee. The point is to have strong aroma and flavour. The end result of the grinding process should be powdery, something like baby powder (even finer than espresso coffee grounds). Don't forget, Turkish coffee is the finest grind of all coffee. So, you should grind your coffee as fine as possible.


To brew

• A narrow-topped small boiling pot
• A teaspoon
• A heating device

You can use any kind of pot that is narrow-topped. In Turkish, this kind of pot is called cezve. You can also find it under the name of "Turkish warmer". Traditionally, cezve is made of copper and has a wooden handle. But, there are also steel or other metals models of cezve. The size of the pot should depend on amount of coffee to be prepared. If you use a pot that is too large, at the end you will not have too much foam (kopuk), which is one of the critical indicators of a good Turkish coffee.

Teaspoon is used to put coffee and sugar (if you desire) to the pot and to stir. Normally, you should use 2 teaspoons of coffee (5 grams or 0.176 ounces) for per cup. Of course, it mainly depends on your taste. You may increase or decrease this measure. You can also use a teaspoon to stir coffee powder (and sugar).

You can use any regular heating device. The important point is not to use very strong heat source, as lower heat allows gentle heat transfer.

To serve

• Turkish coffee cup (fincan)

Turkish coffee represents a life style and a culture. So, you shouldn't drink it from ordinary cups. It is served in special cups that is called fincan in Turkish. It is about the size of espresso or sake cups. Turkish coffee cups are generally made of porcelain. They have a handle and a narrow bottom. In Turkey, you can't find a household without fincans. :)