Turkish COFFEE GRINDER, Salt - Pepper Mill (Medium B)

About Turkish Coffee:

Equipment

The necessary equipment to prepare Turkish coffee consists of a narrow-topped small boiling pot called an ibrik, cezve, dzezva, xhezve or bríki (basically a tiny ewer), a teaspoon and a heating apparatus. The ingredients are finely ground coffee, sometimes cardamon, cold water and (if desired) sugar. It is served in cups (fincan, fildzan,filxhan or flidzáni) similar in size to Italian espresso or Japanese sake cups. Some modern cups do have handles; traditional cups did not, and coffee was drunk either by handling the cup with the fingertips or, more often, by placing the cup in a zarf, a metal container with a handle.

Preparation

As with other ways of preparing coffee, the best Turkish coffee is made from freshly roasted beans ground just before brewing. A dark roast is preferable but even a medium roast coffee will yield a strong aroma and flavour. The grinding is done either by pounding in a mortar (the original method) or using a mill (the more usual method today), and the end result is a fine coffee powder. Beans for Turkish coffee are ground even finer than the grind used in pump-driven espresso makers; therefore, Turkish coffee should be powdery. It is the finest grind of coffee used in any style of coffee making.

For best results, the water must be cold. The amount of water necessary can be measured using the cups. The coffee and the sugar are usually added to water, rather than being put into the pot first. For each cup, between one and two heaped teaspoons of coffee are used. In Turkey, four degrees of sweetness are used. The Turkish terms and approximate amounts are as follows: sade (plain; no sugar), az sekerli (little sugar; half a levelled teaspoon of sugar), orta sekerli (medium sugar; one levelled teaspoon), and çok sekerli (a lot of sugar; one and a half or two levelled teaspoons). The coffee and the desired amount of sugar are stirred until all coffee sinks and the sugar is dissolved. Following this, the spoon is removed and the pot is put on the fire. No stirring is done beyond this point, as it would dissolve the foam. Just as the coffee begins boiling, the pot is removed from the fire and the coffee is poured into the cups.

A well-prepared Turkish coffee has a thick foam at the top (köpük in Turkish), is homogeneous, and does not contain noticeable particles in the foam or the liquid. This can be achieved only if cold water and a low heat are used. Starting with warm water or a strong heat does not leave enough time for either the coffee to sink or the foam to form. It is possible to wait an additional twenty seconds past boiling, which makes a homogeneous and delicious coffee, but the foam is completely lost. To overcome this, foam can be removed and put into cups earlier and the rest can be left to boil. In this case special attention must be paid to transfer only the foam and not the suspended particles.

Drinking and Tasteography

Turkish coffee is drunk slowly and is usually served with a glass of cold water to freshen the mouth to better taste the coffee before sipping, though sometimes, especially after dinner, with a small glass of mint liqueur. It is served with Turkish delight traditionally. In the Mediterranean and southeastern Turkey, pistachio grains (kakuli/menengiç) may be added into the coffee.