turkish coffee (success!)

[Wanderer]

I’ve been eating at a Turkish restaurant near my office lately. The food is excellent and hearty. The other day, I brought my girlfriend, and decided to linger after dinner over Turkish coffee for the first time.

The coffee I had at the restaurant was thick, milk chocolate colored, with a hint of suspended ultra-fine coffee grounds, and a delicate foam on the surface. After I had drank the cup, there was a thick sludge of grounds at the bottom of the cup.

I’ll link an image that’s pretty close to what I had, but it’s really too big to embed:
http://img241.imageshack.us/img241/2844/turkishcoffeepe0.jpg

I was adventurous and took it black, but it came with some sugar already brewed into the coffee, I could tell. The flavor was rich, creamy, and had none of those harsh and bitter volatiles that make me detest coffee. You know how coffee beans smell awesome, but after you brew them, they taste like crap? Yeah, well, this was the opposite of that This coffee captured all of the subtle aromas of the coffee, without any of the volatile bitterness.

What a delight! It was so good, I forced myself to taste the copious amounts of sediment in the bottom of the cup. That was a gritty mistake. In fact, we were both so moved, I bought her an ibrik (Turkish coffeepot) for her birthday, so we could have it at home and remind us of the moment we shared at the restaurant.

Unfortunately, instead of being like delicious mud, our first attempt last night ended up more like espresso: black, a little bitter, hardly any foam and almost no sediment. I’ve seen pictures on the internet of this kind of “turkish coffee” but it’s not at all what I was looking for. If I had drunk this at the restaurant, I would never have ordered an ibrik. It really wasn’t the magical gift I was hoping it’d be.

I originally started this post to ask if anyone had any experience with this kind of coffee, if perhaps my technique was bad, or if I was using the wrong kind of coffee (though I’m using arabica beans ground ultra-fine as they should be). I theorized that adding more coffee and less water to the ibrik might be the solution, and emailed my guesses home a few minutes ago.

While I was posting, my girlfriend just sent me a message that the proportions I came up with produced coffee “just like the restaurant” so now I can’t wait to get home to have some!

[MTGuru]

It’s been years since I went through my briki / ibirk phase, thanks to a Greek girlfriend many moons ago. But it sounds like your problem is mostly in the technique. You really need to get the swirling rhythm right to keep the grounds in suspension. Raise the foam at least several times, and especially immediately before pouring. And I never found any pre-ground coffee that suited, only home-grinding to a fine powder just before brewing. If done right, the grounds shouldn’t be bitter at all, and hard-core kafephiloi will take up some of the grounds with a finger. Serving in a real flintzani cup without a handle, not an espresso cup, also improves the experience, IMO.

[peeplj]

Question, if you don’t mind: what kind of coffee beans are you using? What roast?

Thanks.

–James

[Wanderer]

@peeplj

Question, if you don’t mind: what kind of coffee beans are you using? What roast?

Thanks.

–James

arabica beans, ground into a powder (even finer than espresso). I don’t know what roast, but I’d assume some kind of medium roast from the smell.

@MTGuru

But it sounds like your problem is mostly in the technique.

I think it was probably the amounts. I put in about 2 heaping tsp of grounds for my ibrik. Instead of floating on top of the water and foaming, it immediately got wet, sank, and boiled, which took forever.

So I told her to try 2 tbs instead. It seemed to do the trick. She said it floated and sealed the neck of the ibrik as it should, foamed just right at a lower temp (did not boil), and tasted just like the restaurant.

[I.D.10-t]

Something like this

@Bloomfield

@Innocent Bystander

@Bloomfield (revised)

1. Put cold water into ibrik
2. Add sugar OPTIONAL
3. Add very-finely-ground turkish coffee
4. Boil in ibrik (low heat) until it reaches the top of the ibrik.
   4a. Let the coffee cool down a little and boil it again.
   4b. and boil it again.
   4c. Add a drop of chilled water or rose-water to settle the grounds.
5. Pour into (pretty) cup
   5b. Serve with a glass of cold water.
6. Wait for grounds to settle. Unnecessary!
7. Drink

Cool. Thanks.

I add ground cardamom (unbleached) and do not use rose water.

[Wanderer]

lol, I shoulda known there would’ve already been a thread.

[sbfluter]

Does it work with decaf coffee?

[aderyn_du]

My best friend introduced me to turkish coffee; I absolutely love it! She taught me how to make it, so I was going to offer advice… but it looks like you have it covered. Enjoy!!

[izzarina]

@aderyn_du

My best friend introduced me to turkish coffee; I absolutely love it! She taught me how to make it, so I was going to offer advice… but it looks like you have it covered. Enjoy!!

!!!

Hi Ad! I was just thinking about you the other day!

[djm]

Sounds delightful.

djm

[Flyingcursor]

@aderyn_du

My best friend introduced me to turkish coffee; I absolutely love it! She taught me how to make it, so I was going to offer advice… but it looks like you have it covered. Enjoy!!

There you are! We’ve all been a-wonderin where you’ve been.

[Wanderer]

made some last night with 2/3 coffee and 1/3 cocoa powder…was pretty good.

[Domhnall]

There was, untill very recently, an excellent cafe that also hosted our sessions. Our sessions have a history of closing places down apprantly, and the cafe went under. However, they had the best, and only turkish coffee I’ve yet to find in the city. It is pure goodness. This thread has reminded me that I must learn to make my own.