Turkish Coffee

Turkish coffee has become my new favorite drink, and I can show you how to make it without an ibrik.

Note: an ibrik is a Turkish coffeepot. They can look like this:

or this:

But a saucepan works, too.

First, you need Turkish coffee. I have been assured by internet sources that you can use any bean (which I believe), but the grounds need to be extra-extra-extra fine--pretty much the consistency of powdered sugar.

The ratio you want (coffee:sugar:water) is 1:1:12. This translates into 3/4 cup water for each tablespoon of coffee and sugar (which makes 2 cups). The sugar is, of course, up to you, but I find this ratio works well.

Boil the water and sugar. (I use cubes because it's easier to find those here than loose sugar.) Even if you drink your drip coffee black, I would recommend sugar your first time around. After all, proper Turkish coffee is black as hell, strong as death, and sweet as love.

Remove the water, and, when it has stopped boiling, add the coffee and put back onto the flame.

The coffee will foam after about 3-4 minutes. When it does, take it off the burner and let the grounds settle, about a minute or so. You're usually supposed to skim the foam off, but I haven't figured out how to do that yet.

When they have settled, back onto the burner it goes. Do this two more times (so, by the time you're done, the coffee will have foamed three times).

Pour into your lovely Turkish coffee cup (or espresso cup, if you must) and enjoy.

Don't drink the grounds. One, they don't taste very good. Two, you'll get laughed at if there's anyone around who knows what you're drinking. Trust me. I speak from experience.

The grounds are traditionally for fortune telling. Turn the saucer over onto the cup, swirl counterclockwise a few times, and then place on the table, cup upside down.

Let it cool, and then someone else will (when it's cooled) remove the cup and tell your fortune. If you want to learn how, I'd suggest Google.

m.

simple ibrik image from http://lowtech-for-als.com/dreamweaver/turkishcoffee.html

photo of ibrik I would love to own from http://www.loadtr.com/28593-sürahi.htm