Brewing Concepts & Principles
Concepts
The most important concept of brewing Turkish coffee is the concept of "foam." Foam is the result of allowing the coffee to froth but not to come to a boil. This froth, or foam, is the result of the coffee particles attatching to the air bubbles which are a result of the convection process within the "ibrik." In Turkish, the name for this foam is "köpük," which literally means "foam." Greeks, on the other hand, call it "afros," which also translates to "foam." For more information regarding the ibrik, see Cooking Apparatuses.
Brewing Principles
There are three things that one must keep in mind when brewing Turkish coffee:
- When adding coffee and sugar, do not stir until the water has had time to warm. This avoids the coffee powder from clumping in the water.
- Do not boil the coffee; simply allow it to froth. If there is no "foam," it CANNOT be considered Turkish coffee.
- Coffee to water ratio: For every 1 part coffee (i.e. 1 heaped teaspoon), you need 1 part water (i.e. 1 demitasse cup of water = 3 fluid ounces or 90 milliliters of water).
- N.B.: If using a larger cup, measure how many demitasse cups' worth of water it would take to fill that larger cup. In this way, you will learn how many heaping teaspoons of coffee you will need in order to make your cup of coffee.