Brew guides

Cezve

Turkish coffee is one of the oldest ways of brewing in the world: the coffee is cooked with its grounds and served with them. A good cup needs little: fresh, flour-fine coffee, cold water, a low flame and a little patience.

Measurements

Coffee: 7 g per cup
Water: 70 ml per cup
Ratio: 1:10
Grind size: Extra fine (like flour)
Temperature: Cold water, low heat
Time: 3–4 min

Steps

Step 1 0:00

Measure the water
For each cup, measure one cupful (about 70 ml) of cold, preferably filtered water into the cezve. Use a cezve that suits the number of cups; in one that is too big the foam spreads thin.
Step 2 0:00

Add the coffee and sugar
Add 7 g of coffee per cup, a heaped teaspoon. If you take sugar, add it now too; sugar added later spoils the foam.
Step 3 0:15

Stir once
Stir gently until the coffee is mixed in with no clumps on the surface. This is the only stir in the recipe.
Step 4 0:30

Heat on low
Put the cezve on low heat and do not stir. As the coffee warms slowly, a dark, fine foam gathers on top. Do not rush it; slow heating is the secret of good foam.
Step 5 2:30

Share out the foam
When the foam starts to rise, share it evenly between the cups with a teaspoon and keep the cezve on the heat a moment longer.
Step 6 3:00

Take it off and serve
Take it off the heat as it rises a second time, just before it boils over; never let it boil. Pour slowly into the cups without breaking the foam. Give the grounds a minute to settle and serve with a glass of water.

Tips

Sugar, per cup: none for plain (sade), half a teaspoon for a little sweet (az şekerli), one for medium (orta şekerli) and two for sweet (şekerli). Always add sugar with the coffee, at the very start.

If there is little foam, the coffee either heated too fast or is not fresh. Turn the heat down and use ground coffee within two weeks. If the coffee boils over instead of foaming, take the cezve off a little earlier.

Water is most of the cup. Ankara water can be hard; filtered or low-mineral water improves both the taste and the foam.