| The Turkish Coffee has been introduced to the
West by the Ottoman Turks in the fifteenth century. It is very popular all over the world
today and is preferred as a delicacy in most fashionable circles. The secret of making
Turkish coffee is that the coffee beans are ground into a fine powder and then it is
cooked together with sugar producing a thick cream on top. Turkish coffee is served in
small coffee cups, and in three ways, called sade, which is unsweetened, orta, which is
moderately sweet, and sekerli, which is very sweet. One is always asked before the coffee
is brewed which of the three one would like. The coffee should be ground just before it
is to be made, and it should be as fine as possible. Put one dessert-spoonful of the
powder into a small pot with as much sugar as you like, and add one demi-tasse of boiling
water. Allow the coffee to boil up and then immediately remove it from the heat. Repeat
this process three times, and pour it into the coffee cup. The grains must be given time
to subside in the cup before you can drink the coffee and it is helpful to stroke the
froth in the cup gently as you wait. Turkish coffee is usually served with a glass of cold
water, and it is the custom to take a sip of water after drinking coffee.
When the coffee is finished quite a lot of black sediment will be left in the bottom of
the cup, and a favourite Turkish pastime it to tell fortunes in the grains. The ladies are
especially good at this. You are asked to tip your cup upside down on the saucer, so that
the grains can run down the sides of the cup forming patterns. After a suitable pause, the
cup is scrutinized by the expert and your future is revealed. Some of the predictions are
highly amusing, some sinister and ominous! |
North Cyprus
