Turkish culture is a ‘chit chat’ culture. It is called ‘muhabbet’ in Turkish which simply means ‘conversing’ in English . Turks love to get together to spend time with friends for a simple ‘chit chat’ over coffee. There is a even a Turkish saying that ‘there is forty years memory of a cup of coffee.’ Coffee bonds people and strengthens relationships. Coffee time with friends is for letting go of the steam of daily life, lots of gossip and a Turkish style ‘psychotherapy’. It is also for fortune telling. Through looking at the grounds of coffee on the finished cup, someone experienced can tell you what awaits you in the future like love, fortune and good luck as well as the evil eyes surrounding you.
Turkish fortune telling
Coffee culture has a long history in Turkey. When Turks conquered Yemen (in Middle East) during the Ottoman Era, they discovered the pleasures of coffee and started brewing it in a special style (roasting coffee beans over fire and then grounding to boil it with water) which created the genre of ‘Turkish coffee’.
Coffee craze in Europe spread due to Ottomans who fantasized of conquering Vienna but failed. After the siege of Vienna, Austrians discovered coffee beans left behind by the Turks and enjoyed the taste. Legend says that the first coffee shop was opened in Vienna by Franz Kolschitzky who had lived in Istanbul and who knew ‘what to do with the coffee beans’ left behind by the Turks. He added cream and honey to coffee to cater for Viennese taste.
Coffee craze in Europe spread from one country to another. Even Bach composed a Coffee Cantata to depict the coffee craze of the era.
Turks love drinking coffee in small coffee cups – a delight to look at with lots of different colours and patterns.
The first coffee shops opened in Istanbul during the Ottoman Era in the 16th century. Only men could visit coffee shops of the period. It was one of the few places where men could socialize apart from the mosques. Within time, coffee shops spread all through out the country and now Istanbul is a heaven for cafes of all sorts that serve not only Turkish coffee but coffees of all sorts, from diverse origins.
An Old Istanbul Coffee House
A Depiction of an Old Ottoman Coffee Shop – Pera Museum
There is a whole section dedicated to Turkish coffee culture in Pera Museum. If you have time, pay a visit so that you can see a wide range of traditional coffee cups and get a glimpse of the serving tradition.
Traditional coffee cups – Pera Museum
An Ottoman lady drinking coffee – Pera Museum
All neighbourhoods today have a variety of cafes: local as well as international and they serve not only Turkish coffee but coffee of all sorts and from all origins. The cafes today are packed with women as well as men. Unlike our ancestors, Turkish women are fans of cafes for a cup of coffee and lots of ‘muhabbet’ and laughter.
So if you visit any neighbourhood in Istanbul famous with its cafes such as Kadikoy, Moda, Balat, Cihangir or Beyoglu, don’t forget to try a sip of Turkish coffee. They will ask you if you want it with medium, lots or no sugar. You might find it bitter but you never know, you might as well enjoy it as most Turks do.
A cafe in Balat
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