How to Make Turkish Coffee at Home

After we have solved misconceptions about turkish coffee, it’s time for me to tell you how to prepare a perfect cup of Turkish coffee at home.

I have prepared two recipes for you. The original traditional (complete) recipe and second, a bit simpler one.

Before we start, I want to reveal just one more small rule that will help you prepare the best cup of coffee.

Coffee to water ratio

The main condition of a quality cup of coffee drink is the right amount of water and coffee per one cup. Turkish coffee should have bold body, but it’s shouldn’t be too strong.

The proper ratio of coffee to water for turkish coffee is:

1 teaspoon of  ground coffee = 1 cup of water (cup is 2-3 oz when talking turkish coffee cups)

Always follow this rule and you will have proper taste and quality of your drink.

The original Turkish coffee recipe

For this recipe you will need two pots (one to boil water and other to prepare coffee).

1. Pour water in the first pot and leave it to boil. Use a cup to determine how much water you need. Pour water in the cup and then into the pot. Repeat it as many times as you need cups.

If you like sweet coffee you can add sugar into the boiling water, but if you’re making coffee for someone except yourself it’s better to add sugar in the cups, for those who want sugar in their coffee.

2. Put coffee in the other pot using mentioned ratio: 1 teaspoon of coffee per 1 cup of water.

3. When water is boiling in the first pot, remove from stove, pour out just a little bit of water from it into a cup, and pour the rest of the boiled water in that second pot with coffee inside. Stir, and bring back to the stove for a few seconds. When the coffee starts to rise (watch it closely as it can go wild fast) get it off the stove. Pour the water from the cup (the water you put there when the water was boiling the first time) into the pot and put once again on the stove to raise.

4. Serve in smaller cups.

The original Turkish coffee recipe (simplified)

For this recipe you will need just one pot.

1. With the help of a cup (as in the first recipe) pour fresh water in the pot and wait until it starts boiling.

2. When it is boiling, remove from the stove and pour off a small amount of water into the cup.

3. Put coffee in the pot with boiled water (don’t forget the coffee to water ratio). Stir, add  water from the cup and bring back to the stove until coffee raise.

4. Serve in small cups.

Here are a few more advices that will help you with this Turkish coffee preparation process.

Choosing the right coffee pot

I suggest you stop searching for the traditional Turkish coffee pot and buy yourself a standard coffee pot with open top available in USA market. There are several reasons for this:

1. The price of traditional Turkish pot is usually much higher than their real price because they are sold like an exclusive item.
2. You will probably be able to find standard size (3 oz), which is equal to one cup of coffee. This means that you will have to repeat the preparation process as many times as you need cups of coffee.
3. The original Turkish coffee pot is made from copper with a special technique and no one will guarantee that you will get that level of quality. And if you don’t get that quality you will probably have to throw it in the trash after several uses.

So, I think it’s better to buy a regular inox or stainless steel coffee pot with similar shape. Some of good American brands make them, usually in size of about 15 oz which you can use to make one to five cups of coffee.

You can use almost any smaller pot, as long as it’s made of strong material (since this coffee is prepared on the stove) and as long it has an open top.

How to serve Turkish coffee

Turkish coffee cups should be relatively small (about 3 oz).  They are a little narrower than usual espresso coffee cups, and much smaller than classic mugs we use. Of course, when you start loving Turkish coffee, you will probably drink it from a mug, as I do.

You should know that Turkish coffee is much stronger than regular coffee prepared using a coffee machine. So I suggest not to drink more  than 3 small cups a day.

Coffee Take Out

It may sound a bit complicated reading it like this, but I promise, once you do it the first time and love this coffee, it will become second nature to you!

So have you ever made turkish coffee? I would love to hear your experience with it and if you haven’t, give it a go and let us know how you liked it!