Coffee history

Merhaba!

When drinking Turkish coffee or "kahve", you can not drink it without noticing the beautiful artistic hand painted saucers and cups. Coffee was introduced to Turkey in 1555 by Syrian traders in Istanbul. Turkey had royal coffee makers who were summoned to serve coffee to the sultans. The coffee makers were known as “kahveciusta” and the entire elaborate ceremony of serving the coffee required the assistance of forty servants. 

Women were taught at an early age the proper way to make coffee. Young girls would be judged by their potential husbands on her coffee making skills. A proper wife would have excellent coffee making skills. A man would come to ask the woman for her hand in marriage. However, in the olden days the girl could not make that decision but her job was to serve coffee to the family and potential husband. On the other hand, she was able to express her opinion through coffee. If the coffee was sweet she agreed. If it was not sweet she was indifferent. If the coffee was salty she showed disagreement. 

Turkish coffee is part of the lifestyle of the Turks and today is a way of a social gathering at the coffee houses. Turkish coffee is very strong and delicate in taste, so instead of drinking Starbucks all the time give this coffee a shot. This will definitely wake you up and help you take on the day! You can not go to Turkey without visiting a coffee shop or a restaurant to sip on some Turkish coffee. If they offer dessert such as baklava this will satisfy your taste buds even more! 

Check out this coffee house call the The House Cafe: http://www.thehousecafe.com/web/21%2C94%2C1%2C1/house_cafe_eng/house_cafe_en_homepage/main_page/the_house_cafe_main_page

Enjoy!