Turkish Coffee

 

"Turkish Coffee", which emerged as a result of the methods applied during the roasting, grinding, preparation and serving of the coffee bean as a beverage, has its unique aroma, grounds, foam, presentation, role in official special days and meetings, and its place in social life from the 16th century to the present day. reached so far. As in the past, coffee is served in official and private ceremonies, and culture and tradition continue in private living spaces, cafes and coffee houses. Turkish Coffee Culture and Tradition was registered on behalf of our country on the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage Representative List of Humanity on 5 December 2013.

 

 

 

Coffee at Saray

From the second half of the 17th century, coffee began to be purchased from the kitchen budget in the palace. It is understood that coffee is one of the most common and daily consumed basic beverages from the documents containing the expenditures of the food purchases made to the palace, the detailed information about the consumption of coffee expenditures and the items related to coffee.

In the palace, there were coffee makers who prepared the coffees of the high-level palace owners, especially the Sultan, Valide Sultan and other members of the dynasty, and were responsible for the coffee sets. Kahvecibaşı was the person who prepared the coffee that the Sultan would drink and was responsible for the jeweled coffee sets given to the Sultan from the treasury. The duty of coffee maker was established among the special chamber servants during the reign of Suleiman the Magnificent. The head of the journeymen who served coffee in the Harem was called the Kahveci Usta.

Coffee had already taken its unwavering place in the palace as a treat at the beginning of the 17th century. Statesmen and ambassadors from various countries who visited the palace, waited in the supply room with the Sultan, were hosted by offering coffee. The places where these treats were made were the short-term reception rooms located inside the Bab'üs-Salam and Bab-üs Saade doors. Especially in the rooms to the right and left of Bab-üs Saade, coffee was served to dignitary statesmen such as grand vizier, viziers and treasurers who came to meet with the sultan. In these treats, the presentation of coffee was accompanied by sweet sherbet and frankincense. But the main thing was the coffee. Sherbet, or sweet, was accompanied by coffee in its own nature. It was also customary to offer rose water and burn incense along with coffee.

The existing coffee stoves in the palace had a stove for cooking coffee and wooden cabinets with coffee pots and coffee sets. It was also arranged in such a way as to allow the coffee maker and the serving staff to sit and rest. It is known that there are coffee shops in the Baltacılar Ward, Supply Room, Bagdat Mansion, Mecidiye Mansion, Physician Head room, Tile Treasury, Kubbealtı, Foreign Treasure, kitchen and doorkeepers Ward and Harem.

 

 Coffee Gadgets

Coffee used to go through the stages of roasting, cooling, grinding and cooking until it was ready to drink in the cup. The tools used during these processes have developed their own forms and stylistic features.

Iron coffee roasting pans, ladles and coffee cabinets were used to roast the coffee beans, whose smell and taste were largely formed. It would be preferable to roast enough coffee beans to be consumed. The roasted coffee beans were ground in wooden, marble or bronze mortars or in mortars or coffee mills, immediately after they were cooled by airing in containers made of wood or ceramics, called sogudan. Coffee drinkers preferred the flavor of ground coffee in the mortar.

Freshly ground coffee was stored in wooden, copper, brass, tombak, or ceramic boxes or in leather and cloth pouches so that it would not be affected by heat and humidity and retain its scent. The coffee, which was previously cooked using copper coffee urns or vats, and later using copper or brass coffee pots, was served in cups.

During the coffee offering, coffee cloths with a diameter of about 1 meter were used, and made of woolen fabrics such as satin, velvet, or woolen fabrics called lahuraki. In addition to stamps, gold or silver thread, precious and semi-precious stones, especially fine, were used in the embroidery of the palace cafe covers. In the coffee presentation ceremonies in palaces and mansions, these covers were carried either by hanging down from the front of the tray on which the cups were carried, or by being folded in half and thrown over the coffee tray by the person holding the coffee tray.

The coffee style is a pedestal, basin-shaped mechanism that can be carried by hand by combining the chains attached to three points in a ring, in which an ash fire is placed in the pit in the middle and a coffee pot is placed on it. The coffee, which kept its temperature during the presentation, was served by pouring it into cups made of the can on the style.

Barbecues, which were filled with fire and used as a means of heating, were used to cook coffee. The coffee barbecues, which are mostly made of copper, brass and sometimes silver, are smaller than the barbecues used for heating.