Oriental coffee - history and traditions, how to drink, recipes, preparation method

Kenyan recipe

This combination of ingredients is used in Arab countries and the Middle East.

  • 10 g ground beans;
  • 120 ml water;
  • 1 tsp. cane sugar;
  • a pinch of cardamom, ginger and cinnamon.

Spices must be mixed with sugar and lightly fried in a Turk over low heat. Fill them with cold water and heat until the first bubbles appear. Now is the time to add the ground grains and mix the ingredients. The drink is brewed until an airy, high foam appears.

It is customary to drink oriental coffee hot immediately after removing the Turk from the heat. Pour it directly from the grounds into small ceramic or porcelain cups. Guests must be served a glass of clean cold water and placed to the left of the cup.

Short description

The idea of ​​using coffee beans to make an invigorating drink originated in the East. Therefore, the first recipes were created by Arabs, Ethiopians, Yemenis, etc., who still prepare incomparable espresso. In Russia, the oriental recipe appeared during the reign of Alexei Mikhailovich, when trade relations with Turkey were well developed.

The drink also has another name – Turkish coffee. It is traditionally prepared in the Middle East, Caucasus, Africa and Balkan countries. Although each of these places adds its own ingredients to the classic recipe, they all share a common cooking technology.

According to ancient traditions, the oriental drink is prepared in a pot over an open fire or hot sand. This process can take from 10 minutes to 2 hours. Unfortunately, an automatic coffee machine is not suitable for creating such a drink.

What's the secret

Oriental coffee, like any dish of national cuisine, has its own cooking secrets. It turns out truly tasty and aromatic only if all preparation technologies are followed. Let's start with the Turka or cezve, as it is often called. Without this metal utensils, coffee will not work; it will be a completely different drink. Cezva, translated from Turkish, means a vessel for brewing coffee and is a thick-walled ladle with a handle, most often made of forged copper. The name changes in different languages. It is this device that helps prepare divinely tasty and aromatic oriental coffee. True gourmets and coffee connoisseurs believe that only coffee brewed in this small ladle can rightfully be considered the height of perfection. Those who have at least once in their life tasted real Turkish coffee, brewed according to all the rules, will understand why it is one of the ten best drinks in the whole world. People in all countries love and prefer it.

It is worth noting that oriental coffee is not a separate variety or variety of coffee beans, it is an original way of preparing an invigorating drink. All types of beans and any degree of roasting are suitable for making this coffee; the most important condition is their freshness. The coffee grind should be as fine as possible; it is also called “dust” or “flour”. It is the presence of a fine suspension of ground coffee that gives this drink its zest. Water itself plays a very important role; this component is chosen especially carefully. Only spring or filtered water is suitable, which should be soft and lively. This gives the drink a refined aristocratic taste. Boiled water or, worse, tap water can ruin the whole taste.

Secrets of oriental coffee

The process of making oriental coffee requires regularity, adherence to the sequence of steps and high-quality ingredients. There are several main secrets that will allow you to achieve the strength and harmonious taste of the drink:

  • Coffee beans must be Arabica beans of any roast level. Grind them immediately before the cooking process so that the esters do not have time to evaporate. The grind should be very fine powder so that the grounds do not squeak on your teeth. You can also purchase a ready-made mixture for oriental coffee, for example, the Jockey brand.
  • The water should be soft, preferably spring water, which is free of impurities and odor. As a last resort, use filtered or softened store-bought water. An important rule: coffee is poured with cold water so that the beans can better release their aromatic properties.
  • Eastern baristas do not get rid of the foam, but add it to the bottom of the cup and then pour the finished drink. They believe that it is in the foam that the flavor pyramid and richness of aroma lie.
  • Sugar (preferably brown) and oriental spices must be added to the drink.


Different countries have their own recipe for oriental coffee, but traditionally it should contain cardamom and a few more spices

The most popular among them are:

  • ground black pepper,
  • ginger,
  • cinnamon,
  • cocoa.

There are also recipes with the addition of liqueur, cognac, cream, and lemon.

Variations in cooking

Making coffee is a whole ritual that requires compliance with many rules. Each step in coffee preparation and preparatory work plays a role. It is necessary to follow several important rules that completely influence how the coffee will turn out in the end. These are the rules:

  • Choose good beans. This is really important because you are unlikely to get tasty coffee from bad, low-quality beans.
  • Use only fresh grinds. According to the rules, it is better to grind coffee right before preparing it. But if you grind too much coffee, hide it in a container and use it within the next 72 hours.
  • Pour freshly brewed coffee into a hot container. Pour hot water into the cup first to warm the cup. The temperature change, when coffee is poured into a cold container, changes its taste.

Classic cooking method

For the recipe you will need a copper cezve or simply a Turk. The walls of this cookware must be thick and preferably silver-plated on the inside. Turks come in different sizes, but it is better to take those that are designed for one serving.


In the East, they use an iron pan, onto which fine sand is poured and placed on the fire. The sand must be stirred so that it warms up evenly, after which the cooking process can begin.

It is difficult to imagine such a ritual at home, so it is important to purchase at least the right Turk. Not long ago, special coffee makers with heating elements and a reservoir filled with sand were put on sale. It allows you to bring the taste of the drink as close as possible to the traditional one.

How to brew Turkish coffee correctly

For true admirers, they also sell a special set for making oriental coffee at home.

Ingredients:

  • 10 g ground beans;
  • 120 ml water;
  • sugar and spices to taste.

To begin with, the required amount of ground grains and sugar, as well as spices, are placed in the Turk. This mixture is heated slightly and poured with cold water, after which the ingredients are mixed. The Turk should be constantly rotated until the foam cap rises. It is important that the coffee does not heat above 95 degrees and does not boil. That’s why they use hot sand or, in extreme cases, low fire.

As soon as a thick head appears, the Turk is lifted so that the water does not splash out over the edge and then returned to the fire again. This is repeated several times until the foam brightens and becomes airy. This means the coffee is ready. First add a spoonful of foam into heated cups and then pour the drink.


In the East, coffee is served directly in the cezve - this is considered a sign of respect and hospitality

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Oriental coffee is one of the most common and accessible coffee recipes today. In various sources, this drink is called differently: Turkish, Arabic, oriental coffee.

Thanks to cooking in an open container, you can easily create the drink with as many additives as you like. Depending on the amount of sugar used during its preparation, this type of coffee can be bitter, sweet or very sweet.

The quality of the grind and the amount of water and coffee create room for variation: the drink can be thinner or thicker. Spices that are traditionally used to make oriental coffee: cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, musk, black pepper, garlic, salt. They give the drink a unique “zest”.

Oriental coffee is prepared from very finely ground coffee beans, almost to powder. This is necessary, firstly, so that a thick foam forms in the drink, and secondly, to avoid the grounds squeaking on the teeth. Since ground coffee quickly loses its qualities (smell, taste, essential oils), it is better to grind it yourself immediately before preparing the drink.

When preparing coffee using the “oriental” method, it should never be boiled. You should not drink over-boiled coffee. Therefore, it is cooked over low, low heat, or even better, on hot sand, which will warm the coffee to the desired temperature, but will not allow it to boil. There are special devices for making coffee on sand. At home, you can use a deep frying pan (preferably cast iron), into which you pour either clean sand or sand mixed with salt. The frying pan with sand is placed on the fire, and the Turk (cezve) is buried in the sand, where it slowly heats up.

Turka is a metal vessel with a long handle, a narrow neck and a wide bottom. The Turk can have different sizes, but regardless of this, it always has the same shape. The best option is considered to be a copper pot with a silver coating inside - it is in such a pot that you should get the closest to the ideal oriental coffee (coffee in a Turk). At the bottom of each Turk, the manufacturer puts a number indicating the number of cups of coffee that can be brewed in this Turk

For coffee we need:

  • copper Turk (cezve)
  • freshly ground coffee (1 full teaspoon per 1 serving of coffee or to taste)
  • ice water (50-70 grams per serving)
  • to taste - sugar and spices

If you like bitter coffee, it is better to do without sugar. Spices are also not for everybody - if you like them, feel free to add them.

Regarding water, you should not use boiled water for coffee. And the temperature should be as low as possible. At a minimum, the water should be cold, ideally ice.

And in order not to spoil the taste of the future coffee, carefully monitor it when brewing and do not let it boil. It is important to catch the moment when it starts to boil - you need to quickly and carefully remove the coffee from the heat.

Making Turkish coffee

The basic rule is to heat the coffee very slowly, for which the Turks use a roaster with sand and some pebbles. In the absence of such a device, you can, of course, try cooking on the stove, but setting the temperature to the lowest setting.

In a Turk, add coffee, a couple of grains of salt and sugar to taste - mix everything thoroughly, add ice water and mix again.

Place on low heat and wait until a thick foam forms - remove from heat, wait for 1 minute and bring until foam forms again. We do this 2-3 times.

Making coffee in Arabic

Sugar is poured into the turk and fried over the fire until dark. Add water and bring to a boil. As soon as the water boils, add ground coffee, bring to a boil and remove from heat. As soon as the foam settles, return to the fire, repeat this 2-3 times.

When the coffee is ready, you can add cinnamon or other spices to your taste.

Making spiced coffee

  • 2 tsp. finely ground coffee,
  • 100 - 150 ml water,
  • a small piece of dry ginger (about a pinch),
  • the same piece of nutmeg.

Pour cold water into the cezve, add coffee and bring to a boil. Remove from heat, add spices, cover and leave for 5 - 7 minutes. Put it on the fire again and, as soon as a thick foam appears, remove and pour into cups

Oriental coffee with pepper and spices

  • water -100ml
  • coffee -2g
  • pepper mixture - 1g
  • cinnamon - 0.5 g
  • vanillin -o5g
  • cardamom – 0.5g

Place spices and coffee on the bottom of the heated pot, mix, and fill with cold water. Place the Turk on low heat and bring to a boil. Remove the Turk from the heat as soon as the foam rises. After a few seconds, put it back on the fire. We repeat this procedure 3 times. So the oriental coffee is ready.

How to drink coffee the Eastern way

Oriental-style coffee is poured into small coffee cups simply at the table, without straining, with grounds. Cold water is supplied separately. Sometimes a few drops of water are added to the cup to help the grounds settle faster. It is customary to drink oriental coffee in small sips and wash it down with cold boiled water. Before drinking coffee, Arabs usually drank some water.

The main uniqueness of oriental coffee is the way it is consumed. The drink is served to the table directly in the cezve and poured into cups without straining. The foam that covers the top of the coffee plays a special role: it is the foam that is put into the cups first, and only then the drink itself is poured. The peculiarities of making coffee in the oriental style also determined the lack of additional accessories. Neither sugar (since it was already added during cooking) nor spoons (since there is no need for them) are usually included with this drink. They drink oriental coffee from special small cups with a capacity of 60-70 ml, thick ceramic or thin-walled porcelain. Drinking oriental coffee from tea cups or espresso demitas is considered bad manners.

There is another, special option for serving coffee in the oriental style - the so-called coffee set. It includes a Turk, a cup, a saucer and a spoon. All this is served on a small separate tray. A glass of water is placed to the right of the cup, and a sugar bowl is placed to the left.

Oriental coffee can be consumed and served a little differently. First, skim off the foam with a spoon, then pour the coffee into cups and put the foam on top. Etiquette dictates that such coffee be served to the guest in a cup, and a glass of cold water placed on the left.

PS

Such recipes are not very difficult to implement, and with practice the coffee will turn out tastier and tastier. The most important thing when brewing coffee in a cezve is to learn to catch the moment when the coffee is almost boiling. Gurus believe that once coffee has boiled, its taste is already hopelessly spoiled.

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Oriental coffee with cocoa and cinnamon

This unusual recipe will appeal to lovers of strong drinks. To prepare it you will need:

  • 10 g ground coffee;
  • 5 g cocoa powder;
  • 100 ml water;
  • 1 tsp Sahara;
  • a pinch of cinnamon and nutmeg;
  • 1 tsp cognac

A mixture of ground grains, cocoa powder and cinnamon is poured into the Turk. Warm it up a little and fill it with cold water. The preparation of the drink is the same as according to the classic recipe. Sugar, cognac are added to the finished coffee and sprinkled with nutmeg.

Kenyan recipe

This combination of ingredients is used in Arab countries and the Middle East.

You will need:

  • 10 g ground beans;
  • 120 ml water;
  • 1 tsp. cane sugar;
  • a pinch of cardamom, ginger and cinnamon.

Spices must be mixed with sugar and lightly fried in a Turk over low heat. Fill them with cold water and heat until the first bubbles appear. Now is the time to add the ground grains and mix the ingredients. The drink is brewed until an airy, high foam appears.

How to drink correctly

It is customary to drink oriental coffee hot immediately after removing the Turk from the heat. Pour it directly from the grounds into small ceramic or porcelain cups. Guests must be served a glass of clean cold water and placed to the left of the cup.

It is necessary in order to fully experience the taste of the drink and replenish fluid loss. It is not customary to serve sugar and a teaspoon, since this additive is already in the drink.


Guests are given a saucer with oriental sweets or cream

In the east, it is customary to serve coffee according to seniority. Hospitable hosts offer guests 3 cups of drink, and asking for more is considered bad manners. The cup is held in the right hand with the thumb and forefinger. Coffee is drunk in small sips, savoring and enjoying the rich taste.

Oriental coffee is not an easy drink! It carries the traditions and culture of distant countries that have developed over centuries. No matter how many recipes you take, the principle of preparing such coffee will be the same and if you follow it, you will always get an excellent result.

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