The Turks are very proud of their coffee and describe Turkish coffee as their gift to the world.
Ask anyone in Turkey what the most famous brand of Turkish coffee is and, without hesitation, the reply will be Kurukahveci Mehmet Efendi.
These days, under the ownership of Mehmet Efendi’s grandchildren, Kurukahveci Mehmet Efendi is an internationally recognised brand, stocking supermarket shelves with filter coffees and espresso as well as their Turkish coffee.
But it’s not the supermarkets we’re interested in.
Whenever we visit anywhere in Turkey, we like to bring back souvenirs,.
And for us, that’s usually food or drink of some description.
When we were in Istanbul recently, we set off in search of a famous coffee souvenir.
Tucked away on its original site at the back of the Egyptian Spice Bazaar in Istanbul is the historic Kurukahveci Mehmet Efendi shop.
It still serves loose coffee to a never-ending daily queue of customers.
The coffee is served through a hatch. And, at first, we were put off by the long, outdoor queue.
The weather in Istanbul was cold and wet and we didn’t much fancy hanging around too long for a packet of Turkish coffee; famous or not.
However, we only had to watch for a few seconds – enjoying the warm coffee aromas wafting through the air – to realise this was a professional outfit.
Obviously, they’ve been doing this for some time!
Resembling a small factory line, loose coffee is scooped, weighed, packed, taped, piled, served, money taken, change given, next please!
No time for small talk here.
All of this happens in a matter of seconds.
So we decided to join the long queue of coffee appreciators.
Within minutes, Barry had his 54g pack of loose Turkish coffee. Yes, Barry. Not me.
Despite loving the smell of freshly-ground, still-warm coffee beans, I am yet to acquire the taste of Turkish coffee!
Practise continues…but alas, little progress is being made.
The next step is for you to buy some and then learn how to make Turkish Coffee!
Turkey's For Life
Sunday 15th of January 2012
@ Foodie: Thank you for your comment. We used to link to Tulumba but tat the the the, most of our readers were based in the UK and everything had to be shipped. Now we're reaching more of a US audience, we'll bear that in mind. :)
Foodie
Friday 13th of January 2012
Hi,
I like Mehmet Efendi Turkish Coffee very very much. No sugar for me! It's much tastier that way. I live in the US and I get my mehmet Efendi from tulumba.com. They deserve a shout out, too!
Turkey's For Life
Tuesday 1st of November 2011
@ Corinne: The smell is incredible - it's the taste I have the issue with. Wow, Lebanese coffee is stronger than Turkish coffee?? Might give that one a miss. :)
Corinne @ Gourmantic
Tuesday 1st of November 2011
The smell alone would be incredible! I like Turkish coffee, even the much stronger Lebanese coffee, especially if it has cardamom in it.
Turkey's For Life
Thursday 27th of October 2011
@ Deniz Bevan: Ha ha, glad you found a new way to drink it. I need to keep experimenting. Barry's an orta şekerli person.