How to make Turkish Coffee at Home, with or without an Ibrik.

In this post, you’ll learn how to make Turkish coffee at home. With, or without an Ibrik.

Some people think Turkish coffee would be a great recipe to try at home as it doesn’t need the magic of the espresso patronum, but others simply want to taste a different recipe that will bring new flavors and textures to their coffee.

Are you trying to “mug” this recipe from us? Well, you certainly don’t have to keep waiting any longer! Here you have the recipe for those who have an Ibrik / Cezve and for those who don’t.

Quality Coffee Beans!

Even though this coffee is one of the most elevated drinks in the world, the difficult part of making it is not within the process itself but in the quality of the ingredients.

In other words, the result will depend on finding the right beans and grinding them perfectly.

The traditional Turkish coffee recipes require medium-roasted Arabica beans. However, these are not only somewhat expensive in other parts of the world, but also not as easy to find.

So, if you don’t have Arabica beans, don’t worry. You can also use basically any other type of bean.

Using the right Coffee Beans

The important thing when using other than Arabica is not using light-roasted coffee beans, like Colombian or Rwandan, because they could end up being too dark and too strong.

Obviously, this will end up being according to your taste, but we will make an effort to get a result as similar as possible to the traditional drink.

In that sense, look for a medium-roasted, or even a dark-roasted bean, to increase the overall acidity and put the spotlight on the coffee rather than the milk.

Some of the best ones for this drink are French or Ethiopian beans.

How to make Turkish coffee with or without an Ibrik

How to Grind Beans for Turkish Coffee

Now, what you should really focus on, maybe even more than the type of bean, is the grinding. In fact, this is one of the must-haves if you want the brewing process to actually work.

Turkish coffee grounds have to be incredibly fine, even finer than for espresso. When you touch it, it must feel like flour or even sand.

That’s why Turkish coffee makers mostly use manual coffee grinders, specially designed to achieve the task.

For example, this Javapresse Manual Coffee Grinder is very useful and you can easily use it at home. It has extremely sharp burrs that can be calibrated to provide a super finely ground coffee.

You should be warned that it will probably not work at its best the first time. Not because it is not working but because you have to experiment with it a little bit.

The less light is leaking through the burrs, the finer it will come out.

Those who need to grind large amounts of coffee or don’t have the actual strength to do it by hand should go for an electric grinder. They are pretty easy to use, but they are a little pricey.

Another option would be to buy the already ground Turkish coffee. It’s not easy to find in the grocery store, but this way you wouldn’t need these devices.

However, this is not recommended for conservative and traditional palates because the industrialization process changes the original flavor of the bean.

You may find that you’ll get a better grind if you manually grind the coffee beans. Check out our guide on how to grind coffee beans without a grinder to get some pointers on the methods.

How to use an Ibrik

The Ibrik or Cezve is a coffee-maker pot that Turkish have been using for centuries and this is a unique process that was developed in the region.

Usually, these are small and wider at the bottom. The long handle is usually in the upper part and usually has an upward angle.

There are different sizes, but the smaller one comes in 6 oz. and the rest are multiples of 6.

So, the Turkish cup of coffee is 6 ounces by default.

How to make Turkish coffee with an ibrik?

  1. Fill the ibrik with cold water. Take into account that each person will have 4 ounces and it should never be filled more than three-quarters of the pot.
  2. Turn on the heat and take it out just before it boils.
  3. Add a couple of heaping teaspoons of Turkish coffee per person without stirring.
  4. Add sugar or sweetener, according to your taste, without stirring just yet. If you want to add some spices, this is also the moment.
  5. When the coffee sinks and the sugar dissolves, turn down the heat and stir the coffee until it foams. Just the surface, don’t touch the sediments at the bottom.
  6. If you see a ring is forming, turn down the heat to its lowest or take the ibrik out of the heat for a second.
  7. Put it back on the heat until it foams and takes it out again. The more amount of foam it forms, the better; but don’t let it boil.
  8. Repeat step 7 two or three times and serve.

How to brew Turkish coffee without an ibrik?

  1. Fill with cold water to a small saucepan that can tolerate heat. 4 ounces per person.
  2. Turn on the heat and take it out before it boils.
  3. Add sugar or sweetener. Don’t stir it.
  4. Add two teaspoons of coffee per person without stirring.
  5. Stir it and mix it well before moving on.
  6. When it foams to the point that it spills over, remove the saucepan from the heat and wait until the foam bubbles settle to the bottom.
  7. Avoid the boiling point. Lower the heat and take it out of the heat if you need to.
  8. Do this for a couple of times and serve.

How to Serve Turkish Coffee

In the Middle East, they use a specific cup of coffee for the Turkish drink. These are small and their traditional versions are made of porcelain and they come with lids and copper cup holders. This way, it will keep the warmth of the brew for a longer time.

Etiquette in the region states that the youngest girl will take the order, brew and pour the coffee, starting by the eldest guest as a way of showing respect.

She must serve the coffee two or three minutes after pouring -so the coffee settles at the bottom- with a glass of water to cleanse the palate and Turkish delights.

Finally, there are funny stories about engaged couples in which the woman pranks her future husband, serving him coffee with salt or something weird to see if he complains. If he doesn’t complain, he is thought to be a patient and a good husband.