Turkish Coffee at the (World's)pot




Until today, I never asked myself the question "why coffee that my father makes is infinitely better than the one I do. 
And, standing and remembering the  films of so many mornings when Dad was making coffee after a ritual that only he knew to aply, so,I thought to do it on the same pattern. Why now and why today? I have no idea. All I know is, I started to stirr upside down the boxes with objects given  to "reform " to the detriment of modern technology. I  found the old pot (a small kettle with his broken enamel) and I proceeded to bring up memories flavored by Turkish coffee, 100% Arabica.

Ingredients (for a small cup):
1 kettle 
1 small cup of water 
1-2 tsp very finely ground coffee 
1 tsp of sugar 
a pinch of nutmeg (optional)

Put coffee in cold water, add sugar and nutmeg, then stir in until the coffee is included water. Place kettle on fire and no longer interfere in it. When it starts to boil set it aside. Pour then the coffee into small cups.
And, because I like the tea ritual practiced by the Chinese, well, I poured coffee in small bowls of painted porcelain. Even if, Turkish coffee is not consumed with cream, milk or cookies specific to the other parts of the world, I just put near this coffee some chocolate chip cookie.
And, in that moment, the coffee's taste my father made  flooded my mouth with that unmistakable flavor of  "black as hell, strong as death and sweet as love "... as it looks a good coffee must be and, as an old Istanbul's proverb said...
What's next ? Well, just a ritual as old as the earth of Dobrogea is, the earth mother of my grandmother's daddy.
Şerefinize! Senin için Kahve, Baba !


A little bit of history:
The earliest evidence of coffee drinking comes from 15th-century Yemen. By the late 15th century and early 16th century, coffee had spread to Cairo and MeccaIn the 1640s, the Ottoman chronicler İbrahim Peçevi reported the opening of the first coffeehouse in Istanbul: "Until the year 962 (1554-55), in the High, God-Guarded city of Constantinople, as well as in Ottoman lands generally, coffee and coffeehouses did not exist. About that year, a fellow called Hâkem (Hakam) from Aleppo and a wag called Şems (Shams) from Damascus, came to the city: they each opened a large shop in the district called Tahtakale and began to purvey coffee."







CAFEAUA TURCEASCA LA OALA(lumii)


Pina azi nu mi-am pus intrebarea de ce cafeaua pe care tata o face e infinit mai buna decit cea pe care eu o fac.Si, stind si rememorind filmul(ele) atitor dimineti cind tata facea cafeaua dupa un ritual cum numai el stia sa-l puna-n aplicare m-am gindit sa o fac si eu dupa acelasi tipar. De ce azi ? Habar n-am. Atita stiu ca, am inceput sa rascolesc cutiile cu obiectele date la "reforma" in detrimentul tehnologiei moderne.
Am gasit ibricul vechi(un ceainic micut de la care-i cam sarise smaltul) si-am purces la aduceri aminteri cu aroma de cafea turceasca, 100% arabica. 

Ingrediente (pt. o ceasca):
1 ibric
1 ceasca de apa
1-2 l-te de cafea foarte fin macinata
1 l-ta rasa de zahar
un praf de nucsoara(optional)

In apa rece se pun cafeaua, zaharul si nucsoara apoi se amesteca pina cind cafeaua se inglobeaza in apa.
Se pune la foc si nu se mai amesteca in ea. Cind incepe sa fiarba se da deoparte. Se toarna in cesti mici. Si,pentru ca mie imi place ritualul ceaiului practicat de chinezi, ei bine am turnat cafeaua in boluri mici, de portelan pictat. Chiar daca, turceasca cafea nu se consuma cu frisca, lapte sau cu prajiturelele specifice altor zone ale lumii, eu am pus linga ea niste fursecuri cu ciocolata.
Si, parca in acel moment, gustul cafelei facuta de tata imi inunda iar cerul gurii cu acea inconfundabila aroma de "neagra ca iadul, tare ca moartea si dulce ca dragostea" . Asa cum ii sta bine cafelei sa fie si dupa cum bine graieste un proverb din vechiul 'Stanbul...
Ce mai ramine de facut ? Ei bine, doar un ritual oriental si vechi ca pamintul Dobrogei, pamintul muma al bunicii din partea tatalui.
Şerefinize! Senin için Kahve, Baba !

Gura de istorie:
Primele dovezi ale bautului de cafea vine tocmai din Yemenul sec. al XV-lea. De la sfirsitul sec. XV si inceputul sec. XVI, cafeaua s-a raspindit in Cairo si Mecca.
La 1640, cronicarul otoman İbrahim Peçevi, descrie deschiderea primei cafenele in Istanbul: "Pina in anul 962 (1554-55), in Inalt si Binecuvintaul Constantinopole, la fel ca si in tinuturile Otomane , de regula cafeaua si cafenelele nu existau.In acel an, doi oameni, Hâkem (Hakam) din Aleppo si Şems (Shams) din Damasc, au venit in oras si-au deschis fiecare cite-un mare magazin in tinutul numit Tahtakale incepind a-l aproviziona cu cafea."






Enjoy!



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