Turkish Tea

I should have called this blog Turkish çay ("chai"). Because while Turkish coffee (türk kahvesi) is reserved for special occasions -- restaurants, guests, lazy Sunday mornings -- tea is as ubiquitous as water (and sometimes cheaper). While bargaining in a store or visiting the neighbors; in front of the TV; before, during, and after lunch: you drink tea. Moustached men gather in male-only tea houses all over the country to drink tea, play backgammon (tavla), and gossip... Friends relax in cafes over tea and baklava... Most grocery stores have at least half an aisle devoted solely to loose-leaf tea.

After the fall of the Ottoman Empire, coffee became an expensive import. Tea, however, was home-grown, dotting the slopes of the eastern Black Sea region. Now it has become the national drink, the standardized ritual (no matter the region or the weather), the prerequisite for any social gathering.

Turkish tea preparation comes in a series of measured steps:

First you put loose-leaf tea into the teapot (or a traditional samovar) and pour hot water over it.

Then you wait. After collecting extensive polling data from nearby Turks, :) I have concluded that the ideal brew time is about 15 minutes. This is exactly enough time for the tea to turn the color of tavşan kanı (literally: rabbit's blood) -- a deep brownish red.

You set out the cups on a wooden tray with a bowl of sugar cubes (you can ask for milk or lemon, but only foreigners do). Because Turkish tea is so strong, it is usually served in a small ince belli bardak (literally: tight waist; see picture). You can also get an ajda bardak* (a larger hour-glass shape) or a fincan çay (usually a regular glass cup).

Then you pour a bit of boiling water in each cup, and pour it out again. (My host father says it's so the glass cups can get used to the hot water... ? I guess it's just part of the ritual...)

Then add the steeped tea (about 1/4 to 1/3 full) and some hot water (to taste), place a small teaspoon on top. And serve.

Sitting in a cafe on a cool morning, balancing the scalding cup by the rim, hearing the soft ringing of metal spoons against glass cups... Pressing my finger against the glass, seeing my fingerprint magnified and luminous... Finally I take a sip and the day begins...



*This size of cup is actually named for the waist of Ajda Pekkan, the most commercially successful music artist in Turkey. She had her peak as a singer and actress in the 1970s and 80s but is still popular, releasing another Cool Kadın, her 20th CD, just last year. She's still on TV all the time and looks nothing like her 61 years (my host mother calls her "well-kept.")...

Can you imagine a new flavor of Coca-Cola being named after a Hollywood diva?