Turkish coffee refers to a method of brewing very finely ground coffee. Any coffee bean may be used; arabica varieties
are considered best, but robusta or a blend is also used. The beans must be ground to a very fine powder, which is
left in the coffee when served. The coffee may be ground at home in a manual grinder made for the very fine grind
(home electric grinders are not suitable), ground to order by coffee merchants in most parts of the world, or bought
ready-ground from many shops.
Turkish coffee is made by bringing the powdered coffee with water and usually sugar to the boil in a special pot called
cezve in Turkey, and often called ibrik elsewhere. As soon as the mixture begins to froth, and before it boils over, it
is taken off the heat; it may be briefly reheated twice more to increase the desired froth. Sometimes about one-third of
the coffee is distributed to individual cups; the remaining amount is returned to the fire and distributed to the cups
as soon as it comes to the boil. The coffee is traditionally served in a special type of small porcelain cup
called a kahve finjani.
Sugar is added to Turkish coffee while brewing, so the amount of sugar must be specified when preparing the coffee. It
may be served unsweetened, with little or moderate sugar, or sweet. Coffee is often served with something small and sweet to eat, such as Turkish delight. It is
sometimes flavoured with cardamom, mastic, salep, or ambergris. A lot of the powdered coffee grounds are
transferred from the "cezve" to the cup; in the cup, some settle on the bottom but much remains in suspension and is
consumed with the coffee.