Machine power for Turkish coffee

Tomorrow, Dec. 5, is declared as the "World Turkish Coffee Day." Exactly 10 years ago, in 2013, Turkish coffee was included in the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage List on Dec. 5, and the date of its inclusion was celebrated as “World Turkish Coffee Day.” A decade later, it is becoming more and more popular with the introduction of a variety of new machines that make Turkish coffee more accessible to consumers worldwide. The first ever Turkish coffee machine in the market appeared two decades ago in 2003, up to that date, Turkish coffee was thought to be impossible to be made automatically by machine. The belief was it could only be brewed manually, as one needed to watch over the exact moment when it starts to rise, building that desirable foam, otherwise the coffee would spill over, and the frothy bit would be lost. But innovation in Turkish coffee is the latest example to join the mechanization bandwagon.

Let’s look very briefly at how coffee was made in different ways and its gradual mechanization. It is true that initially, it was the Ottomans that introduced coffee to the Western world, first to Venice, and then Marseille, Oxford, London and Paris, respectively, and then to the rest of the world, arriving in Boston in 1670. However, the method of making coffee in the Ottoman way did not spread outside the Ottoman territory, apparently every country developed their way of making and enjoying coffee. Unfortunately, it is difficult to find detailed information on whether the coffee was brewed in the Turkish style or whether it was made by boiling it like the Arabian style mırra. It is possible to say that coffee was boiled in a lidded coffee pot called “ibrik” in Istanbul initially but later the method of preparing Turkish coffee as we know it today was developed also in Istanbul, elaborated probably at the Topkapı Palace. There are many travelers writing about coffee in the Ottoman lands, but not many describe the way it was made. The first known printed recipe for Turkish coffee appeared in a Polish text published in Poland in 1769. The missionary, Thadeusz Krusinski, described in detail the method of coffee preparation he had seen in the Ottoman geography in his text titled "The proper cooking of Turkish coffee." In 1867, the famous American writer Mark Twain visited Istanbul, did not like any food he had tasted, and absolutely hated Turkish coffee, expressing his displeasure as: “Of all the unchristian beverages that ever passed my lips Turkish coffee is the worst. The cup is small, it is smeared with grounds; the coffee is black, thick, unsavory of smell, and execrable in taste. The bottom has a muddy sediment in it half an inch deep. This goes down your throat and portions of it lodge by the way, and produce a tickling aggravation that keeps you barking and coughing for an hour.”

We introduced coffee to the world, but unfortunately, we could not introduce the world to the Turkish way of making coffee. Over time, the world has developed different ways of making coffee and eventually developed coffee machines. In the 1700s, the French started to make filter coffee by pouring boiling water over coffee placed in a cloth. Much later, in 1908, Melitta Bentz, a German housewife, used her son’s blotting paper to filter coffee, paving the way for filter coffee paper. In 1822, French Louis Bernard Rabaut developed a machine that intensified the aroma of coffee by passing pressurized steam through the coffee. In 1855, at the Paris Fair, another French inventor Edouard Loysel de Santais introduced the “Café Express” machine that could make 2,000 cups of coffee in one hour. In 1901 in Milan, Italian Luigi Bezzera invented the first commercial espresso machine, Desiderio Pavoni, who patented this machine in 1903, improved the design and the duo proudly introduced this new way of making coffee to the world at the 1906 Milan Fair, which they named “Café Espresso.” In 1933, Alfonso Bialetti developed a mocha machine that could be used on the stove top in homes. His son Renato Bialetti popularized this device so much so that every single home in Italy now owns a mocha pot. When he died, he was cremated and his ashes were placed in a large moka pot-shaped urn.

When it comes to Turkish coffee, we didn't think of mechanization for a very long time. Of course, this is due to the difficult design process and the deep-rooted belief that making traditional Turkish coffee is not possible with a machine. The idea of making Turkish coffee first came up in 2002. Even though the market research was discouraging, indicating that there was no such necessity in the market, the quest for developing a machine continued. The designers tried to simulate the traditional manual method and the first coffee machine prototype hit the market in 2003. The traditional method was successfully turned into technology, the stages of making coffee were simulated, and a total of 12 patents were obtained for inventions ranging from sensors that detect the rise of the foam to mechanisms that interrupt the heat communication under the coffee pot at the moment of foam rise. About 10 years later, a second machine was built with a design that adopted a completely different approach. In the following decade, many local and foreign brands have introduced different Turkish coffee machines with their own designs to the market. There are many options on the market, ranging from home-type Turkish coffee machines to machines for the HoReCa sector. In this way, Turkish coffee has become accessible not only in Türkiye but also all over the world. In the last 20 years, Turkish coffee seems to have overcome its delay in the mechanization process and its disadvantageous situation in terms of popularization, thanks to machine power.

Cork of the Week: It is not known when the word “kahve/kawa” was used in Arabic, but it is recorded that its first meaning was “wine,” and that it was given this meaning because it curbed the appetite “kahy” and could be enjoyed as a beverage throughout the day. Now it is time to enjoy wine, the initial meaning of coffee. The annual meeting of wine enthusiasts is due this weekend, Sommeliers’ Selection 2023 will take place at CVK Park Bosphorus Hotel on Dec. 9-10. Imagine a wine tasting where you can sample hundreds of different labels side by side, grouped according to their density and grape varieties and not according to their producers. All professionals and opinion leaders from all around Türkiye will be attending this event to taste new vintages and existing labels and compare them with one another. Also, they find the chance to attend workshops and master classes held by producers and experts, hosting world-famous wine experts Ronan Sayburn MS & Andreas Larsson. Tickets are available at www.sommeliersselection.com. For details, contact via email at taner.ogutoglu@gustobar.com or call +905323222591.