Turkish coffee against ‘espresso’

Arzum Electrical Household Appliances is an important local actor in its sector. The brand that was registered in 1966 is now used in more than 10 million homes in Turkey. It is the leader of the market with 4 million item sales annually.

Arzum has created many appliances, such as a non-electric carpet cleaner, ventilator, food processor, the first tea maker; and then by creating the first electronic coffee pot, somehow revolutionized the sector.

I am saying revolutionary because making Turkish coffee has centuries-old rituals. We all believe that the slower the coffee is made over a low fire on the stove or over a coal ember, the better it will taste. A Turkish coffee at the right consistency in full foam is worth the world for us.

However, nobody was able to reject, in the fast tempo of our lives, the electric coffee pot that made the coffee quickly and equally delicious. 

Second-generation boss of Arzum and head of the executive committee Murat Kolbaşı told us the story of electric coffee making. At a very good restaurant one day, they were not able to have Turkish coffee because the chefs did not have suitable fire/heat to make the perfect Turkish coffee.

The electronic coffee pot has increased coffee consumption in Turkey. Technology seems to be the answer to everything.

After four years of R&D, Arzum has succeeded in producing a coffee maker for the first time in the world with the feature of directly serving the cup, with the taste of “cooked over coal embers” at the same standard each time. 

We can call this the second revolution in Turkish coffee culture. Kolbaşı said this appliance, which they spent $2 million to develop and they have named “Okka,” will make Turkish coffee meet the world. 

“Every day in the world 1.1 billion cups of coffee is drunk. Turkish coffee is not even 10 percent of it, whereas Turkish coffee is more natural, does not have any aroma, etc. additives and tastes better,” he said.

“Okka” has won the prestigious “Red-Dot” prize. At the Ambiante Fair in Frankfurt, visitors were lining up at the Arzum pavilion to have Turkish coffee.

I don’t think I need to state that it is the Greeks who are the most interested in “Okka.”

I saw that a Greek buyer of “Okka” had written on his card “Automatic Greek Coffee Maker.” Let us leave aside the debate of whether it is Greek coffee or Turkish coffee.

This appliance, which can be used at home or at the office like an “espresso machine,” will, as Kolbaşı said, enable Turkish coffee to be opened to the world. 

Kolbaşı is also a member of the “Association of Turkish Coffee Culture and Research,” and reminded me that Turkish coffee and its traditions were included in the UNESCO Intangible Culture Heritage lists.

As a result, Turkish coffee has a future. With the support of “Okka,” it is preparing to conquer the world.

We will indeed one day hear in any restaurant in the world those who request “a Turkish coffee please” instead of “one espresso please.”

As a matter of fact, the first espresso machine was on the market in 1905 but innovations are always appealing and welcome; especially if this innovation is distilled through a 500-year-old tradition…