“Fill your days with intention, not just activity. Pursue a life guided by your deepest values and grandest purpose, not the fleeting badge of busyness.” Christine Lieu
As much as I love learning about and exploring the ancient ruins in these beautiful countries I’ve been visiting lately…I’m a hands-on gal at heart. I like participating and getting my hands messy. So I signed up for a Turkish Coffee Making & Fortune Telling workshop at Fabrikafa Make & Coffee! Cool, I know.
The workshop.
My instructor for the day was Ali. Unfortunately/Fortunately, the two other people who signed up for the class were no-shows so I had my own private instruction.
Ali started by giving a detailed history of Turkish coffee beginning with where it all began…Yemen.
Coffee is not just a drink in Turkey but it is a conversation starter and subtle gestures mean everything. The coffee is served with a small glass of water. If the person you made coffee for only drinks the water and does not touch the coffee, it is an indication that they are hungry and you should offer them something to eat. If they drink the water and begin to sip the coffee, it means they are open to starting a discussion. Ali explained that this is a custom for all relationships including family, friends, business associates, etc. The cues are slight but extremely important in the Turkish culture.
There are three main parts to Turkish coffee.
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The grounds – which settle in the bottom of the cup (not in a filter).
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The coffee – liquid in the middle of the cup.
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The foam – resting at the top of the cup and probably the most important part of the entire drink.
Why is the foam the most important part? Because the thicker and frothier it is shows you respect and like/love the person you are making it for. You attain this beautiful foam by stirring it slowly and paying attention to the coffee as it boils. If you are not attentive to the coffee, it will boil but it will not have foam – that is also a reflection of how you feel about the other person – you don’t care. So if you pay attention to it, stir it, and focus on it, it will form a beautiful creamy foam on top which says, “I care about you and our relationship.” Again, it is subtle but speaks volumes and is very important in the culture.
After the approximately 45 minute presentation about the history, cultural meaning, and how it is prepared, we got down to business.
First we had to grind the beans by hand in a one cup grinder. If you want to build arm strength, grind your own coffee every morning. You’ll be sure to win every arm-wrestling competition you enter. Ali is a pro.
Items needed to make a delicious cup of Turkish coffee.
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Heat source (stove or open flame)
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Coffee/grinder
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Copper pot
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Water (just enough to fill your cup)
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Coffee cup, saucer, and spoon
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Turkish Delight – a sweet candy that you slowly eat between sips of coffee to balance the flavor.
Why a copper pot? Because it evenly distributes the heat throughout the liquid.
There are two ways to make Turkish coffee – Strong vs Simple. Both processes (after grinding the beans) take approximately five minutes.
Strong:
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Roast the grounds in the copper pot over the flame without water. Stir FAST so they don’t burn!
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Once it begins to smoke a little add water (only the amount of your cup) and slowly (VERY SLOWLY) stir the coffee with the spoon at the very top of the pot. The more slowly and consistently you stir, the better and thicker the foam (the most important part). Pay attention! You can even send the coffee some love and good vibes.
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Once you begins to see bubbles on the edges, you pour the entire pot of liquid into the cup and let it set for several minutes so the grounds settle at the bottom.
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Drink and enjoy!
Simple:
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Put the grounds and the water in copper pot at the same time. (No roasting)
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Place over the heat and slowly begin to stir the liquid at the top of the pot.
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Once you see some bubbles, remove from the heat and pour half of the liquid into the cup.
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Place the remaining liquid back on the heat and slowly stir.
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When it begins to boil again, pour half of the liquid into the cup.
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Repeat again. Liquid on heat, stir slowly, bubbles, pour the remainder into the cup and let it sit so the grounds settle.
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Drink and enjoy!
First we made the Strong version.
People! Look at that FOAM on the strong coffee! It definitely shows love and dedication to the recipient of the coffee…me.❤️
And then we made the Simple style. Okay, I’m not going to lie, the “simple” coffee was actually much more difficult to make so the foam is not as good but with practice I’m sure I can improve.
The strong was definitely my favorite of the two, not only to make but to drink. I love the extra-roasted flavor. Also, I should point out, if you take sugar with your coffee (we did not add sugar), you need to boil it when making the coffee. You CANNOT stir it in later otherwise it will disturb the grounds on the bottom of the cup.
After we were loaded up on caffeine, it was time for fortune-telling! 🔮
We each flipped our cups upside down on the saucers and waited for them to cool down and for the grounds to coat the inside of the cups so we could read our fortunes.
I can’t lie, I was SUPER excited for this part of the class but Ali burst my bubble when he said he didn’t really know how to read the grounds and didn’t believe in it. Crushed is an understatement. I love this mystical stuff.
He did his best and showed me a few PowerPoint slides with a list of symbols to look for in the cup. We flipped our cups back over to take a peek inside and started looking for different shapes.
The first thing that jumped out at me when I looked at the cup was this woman’s face. Clear as day for me. Faces were not in the Fortune dictionary but maybe she is one of my deceased ancestors here to tell me where the family fortune is buried. Kidding.
The longer we looked the more we found. Ali looked up a few things on the internet as well. I mostly saw faces but these other objects could be a giraffe or some other tall four legged animal, a camel face, heart, and another human face in the bottom right photo. Okay, maybe you need to squint. Think outside the box. Come on, use your imagination. Just play along with me.
Later after the class, I did more research on the fortune-telling bit and found this interesting website with more interpretations. I sent it to Ali because we clearly saw the letter “J” in his cup and had no idea what it meant. He said, “I don’t know anyone with a J name.” Turns out it means “love.” He replied that he could use some love in his life, ha! Ahhh, what a beautiful fortune. ❤️ I hope it comes true for him.
As for me, I have no idea what any of these things in my cup mean but I plan to continue studying and practicing this fun ancient tradition. It was enjoyable and used a part of my brain that seems to have gone dormant – creativity. Ultimately, I think the signs and symbols are all about your own interpretation. So make sure to tell a good story for your own future.
OR…better yet, invite me over for some coffee and I’ll read your coffee grounds for ya. I promise a fairytale ending with lots of cash and romance…I might even throw in a little fame if you so desire. Heck, I’ll even make the coffee with extra foam. This might be my new party trick!
Everything has a use so once you are finished playing with your beverage, the grounds can be used as fertilizer for your plants or you can make a body and face scrub with them – just add a little water or your favorite oil (olive, coconut, jojoba, etc.). Your skin will love you and be clean and refreshed.
At the end of class, each participant (i.e. Me) received a gift containing a copper coffee pot, a cup and saucer, and a little bag of coffee to make at home. ❤️
I’ve fallen in love with the tradition, customs, and rituals that surround Turkish coffee. It is a good reminder for me to slow down and be in the moment. To set intentions for those you care about and to be present with them. And if you drink it alone, it is good to do this for yourself too. To remind yourself that you are important.
Overall it was a fun two-hour class. Ali was a great teacher. We laughed, I learned a lot, and I love my gift. Best $17 I’ve spent on a class in a long time.
Do the world a favor and make a cup of coffee for someone. It might be the doorway to a beautiful conversation…and an exciting fortune-telling session. ☕
Good Things List
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Learning new skills, traditions, culture customs, and rituals.
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Coffee Foam. ☕️
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Ali!
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Slowing down and being in the moment.
Much love & gratitude. Namaste 🙏
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They have traffic mirrors!
Ever since I took this class, every time I order a Turkish coffee I flip the cup to read the grounds. I’m proudly annoying baristas across Istanbul with my new talent.
Modern technology does not want to be left behind when it comes to ancient fortunate-telling so there is even an app that you can use to get a reading. Ha!
