Turkish coffee

Coffee reached Istanbul from Yemen in the 16th century, and the first coffeehouses soon opened. They became places of conversation, games, poetry and music, and the habit of coffee drinking spread to Europe largely through the Ottomans.

Turkish coffee is ground as fine as flour and brewed slowly with cold water and, if wished, sugar in a cezve. It is poured with its foam intact and served with water and lokum. Reading fortunes in the grounds left in the cup is part of the tradition.

Coffee belongs to hospitality, friendship and betrothal customs: when the groom's family comes to ask for her hand, the bride-to-be makes the coffee. "Turkish coffee culture and tradition" was inscribed on the UNESCO list in 2013.