How to Predict Your Future by Simply Drinking Coffee in Turkey

Coffee is one of the main cultural heritage in Turkey. Like food, coffee has a very big importance in daily life, the cultural and social history of Turkey since it brings people together. The Ottoman Empire first met with coffee, according to the historical data, in the 16th Century. After that, coffee became an inseparable part of hosting the guests, in literature, at the palace and in every aspect of life. Some of the legends say that coffee even came into Turkey before the 16th century. Fernand Braudel stated that; coffee was the main part of the social life back in 1511 and some of them say that coffee was brought by the Governor of Yemen; Özdemir Pasha, to give to the then Sultan, Kanuni Sultan Süleyman, in 1517.

Even the mystic poet Mevlana (or known by the name Rumi) stated that the coffee was a part of the culture in Anatolia in the 13th Century. It is also known that coffee was brought by Turkish people in Europe during the Vienna Siege in 1529. After 17 days of being in constant war, the Ottoman army couldn't resist the cold and decided to go back to İstanbul, but when they went back, they left their coffee in Vienna. When the European people first drank the coffee, they hated it but after adding milk and sugar, coffee had great importance in Europe.

Since it has a big effect on Turkish culture, of course drinking coffee has a lot of art when it comes to cook and drink it. Turkish coffee is always served with cold water, Turkish delight or chocolate and sometimes with liquor. But of course, there are lots of rituals when it comes to drinking Turkish coffee. Before you drink it, first you need to drink cold water to get rid of the other tastes inside your mouth; it is essential to taste and enjoy it as possible as it is. You can also drink coffee with a side of liquor. It is known that mint and bitter almond liquor pops up the taste of the Turkish coffee. Back in the days, Turkish coffee was made without sugar and serves with Turkish delight since they thought the taste of the sugar eliminates the taste of the coffee (totally agreed, amen to that). It is still served with Turkish delight but you can order or make your coffee with sugar as well. You just have to say "az şekerli" (which means with less sugar)," orta şekerli" (which means with a moderate amount of sugar) and "şekerli" (which means with more sugar). You can also order "sade" which means without sugar. And the most crucial ritual is after drinking the coffee is to predict your future! Cafedomancy word exists thanks to Turkish people :). To do that, right after you finish drinking it, first you have turned the cup and close it with the cup's saucer. After doing this you have to wait for the cup to get cooler. After it is cooled, you can open the cup and predict your future by the stains of the coffee ground. There are lots of Turkish people who can do this, if you can't see anything, you can give your cup to the first Turkish people you can see and they will be very happy to do predict your future. If you want it to be more professional, there are also lots of people who do this as a professional. But don't take every prediction so seriously, since there is a saying in Turkish, roughly translated as; "don't believe the fortune-telling but don't be left from it too".

When it comes to making Turkish coffee, it is essential to be made in the copper coffeepot. You also have to cook it with low heat and make more foam as possible. It is also known that making Turkish coffee is the most ancient way to make coffee! It is more easy to drink, aromatic and more consistent rather than any coffee in the world. Turkish Coffee is also healthier and has less caffeine in it. If you want to know how to make it, here is your guide!

In March 2013, Turkish Coffee and its tradition also became the World Cultural Heritage by UNESCO!

Drinking coffee is a very delicate pleasure in life. If you want to drink the best Turkish coffee, here is the top 5 place to enjoy every sip of it in Istanbul!