Everything You Need To Know About Turkish Tea

If you are a visitor to Turkey, one of the first things you will notice is the amount of tea consumed by locals. People here love to drink tea pretty much anytime. One of my neighbors proudly informed me that when he was working he would drink 30-40 cups a day! Now that he is retired, he limits himself to a mere 10 or so.

They also do not like to drink their tea alone. This means that you as a visitor will be invited in to this tea-drinking culture wherever you are. Looking for a souvenir to take home? Why not enjoy a cup of tea with the shop-owner after picking it out? Need to rent a car? Why not drink a cup of tea (or 2 or 3!) while you wait? An offer of tea is an offer of time. Time to sit and talk. Time to get to know one another better.

Just a few of the tea options available at our local grocery store

While herbal and green teas are also available, the traditional Turkish tea is a black tea. There are two kinds that people here prefer to drink. One is known as Turk chayı, or, Turkish tea, and is the more popular of the two. The other is known as kachak chayı, or, smuggled tea. Turkish tea, produced mostly in the Black Sea city of Rize, has a fine leaf and a smooth, mild taste. Smuggled tea, (or Ceylon tea) originates outside the country. It has a much coarser leaf, a strong taste, and a deep red color when brewed.

So how is Turkish tea made? Tea in Turkey is brewed in a double stacked tea-pot. The bottom pot contains boiling water, and the top pot contains the concentrate.

First, boil water in the bottom pot. If you are in a hurry, you can use an electric kettle to get a head-start. Once the water is boiling, add the tea to the top pot. Tea is sold in both looseleaf form and in bags. For a medium-size tea pot, add 4 heaping spoonfuls of looseleaf tea, or 4 tea bags.

Pour the boiling water over the tea, then refill the bottom pot with water. Once the water on the bottom is boiling again, turn the heat down to a very low setting, and let the tea steep. This can take anywhere from 15-30 minutes. Of course the longer it steeps, the stronger the concentrate. If you are using looseleaf tea like I did, you can tell if the tea is ready to serve by whether or not the tea leaves have sunk to the bottom.

Not ready yet

Ready to serve

Tea in Turkey is generally served in tulip-shaped glasses with sugar available to mix in.

Because Turkish tea is diluted with water, it can be served at varying levels of strength. For those who like their tea a bit weaker, they can ask for achık (weak) tea. For those who prefer it to be strong, they can ask for demli (strong) tea. For those who don’t want their tea to be diluted at all, but as strong as possible, they can ask for tavshan kanı tea, literally translated as “rabbit’s blood!”

For a “normal” cup of tea, fill the teacup about 1/3 of the way up with the concentrate. Then fill it to the top with the boiling water.

Tea is hardly ever served to guests in the home without some sort of snack on the side. That can be anything from a full spread of salads, pastries, and stuffed grape leaves to a simple package of crackers or bowl of nuts.

So if you are with a Turkish friend and they offer to put on a pot of tea, know that this is more than an offer of something to drink. It is an offer of hospitality, an offer to slow down, and will be well worth your time to accept. Afiyet olsun!

For further reading:
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/opinion/aylin-oney-tan/tea-and-serendipity-62541

https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2014/01/map-the-countries-that-drink-the-most-tea/283231/