Turkish Coffee Brewing
Taste: Bold, similar to espresso but less concentrated and a bit easier to drink. Easy to extract more pleasant acidic flavors/brightness out of your coffee i.e. floral, fruity, nutty, citrusy, tangy, winey, etc.
Why We Chose This Brewer: It’s super fun to brew with and very easy to get the hang of! Requires minimal effort and can be easily repeatable from cup to cup or with different coffee beans. With this traditional beverage and unique server, It’s sure to impress. You can also serve with a side of sparkling water and a candy (Turkish Delight) / dried fruit of choice (date) to really highlight the experience!
What Coffee Works Best? A very light roasted coffee is great for this method! And it can show you what light roasted coffee can taste like without being hard to extract its bright flavors like other brewing methods can be. Making this method a great way to discover new origins and flavor profiles. You can certainly use a medium roast as well. Try a naturally processed Ethiopian for a juicy fruit explosion! Or this beautiful washed Ethiopian close to the Guji region, roasted by one of our favorites - Black & White Coffee Roasters out of North Carolina.
Turkish coffee is one of the oldest forms of coffee brewing dating back to the Ottoman Empire in the 1600s. It uses very finely ground coffee, even finer than espresso, and typically requires either a Turkish grinder or a more high-end, all-purpose specialty coffee grinder like the Comandante that can reach this ultra-fine grind size with ease.
What You’ll Need:
Ultra-Finely ground coffee (ground fresh)
We recommend using these grinders: Turkish Coffee Grinder , Comandante
Ibrik brewer
Good water - 75-250 PPM / 6.5-7.5 pH
Filtered Nashville water is currently fine for coffee brewing, though we recommend using Third Wave Water (Classic Profile) or filling up a jug from your favorite coffee shop for best results!
Ratio: 1:11 | we use 10g coffee to 110g water
Starting water temp: 140
Brew Time: 2:00-2:30
Tips before starting
Test how long it takes for your water to boil on the heat setting you plan to use. Aim for a heat setting that begins to boil the water around 2:00. Heating a water kettle to 150 degrees before pouring over the coffee will help maintain consistency.
First Step
Begin by chilling a small cup big enough to hold the water + coffee brew. The low temperature of the glass will help to slow extraction as soon as it is poured into the cup.
Dump ground coffee into Ibrik and fill with desired water amount.
Stir slurry 10x to break up any coffee clumps and evenly wet grounds.
Place over heating element and wait for slurry to rise. You should aim for this to be between 2:00-2:30.
Slowly pour into chilled cup.
How To Improve This Recipe
Adjust grind size for optimal extraction:
Tastes bitter, flat, boring, or even astringent, creates dryness on back of tongue - grind coarser or use a shorter brew time.
Tastes weak, sour, overly acidic, pierces the sides of your tongue - grind finer or use a longer brew time.
* Many low quality burr grinders will produce very fine grinds along with very course grinds, making both of these bitter and sour tastes present, which will be hard to dial in your grind setting. If this happens, just use your best judgement for this and know it’s your grinders fault.
Happy Brewing!
-Connor Johnson, Owner and Operator of Pit Stop Coffee Co.
(Photography Credit: Chloe Conn @sunflowereyesstudio)