Even though "Turkish coffee" is famous all over the world, it has been never grown in Turkey. The name "Turkish coffee" refers to a process for brewing the roasted coffee beans. When making Turkish coffee, water and coffee beans that have been ground into a fine powder are mixed with the desired amount of sugar and heated in a specially designed small pot. The pot is taken off the heat just at the moment it is about to boil over and a layer of foam has formed on the top.

Turkish coffee is served in small cups and the residue at the bottom of the cup is not consumed. And it is believed that the remaining residue found at the bottom of the cooled cup can reveal your fortune!

Coffee plant, which is native to Ethiopia, was introduced in Yemen during the 15th century. Ottoman governor of Yemen introduced coffee to Istanbul, during the 16th century. Sacks of coffee were among the materials left behind by the retreating Ottoman army after the siege of Vienna failed in 1683. A captured Turkish Janissary soldier introduced the Viennese to the art of coffee making.

Contrary to what one might expect, Turkey is a land of tea drinkers. The total annual consumption of tea is approximately 120 thousand tons whereas that of coffee is 8 thousand tons, 75% of which is Turkish coffee. On the average, a Turk consumes 27 cups of coffee annually while a Dutchman consumes 2,000 cups. Annual per capita coffee consumption is only 100 grams in Turkey and 10 kilograms in Europe.

Turkish tea is grown along the coast of the Black Sea in the province of Rize and is made slowly by steaming the tea leaves in a boiler. After some time, hot water is added to the steamed tea leaves and the drink is allowed to simmer. The tea, which is now dark in color, is poured into an hourglass shaped glass and mixed with boiling water until the desired strength is reached.