Cezve
How to make Turkish coffee in a cezve
Turkish coffee is very finely ground coffee heated slowly with cold water in a small pot, called a cezve, until a layer of foam forms.
- Coffee
- 7 g
- Cup
- 60 ml
- Temp
- 90 °C
- Time
- 4:30
It is served unfiltered in a small cup. UNESCO inscribed "Turkish coffee culture and tradition" on its Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2013. The inscription describes the method this way: fresh roasted beans are finely ground, combined with cold water and sugar in a pot and heated slowly on the stove to produce the desired foam, then served in small cups with a glass of water (UNESCO). This page follows that description for one demitasse and gives a four and a half minute sequence. The gram amounts are CupTune's own home adaptation. Families and coffeehouses do it in many ways.
The spec
| Part | Amount |
|---|---|
| Coffee | 7 g, ground to a fine powder |
| Cold water | 70 g (about 70 ml) |
| Sugar | 0 to 5 g, to taste, added before heating |
| Cup | 90 ml demitasse |
| Finished coffee | about 60 ml |
| Heat | low, remove at the rise |
| Total time | 4 minutes 30 seconds |
You need
- A cezve with a small opening, about 100 to 150 ml.
- A grinder that can make powder, or coffee ground for Turkish coffee. Ordinary espresso grind is too coarse.
- A scale and a small spoon.
- A demitasse. A small glass of water on the side is traditional.
Ratio 1:10 · Grind: powder-fine (Turkish) · grind chart
Starting ranges come from your grinder maker’s own guide. Burrs, beans and calibration vary, so treat them as where to begin.
Steps
- 0:00, Add 70 g cold water, 7 g coffee, sugar.
Pour 70 g of cold water into the cezve. Add 7 g of coffee and sugar if you take it.
- 0:20, Stir once, then leave it.
Stir once, until the coffee is wet and no dry lumps remain.
- 0:30, Heat slowly until foam begins to rise.
Place the cezve on low heat. Do not stir again. Watch the surface. A dark ring forms, then foam gathers at the edge.
- 2:50, Lift off, spoon foam into the cup.
When the foam begins to rise, lift the cezve off. Spoon a little foam into the demitasse.
- 3:05, Return to heat, lift as it rises.
Put the cezve back for a few seconds. Lift it again as the foam rises to the rim, before it boils over.
- 3:30, Pour gently into the demitasse.
Pour gently into the cup, so the foam stays on top.
- 3:50, Let the grounds settle.
Let the grounds sink before drinking.
My notes for this recipe
Why these numbers
7 g to 70 g. A ratio of 1:10. It is far stronger than a filter brew, because you drink the grounds suspended in the cup, and only about 60 ml is served. The ratio is authored, since traditional measures are often given in teaspoons per cup. The UNESCO text does not give grams.
Powder-fine grind. This is much finer than the 200 to 400 micron espresso band in CupTune's grind guide, so we mark it as its own grind and not a number of that table. A fine powder forms a stable foam and settles in the cup without a filter.
Cold water, slow heat. The UNESCO description says the same. Starting cold gives the coffee time to wet and the foam time to build, and low heat keeps it from boiling over. If the water boils, the foam collapses and the coffee turns harsh.
Sugar goes in before heating. The inscription lists the sugar with the water and coffee in the pot. Stir it in at the start, and use none if you drink it plain.
About 90 °C. The foam rises before the water reaches a full boil, so we record 90 °C as the target. That figure is authored. A thermometer is not needed, and the foam is your signal.
If it looks or tastes wrong
- No foam. Heat was too high, or you stirred while heating. Go lower and do not stir.
- Boiled over. You left it too long. Lift the cezve as soon as the foam climbs.
- Gritty and thick. Normal to a degree, but if it is muddy, use 6 g and let it settle longer.
- Bitter and harsh. It boiled. Start again on lower heat.
- Weak and thin. The grind is too coarse. Use a finer setting, or powder ground for Turkish coffee.
Those fixes are CupTune's judgement; UNESCO describes the method, not its faults.
Evidence and limits
Only the tradition itself, its 2013 inscription and the general method come from UNESCO. The UNESCO text does not name a cezve, so the pot, the amounts in grams, the 1:10 ratio, the grind comparison and the timings are CupTune's. The 90 °C figure and the two-rise approach are widely used home practice that we have not verified in a primary source. Different regions add cardamom, or heat the pot in hot sand, and we do not cover them here.
Questions
Do I drink the grounds?
No. They settle at the bottom of the cup. Stop before the last sip.
Can I use a blade grinder?
A blade grinder usually cannot reach powder. Buy coffee ground for Turkish coffee if so.
Do I add milk?
The UNESCO description lists only coffee, cold water and sugar in the pot, and a glass of water served alongside, so this page serves it that way.