Turkish(?) Coffee

I love Turkish coffee. It is strong, bitter, and feels like a treat in the same way that a morsel of really good, really dark chocolate does. It also kick-starts your energy level like nothing else I know. So some mornings, when I really want to get up and go, I make myself a cup.

At least, I think I am making myself a cup of Turkish coffee. I learned the technique from a Serb, not a Turk. When Yugoslavia was torn apart by civil war in the early 1990's, I met a young Serbian refugee at a wild party that featured bowling down a long apartment hallway (Ooof...I pity the building's superintendent). I was pals with Vladimir for a whole Cleveland winter before he headed to a warmer state to settle down in. Vladimir took me to a Greek Orthodox Christmas dinner, taught me how to say unrepeatable things in his native tongue, and taught me how to make Turkish coffee. The housewives in Serbia, he said, drank cup after cup of the stuff all day long. Now that's a "kaffee klatch"!

It really couldn't be easier to make a good, strong cup of coffee:

-Take two and a half times the amount of water you need and put in a saucepan. For example, if you want to finish with 2 cups of Turkish coffee, start with 5 cups of water.
-Add to this DOUBLE the amount of coffee you would use for a standard brew.
-Add 1-2 scant teaspoons of sugar. Please note that this doesn't really sweeten the coffee in a substantial way. It just takes the edge off the bitterness and adds some complexity.
-Bring this to a boil, whisking frequently to incorporate the coffee grounds with the water.
-When it looks well-mixed and it's going at a roiling boil, pull off the heat and pour through a fine mesh strainer directly into a coffee cup. (I do this over the sink because sometimes pouring out of a saucepan is awkward and messy)
-Enjoy your hot, strong coffee

I have no idea if this is exactly what they do in the exotic cafes of Istanbul, but it certainly is an easy way to make a powerful cup of coffee. And after you have finished your cup, it's fun to pretend you can read your coffee grounds just like a gypsy fortune-teller, and make sure to predict that you will have a dynamic and lucky day after enjoying this delightful rocket-fuel!