Real Turkish coffee is not a blend you can pick up in a supermarket. It is a specific roast, ground to a powder finer than espresso, and it goes stale fast. If you are in Prague and want the genuine article, this page tells you what to look for and where to get it.
What makes Turkish coffee different
Three things, and all of them matter:
- The grind. Turkish coffee is ground to a flour-fine powder — far finer than espresso. This is not optional. A normal grinder cannot do it, and coffee ground for a filter or a moka pot will never produce the texture or the foam.
- The roast. Traditional Turkish roast is medium, not dark. It should smell sweet and nutty, not burnt. Over-roasted beans give you bitterness where you want body.
- The freshness. Ground coffee at that fineness has an enormous surface area, so it oxidises quickly. A vacuum pack that has been open for a month is not the same product it was on day one.
What we stock
We carry Mehmet Efendi, the Istanbul roaster that has been grinding Turkish coffee since 1871 and is what most Turkish households actually use. It comes vacuum-packed in three sizes:
| Product | Size | Price |
|---|---|---|
| MEHMET — Turkish coffee | 100 g | 180 Kč |
| MEHMET — Turkish coffee | 250 g | 360 Kč |
| MEHMET — Turkish coffee | 500 g | 600 Kč |
The 100 g pack is the sensible choice if you drink it occasionally — you will finish it while it is still fresh. Buy the 500 g only if you are making it daily.
How to brew it properly
You need a cezve (the small long-handled pot) and patience. The method is simple and unforgiving:
- Measure cold water using the cup you will drink from. One cup of water per cup of coffee.
- Add one heaped teaspoon of coffee per cup, plus sugar now if you want it. Sugar added later ruins the foam.
- Stir once while the water is still cold, until there are no dry lumps. Then stop stirring.
- Heat slowly on a low flame. This is the part people rush. It should take three to four minutes, not one.
- Watch for the foam to rise. Just before it boils over, lift the pot off the heat. Pour a little foam into each cup, return the pot to the heat briefly, then pour the rest.
Never let it boil. A boiled Turkish coffee loses its foam and turns bitter, and there is no fixing it.
Serving it the way it is meant to be served
Turkish coffee is served with a glass of water, drunk first to clear the palate. It is sipped slowly, and the grounds are left in the bottom of the cup — never stirred in, never drunk. If you take it sweet, the traditional levels are sade (no sugar), az şekerli (a little), orta (medium) and şekerli (sweet).
A piece of Turkish delight on the side is standard, and we stock that too.
Come and buy it
You will find Mehmet Efendi coffee on our shelves alongside the rest of our Turkish grocery range at Anatolia Meat Market, Na Poříčí 1933/36, Prague 1 — a few minutes from Náměstí Republiky.
We are open every day, 09:00–21:00. Call +420 727 974 844, or browse and order through our online menu.
Prices listed are those on our online menu and may change; the current price is always shown there and in store.
