Turkish Tea

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We, Turks love to start the day with tea, not with coffee so Turkish Tea has an important role in our lives. Do you feel so full after a meal? Brew some tea. Is your friend on her way to you? Brew some tea. You may ask yourself why on earth a recipe blog is sharing a Tea recipe. We can discuss this, but let me brew some tea. 😉

Breakfast equals tea for us. At a classic Turkish breakfast, you see tons of food on the table, but there is only one thing never loses its spot on the table which is tea. We drink tea at different times during the day besides breakfasts such as after lunches. The tea, which we consume, is coming from the black sea region of Turkey. Rize city is the biggest and most famous tea producer city in Turkey. Tea is also produced in other cities of Turkey but not as much as in Rize city.

The Story of Tea

Turks have met the tea very late. It first came to Turkey around the early 1900s by Chinese merchants and then it spread very rapidly. At that time Turkish coffee shop culture was also spreading and Tea started to sell at every coffee shop around Turkey. During my research; I found the below picture which shows men holding tea and hookah at an Ottoman-period coffee shop.

Mustafa Kemal ATATURK (Father of the Turks and the greatest leader of all time) noticed a very important thing during that period. He noticed that tea started to be an important part of socializing and Turkish people liked to drink it, however, it was an imported product and the price started to increase day by day. He requested research from the Ministry of Agriculture to find the best suitable location to grow tea in Turkey’s borders. After countless research concluded, it has been decided to plant tea seeds at Rize city because it has the best weather conditions to grow tea. This is how tea got into our lives.

How to make Turkish Tea

Making tea is not rocket science but to make Turkish tea like a Turkish you will need a special teapot. If you have such type of teapot with you, then you can make proper Turkish Tea. Below, I share some special Turkish Teapots for your reference. This will give you an idea about what type of teapot you need to make Turkish Tea.

Turkish Tea
5 from 16 votes
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Turkish Tea

Course Drinks
Cuisine Turkish
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 30 minutes
Servings 6
Calories 11 kcal

Ingredients

  • 7 cups water
  • 4 tbsp black tea

Instructions

  1. Boil 7 cups of water in a bottom teapot first. Then put the black tea leaves to the top pot and transfer 2 cups of boiled water from the lower pot to the top pot.

  2. let them boil at medium heat for 10 minutes. Stir the top pot in every 5 minutes during boiling to let black tea to release its flavor.

  3. Bring the heat to the lowest level and boil 10 minutes more and after it it will be ready.

  4. When serving Turkish tea, pour 1/3 of a glass with tea and fill the rest with boiled water.

  5. It is optional to serve with sugar.

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This Post Has 22 Comments

  1. Barbara C.

    5 stars
    I absolutely LOVE my Turkish tea‼ I’ve been wishing to taste it again (since my trip to turkey in 2013), and I finally bought my Turkish Karaca teapot and Çaykur organic Hemsin Çayl… thanks to your easy to follow steps, my tea is sheer perfection! We’re enjoying it w/some Turkish Delight while watching “Karagül” (dubbed in Spanish). Wish I could post a photo here. I plan to review more of your Turkish Foodie posts. 👍 Thank you!

    1. Turkish Foodie

      Dear Barbara; thank you very much for your valuable comment. I am so glad you liked Turkish tea recipe. I hope you can try some Turkish food recipes from my blog. I believe; you will also like them. Thank you ☺☕

  2. Rita

    5 stars
    I was told that for the best results it is better to mix 3 teas from Caykur: Cicegi, Rize and Tomurcuk. But I don’t know what proportion it should be: equal or some other. And should I keep these teas mixed in a closed can or mix them every time I prepare tea? Thanks.

    1. Turkish Foodie

      Dear Rita; yes, you can comfortly mix these 3 teas. Regarding the proportion; you can mix them equally but if I were you, I would taste them solely first. So that you can pick which flavor fits your taste and make the best mix and match. Also; if you are going to mix the all 3 teas, I would highly suggest you to add “bergamot” flavor in it too. The “Caykur” brand (same brand with these 3 teas) has this flavor too. It is basically a strong earl grey type of tea with bergamont blend. In Turkey, it is a common thing to mix various teas and adding some bergamont flavor to those tea mixes. You will definetly love it. I found the product at Amazon too. Here is the link for you . I hope you will enjoy your Turkish tea ☺☺

  3. Nad Patel

    5 stars
    Can we just boil water and tea all together in one pot instead of using two pots?
    Thanks,

    1. Turkish Foodie

      Dear Nad; the answer is “no”. The tea has to boil itself within the small top pot with the heat and steam of the big pot. This is how the taste of the tea enriches. Otherwise, just buy a pack of Earl Grey tea and put it into the mug. Try our way of making tea. You will not regret it. ☺☺

  4. S

    5 stars
    Hi, thanks for this. How do you transfer water from the bottom pot to the top pot without burning yourself or making a mess? Thanks

    1. Turkish Foodie

      Hi Marilu; Turkish tea boiler formed by two pieces. So; it very easy to transfer water. First, you can take the top pot and set it aside and then open the top pot lid and take the bottom pot from the heat and transfer the boiling water to the top pot and then put the bottom pot back and the put the top pot back on top of the bottom pot. I hope it makes sense. Because if I write more, this explanation looks like a riddle. 😊😊

      1. S

        Hi, thanks for your answer. Apologies for not making myself clear enough – I know the spout will help me with this process, but what I meant to ask was how do you measure 2 exact cups? Many thanks

      2. Turkish Foodie

        Dear Malilu; put 2 clear tea glasses side by side and fill each glass with 1/3 of the tea you made and then add boiling water on top. In this way, you can equal the 2 teacups (tea glasses). If you prefer a strong flavor, put half tea and half boiling water into your tea glass at your next tea time. The more you add tea, the rich and strong tea taste you get. I hope; I understand your question and gave the right answer this time. 😊😊

  5. Michael Bedlow

    5 stars
    Are those cups USA cups 240ml or European cups 200ml?

    1. ilke Barış

      Dear Michael; you can use European. The logic is; if you use too much water on top, your tea will get a light tea color and light flavor. And you cannot tweak it if you like strong flavor taste. On the other hand, if you like strong flavor taste, use less water on top. You can always tweak the strong flavor taste by adding water on top of your teacup. I hope it makes sense.

  6. Susan

    5 stars
    Why if is black tea, it appears red in the glass, has especial ingredient?, where to find it?

    1. ilke Barış

      Dear Susan; there is no special ingredient to make it red. You adjust the taste and the color of your Turkish Tea by adding more or less water on top according to your preference while you are serving. If you like heavy tea taste, you add less water more tea. And the color becomes dark burgundy. If you like light taste, you add more water while serving. This means; instead of pouring 1/3 tea, you pour 1/4 tea or even 1/5 tea. But I don’t recommend this. Stick to the original. I hope this answer helps you. ☕☕☕

  7. Johanna Paciullo

    5 stars
    I just finished watching a Turkish TV Drama on Netflix and I am intrigued by the food and especially the tea drinking. My question is How do the people hold the tea cups? The tea is boiling hot. How do they not burn their fingers? I am going to try your recipe for sure. Thank you.

    1. ilke Barış

      Well; we give space at the top of the glass while putting the tea to the tea glass. And we don’t hold the tea glass by our full palm, we use thumb and index finger to hold the tea glass. With this way, you don’t burn your fingers. 😉😉

  8. Simge T.Taste

    5 stars
    Thanks for your recipe, I like it! I love Turkish tea so much. It’s a ritual in our home everyday.

  9. Muhammad Furqan

    5 stars
    I am from Pakistan and I would like tell u tea is good but where I can find black tea if possible make video and send me on my number 923319600206 WhatsApp

    1. ilke Barış

      Dear Furqan; there is no difference between making the Turkish tea and the black tea. Both are made with the same method I present at my post same. BUT bear in mind that black tea always has a much stronger taste than regular Turkish tea.

  10. Jasmin Uchema

    5 stars
    Thank you for the recipe. I love it !!! 🔥☕🔥

  11. Anwar Khan

    5 stars
    Selamlar

    Thank you for the recipe. I have used your method exactly, and using the ratio of tea to water, the tea ends up being bitter.

    What would you advise?

    1. ilke Barış

      Dear Anwar;
      If it bitter with 1/3 method; you can use 1/4 or even 1/5.
      This means you need to put less tea and fill the rest with water. The more tea, the bitter it is. I hope this helps.

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