Mocha coffee – a hint of seduction, hot and sweet like love, mysterious and unique like a fairy tale from 1001 nights.
This is the composition that turns a fine mocha coffee into a drink of pleasure.
A delicacy that is more than just a coffee, because a mocha combines friendship, history and reveals a centuries-old culture.
From Arabia via Constantinople to Europe
The cradle of the little black bean that gives us so much pleasure and joy lies in Arabia. The mocha bean first grew wild in Ethiopia before eventually being cultivated and planted in Yemen.
The Mocha was named after the Yemeni port of al-Mucha (Mocha) on the Red Sea, which was the most important export port for coffee.
According to a story, the governor of Yemen brought the mocha coffee bean to Constantinople in the 16th century as a gift to the then Sultan Süleyman the Magnificent.
The sultan was so enthusiastic about this new drink that mocha coffee very quickly became particularly important at court. A coffee maker was even hired to make mocha for the sultan and his guests.
He received the title “Kahvecibas?” (coffee boss) and from then on was considered an important person at the court.
The Mocha Coffee And Its Death Sentence
Mocha coffee spread very quickly in the Ottoman capital. Over 600 coffee houses were built in Constantinople in a very short time. The culture of the Turkish coffee ceremony was born.
The gentlemen of society met in very luxurious coffee houses for relaxation, but also for intellectual discussion circles. This displeased the country’s theologians, and Ottoman coffee houses were banned under Sultan Murat IV.
He made drinking coffee a death penalty and had the beautiful coffee houses, which by now had their own architectural character, torn down.
But the next sultan didn’t want to do without coffee and lifted the ban on coffee again at the beginning of the 17th century. From this point on, the culture of mocha coffee spread throughout the Ottoman Empire and reached as far as Europe.
The Coffee Ceremony Becomes Part Of Social Life
Since Sultan Mehmet IV, the ritual of drinking coffee has shifted to private homes and the coffee ceremony that is still alive today was born.
You don’t just drink a Turkish mocha coffee in passing, drinking it as a coffee to go would even be tantamount to a sin.
This coffee is an important part of Turkish culture and therefore has a special status in society. It serves as a prelude to a social gathering or as the crowning glory after a hard day’s work.
But it can also be served as a thank you gesture or as a greeting to dear neighbors. Every good meal ends with a Turkish mocha coffee. Mocha coffee is an important part of social life.
How To Make Turkish Mocha Coffee
The Turkish method of preparation is the oldest method of preparation and hardly differs from the Arabic mocha. It is important that the bean is ground as fine as flour.
That’s what makes mocha coffee. Strongly roasted Arabica beans, which traditionally come from Ethiopia, are suitable for the mocha.
Now you still need a small saucepan, the cezve (it is traditionally made of copper), some sugar, water, and a portion of patience.
For a cup of mocha, take a well-heaped teaspoon of ground coffee, add sugar and mix both together. The amount of sugar depends on the taste of the connoisseur.
Two teaspoons of sugar are needed for sweet mocha if you prefer the coffee to have a balanced taste then one teaspoon is enough.
If you prefer the pure taste of coffee, you can drink the coffee without sugar. Now the amount of water for a cup of mocha is added and everything is mixed well and vigorously.
The coffee should no longer be stirred during the entire boiling process. As soon as the coffee forms a froth and this rises to the top of the cezve, the mocha is ready.
It must not boil, otherwise, it will become bitter and the important foam will be lost. In Arabic countries, rose water, allspice, or cardamom are often added to the mocha, giving the coffee a whole new note.
THINGS YOU NEED
- Turkish Coffee Maker
- Turkish Coffee Cup
- Finely Ground Coffee
The prepared mocha cups should be rinsed out briefly with hot water so that the coffee does not cool down so quickly. Now use a spoon to put the coffee foam, the crowning glory of Turkish mocha, in the small Turkish mocha cup and pour the coffee over it.
When the foam closes in the cup like a hood, the Turkish mocha is a perfect success. Turkish mocha is served in small, often elaborately decorated mocha cups. A glass of water and a sweet, colorful liqueur, which is also a highlight for coffee, should not be missing.
Turkish Mocha A Pleasure - Sometimes Sweet, Sometimes Salty
The Turkish mocha also has its own importance in courtship. In Turkey, it is still taken for granted that the groom and his family visit the family of the beloved. You get to know each other better and the groom asks for the hand of his loved one.
During this visit, the bride makes the coffee. Of course, she makes a special effort to ensure that every visitor is satisfied with the desired coffee taste. Only at the suitor’s house will the girl make an even better mocha.
She’ll cook it with salt instead of sugar. If the beloved drink the coffee without batting an eyelid and then thank you and says “ellerine sağlık” – may your hands keep cooking so well, then he has passed the courtship.
The Turkish mocha has another tradition that is still cultivated throughout Turkey today. The future of the connoisseur is revealed in the coffee grounds. In good coffee houses in Istanbul, coffee grounds readers are waiting for you, which you are welcome to use for a fee.
In a private circle, there is guaranteed to be a good coffee grounds reader at the table who can oracle about the future. To do this, the coffee drinker takes his saucer after the last sip of coffee, places it on the coffee cup, turns it both over, and briefly swirls the cup with the plate.
Then the coffee grounds are allowed to settle, which can take a few minutes, and only then will the secret of the future be revealed.
Conclusion On Mocha Coffee
- The beans of mocha coffee must be ground as finely as flour.
- The foam cap is important when brewing Turkish mocha coffee; only a completely preserved foam cap is proof of a well-cooked mocha coffee.
- Mocha coffee is poured into the cup with the coffee grounds.
- Before drinking, however, the coffee powder settles so that the coffee can be enjoyed in its perfect purity.
