Walk into almost any home or café from Istanbul to Sarajevo and someone will offer you tea. It comes fast, it comes hot, and it comes in a small glass shaped like a tulip.
How Turkish tea is brewed
Turkish tea is black tea, but it’s made in a special way using a double teapot. The bottom pot boils water. The top pot holds loose tea leaves.
- Water boils in the bottom pot.
- Some of that water goes over the leaves in the top pot.
- The tea steeps slowly, sitting on top of the steam.
What you get in the top pot is a strong tea concentrate. When it’s time to serve, you pour a little of the concentrate into the glass and top it up with hot water from the bottom pot. That way everyone can have it as strong or as light as they like.
Why the tulip glass?
The glass isn’t just pretty. It’s thin, so the tea cools a little faster at the top and stays warm at the bottom. It’s clear, so you can see the colour. And it’s small, so the tea is always fresh and hot. When your glass is empty, someone fills it again.
People in Turkey say the perfect colour is like rabbit’s blood: a deep, clear red. Too pale and it’s weak. Too dark and it’s bitter.
How to drink it
- No milk. Turkish tea is always served without milk.
- Sugar is up to you. It usually comes with sugar cubes on the side.
- Hold it by the rim. The glass gets hot, so hold it near the top or by the saucer.
- Have another. One glass is never really one glass.
Tea or coffee?
In the Balkans, both have their place. Coffee is for slow mornings and long chats. Tea is for any time at all. If you can’t decide, try one today and the other next time.
Turkish tea at Sarajevo Kitchen
We serve traditional Turkish black tea in a proper tea glass for $3.00. It’s lovely with a piece of baklava or a warm kifla.
Want something stronger? Here’s how to drink Bosnian coffee.
