There isn’t any better therapy than drinking a Turkish coffee with your best friend nearby.
Nilufer Guney
This is one of the best quotes I have read on the Internet times ago and the one that I practice each day of my life. Do you agree?
What can be better than waking up in the morning, having a cup of Turkish coffee to boost energy during the day, and discussing everything you want in good company?
Having a Turkish coffee is like a daily ritual that is done with friends and family, with your loveliest people. It is like a way to show gratitude to the ones you most love, like a blessing time you spend with them.
What is Turkish coffee?
Turkish coffee is a traditional method of coffee preparation that has its origin in Middle Eastern and European countries, including Turkey, Greece, and Iran.
It was first introduced into Turkey around 1540 and has been part of everyday life since the Ottoman Empire, part of which is now Turkey.
The Turkish Governor of Yemen, Ozdemir Pasha is the one that history has introduced as the person who discovered a new beverage in his region, which was the Turkish coffee today.
He made sure to bring it to the attention of Sultan Suleiman and since then it was immediately a big hit in the palace.
Since then, it became an essential part of Turkish culture and this can be easily noticed by the coffee houses everywhere in Turkey.
How to make Turkish coffee?
Preparing a Turkish coffee is easy and it only needs you to know a couple of tricks.
Which are the ingredients we need to use?
- Cold water
- Turkish coffee ( you can buy it in the supermarket or different stories or you can grind it yourself. It is much more finely than other coffees.
- Sugar
- Cezve ( a special wide-bottomed pot)
- Turkish coffee cups, or any normal cups you have at home
You can also add spice cardamom if you want.
You have to mix all the ingredients and slowly bowl over medium heat. When a dark foam builds then the coffee is ready to get distributed into your favorite cups.
Does Turkish coffee have benefits?
Turkish coffee is stronger in caffeine than many other types of coffee. This makes it provides several health benefits like:
Beneficial compounds
It is said that Turkish coffee may contain higher levels of beneficial compounds in brewed coffee. In coffee beans there are found some beneficial compounds like chlorogenic acids, which provide health benefits like improving blood sugar, cholesterol levels, inflammation, high blood pressure etc.
Also, consuming Turkish coffee may fight infection, support heart health, reduce inflammation, etc.
- Improving athletic performance
We all know that caffeine is a natural stimulant that can boost the mental and physical performance of athletes.
So, a highly concentrated dose of caffeine may be beneficial for athletes as long as they need a lot of energy.
- Protective effect against certain diseases
Different studies have shown that coffee may help reduce the risk of certain diseases, including heart disease and diabetes.
Also, daily coffee consumption is linked to a lower risk of liver cancer, depression, endometrial cancer, etc.
A lot of studies have demonstrated that people who consume a cup of coffee every day can reduce with 7% their risk for diabetes. Whereas, people that consume regularly three to five cups of coffee per day can reduce with15% the risk of heart disease.
But, this is only for those people that really love and have proved that their bodies can easily absorb coffee. Do not do that only because of the study. Everything is different in different bodies.
- Protection against Mental Decline
Have you ever heard that consuming coffee may help your brain against certain neurological conditions, like Alzheimer’s disease?
There exist some studies that people who consumed coffee daily had a 27% lower risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease.
Also, it may reduce the risk of Parkinson’s disease and Dementia as well.
- Cardamom in coffee may provide further benefits.
When we wrote how to make Turkish coffee we said that we can add cardamom to it, to have a tasty spice in coffee. But, this is the only function that Cardamom plays in Turkish coffee? No, there are a lot of other health benefits we take through it.
Cardamom contains some powerful antioxidants that can reduce inflammation and lower the risk of your chronic disease.
There is a study made with rats that showed that Cardamom extracts effectively inhibited inflammatory compounds. Also, it may help fight cancer in mice and its essential oil has some antibacterial properties.
Which are some of the drawbacks of drinking Turkish coffee?
- Too much sugar
Each one of us knows that the regular consumption of too much sugar every day can harm our health. If we are talking about drinking a sweetened coffee this will not harm our health, but if we add here the regular consumption of any sugary beverage and everything else we eat or drink during the day that contains sugar in itself, then this is a problem in itself. It can increase the risk of several health issues like high triglyceride levels, obesity, diabetes etc.
So, to avoid the consumption of too much sugar, you may drink Turkish coffee without sugar or you can use healthier alternatives like stevia, or using cardamom, or cinnamon. In this way, it helps you enhance flavor without adding sugar.
- High caffeine content
Some people love caffeine and cannot do without it, whereas some others are so sensitive towards it. This group of people who are sensitive to the effects of caffeine may have some unpleasant side effects when drinking it and may experience anxiety or sleep disruptions.
Turkish coffee, as an unfiltered type of coffee, contains cafestol, a diterpenoid that may raise triglyceride levels and blood cholesterol.
People with high blood pressure usually avoid this strong type of coffee because it can raise their blood pressure or make them feel uncomfortable without any reason.
If you want some additional information about Turkish coffee in general you can have a look at our post about the best Turkish coffee brands.
