9 things you should know about Turkish coffee

You know how essential Turkish coffee, otherwise known as Arabic coffee or qahwa, in all of our lives.

There's not an azeema that can go by without qahwa taking charge of the whole thing. With each country declaring the style of coffee to be its own, there are a few things you should know about the delicious drink.

It then spread to Mecca, Cairo, Syria, and then, in the mid-16th century, to Turkey.

During the 16th century, an Ottoman governor in Yemen loved the coffee and later introduced it to Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent, popularizing coffee in Istanbul and around the world.

The beans for Turkish coffee are ground or pounded into powder, finer than any other way of preparation. Various takes on Turkish coffee – such as Egyptian coffee, Lebanese coffee, and Syrian coffee – only differ in the flavor, preparation and presentation.

In Lebanon for example, the coffee is prepared with hot water alone first, to which sugar is added and dissolved. However, when preparing Turkish coffee, the powder, sugar and cold water are mixed together prior to simmering.

Sultan Murad III banned coffee at the end of the 16th century. Coffee remained banned until the 1839 regulatory law.

As a prologue to marriage, the bridegroom's parents must visit the young girl's family to ask for the bride's hand in marriage. During the visit, the bride must prepare and serve Turkish coffee to the guests. It is also believed that the bride-to-be sometimes puts salt instead of sugar for the groom, to test his character.

Otherwise known as tebseer, the cup is turned over to cool. Once cooled down, the fortune-teller can read certain patterns to tell you a bit about your future.