I drank my way through five different countries.  Okay, I tried the beer but what I really liked was the coffee.

[caption id="attachment_926" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Bosnian Coffee"]<img class="size-medium wp-image-926" title="Coffee in Bosnia " src="http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/dsc07412.jpg?w=300" alt="Bosnian Coffee" width="300" height="225" />[/caption]

Here's the important thing to know: seeing as this is Tuesday this post is going to be one part "How To" and one part travel up-date. Lucky you guys!

So I woke up in Sarajevo after a really long, bus ride the day before hungry and dying for a coffee.  Actually, I am always dying for a coffee.  I love the smell, the flavor and the way the first sip feels on my tongue.  I was pleasantly surprised to learn that in Sarajevo ordering a coffee results the picture to the left rather than simply an espresso.

For most of us I think the coffee to the left probably looks like Turkish coffee.  Don't be fooled this is in fact Bosnian coffee.  At this point, I am sure that you're wondering is there a difference?<!--more-->

Well to my untrained eye and tongue no.  Also, I had a hunch that the coffee and the perpetration/coffee making techniques must have spread into the Balkans and Sarajevo (Bosnia and Herzegovina) with the conquest of the Ottoman Empire in the 13th century.  And guess what? I wasn't too far off.  This is what I learned from <a href="http://meri.nomadlife.org/2007/04/bosnian-coffee.aspx">Merili's blog</a>: Coffee is a national drink of Bosnians and Herzegovinians. The drink was introduced to Bosnia with the arrival of Ottomans. Traditional Bosnian coffee (kahva, kafa or kava), to the world outside of Bosnia also known as Turkish coffee, is made by boiling finely ground coffee beans with water. It is traditionally prepared in copper, coffee pots – džezva – or in other small cooking pots and served special miniature coffee cups or fildžan.  (She also has a lot of great information up about the different kinds of coffee that Bosnians drink throughout the day!)

I really enjoyed this coffee.  The taste is great.  The texture is thick and at the end of your little cup you've got to be careful not to drink the coffee grinds floating around.  Also, if you take a look at the picture above you'll see that in the cup there are sugar cubes and a pink piece of Turkish delight.  I took the Turkish delight out, drank my coffee and then ate the sweet--it was really the perfect way to finish the strong and thick coffee.

The thing is I've spent most of my life drinking drip coffee from a plastic coffee maker in the States--either at home or at work.  These experiences have taught me the importance of good coffee beans and grinding them at home for each pot that you'll make--what a difference.  And at one point, I even worked in a couple of different coffee shops so I know how espresso machines work and what it takes to get a great coffee from these machines as well.  Oh and I love a cup of French press coffee but I've never made Turkish coffee at home.

[caption id="attachment_927" align="alignleft" width="225" caption="Coffee made for me at 6:30 am in Kotor "]<img class="size-medium wp-image-927" title="Coffee in Kotor" src="http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/dsc07817.jpg?w=225" alt="Coffee made for me at 6:30 am in Kotor " width="225" height="300" />[/caption]

Drinking a second cup of this coffee in Kotor, Montenegro, I was left to think about this.  In Kotor, I stayed in a room of an older couple.  I'd say they were 60+ in age and wonderfully nice people.  They didn't really speak English but I managed in English and at one point they got out an English-Croatian pocket dictionary.  The wife asked me if I wanted coffee before my 7 am bus ride to Dubrovnik.  I said yes, that I would love it and then I felt instantly guilty.  What am I doing telling an old woman that yes I'd like her to get up and make me coffee at 6:30 am.  Luckily when I woke up at 6 am she was already up and about--feeding her chickens and working in her garden.

Lucky for me she makes a damn good cup of coffee. So I sat on the front porch, drinking the coffee, looking at the city spread out before me and wondered:  what does it takes to make coffee like this, why I am leaving the city after only one night here and how is it that landscape can be so beautiful?

Yes, Kotor deserves more than just one night and I have to learn how to make this coffee.  Funny what the breeze of a bay in the early morning air makes a person think about.

So back at home, I did a little bit of research.  I found this great blog: <a href="http://www.turkishcoffeeworld.org/2008/04/whats-so-special-about-turkish-coffee.html">Turkish Coffee.</a> They explain that Turkish coffee " is the oldest, the easiest (with little practice) and the most economical way (you don't need to use as much grounds) to make a cup of coffee!"

They also have a great "How To" which I've posted below because it's so straightforward and easy to understand.

HOW TO MAKE TURKISH COFFEE

You will need to have a Turkish coffee pot, a spoon, sugar and coffee that has been ground to a fine powder.  You can get the Turkish coffee in several different ways:

A. Purchase a Turkish Grinder (regular electric grinders with blades spinning at a high speed will NOT do the job) and grind the coffee yourself. We do have these available at our store if you are interested.

B. Do it at at your local grocery store!  Yes, that's right.  You may not have noticed but the most grinders (99.9%) at your local grocery store in the U.S. have a Turkish coffee setting!  Just select the "Turkish Coffee" when you grind your beans.

C. Buy it ready made.  We sell it in our store but you can also find it at most Mediterranean stores if you live in a big city.

Preparation:
<ol>
	<li>Measure the amount of cold water you will need.</li>
	<li>Place your pot of water on the stove and turn the heat to medium-high (just until the water heats up).</li>
	<li>Add about 1-2 heaping tea spoons of coffee per demitasse cup. Do not stir it yet. Just let the coffee "float" on the surface because if you stir it now you will cause it to clump up.</li>
	<li>Add sugar to taste. Do not stir it yet, because the water needs to be warm before it can dissolve.</li>
	<li>When the coffee starts to sinks into the water and the temperature is warm enough to dissolve your sugar, stir it several times and then turn down the heat to low. You should stir it several times, up until it your brew starts to foam. The more you mix it better it will foam ( you can also vigorously move your spoon side to side to encourage foaming action).</li>
	<li>When you see the bubble "ring" forming on the surface, turn down the heat a little bit more or move your pot away from the heat source. Pay attention to the bubbles. Smaller the size the better for the foam.</li>
	<li>From this point on watch your coffee carefully.  The slower you cook it, the better.  Do not let the temperature get hot enough to start boiling. (NEVER LET IT BOIL - many instructions on how to make Turkish coffee use the term "boiling" but this is totally inaccurate)  Idea here is to let the coffee build a  thick froth and that occurs approximately around 158 F or 70 C (i.e., much cooler than the boiling point of water which is 212 F or 100 C at standard pressure).</li>
	<li>Keep it at the "foaming" stage as long as you can without letting it come to a boil. You might even gently stir you brew a little bit at this stage. The more froth, the better it will taste. If it gets too hot and starts to "rise" too much then move it away from the heat or just turn it down. Repeat this process until your foam has "raised" and "cooled" at the most couple of times (not 3-4 times like some instructions. Even once is enough). Then pour in to your cups while making sure that each cup has equal amount of foam! If you are serving several cups then you might be better off spooning the foam into each cup.</li>
</ol>
Drinking
<ol>
	<li>Turkish coffee is always served with a glass of water. You need to drink the water first to clean out your pallet!</li>
	<li>Wait about half a minute or so to let the grinds settle to the bottom .</li>
	<li>Find a comfortable spot and enjoy your coffee!  Make sure to drink it slowly sip by sip.</li>
</ol>
[caption id="attachment_929" align="alignleft" width="225" caption="Cafe Coffee! "]<img class="size-medium wp-image-929" title="Coffee in Croatia " src="http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/dsc07841.jpg?w=225" alt="Cafe Coffee! " width="225" height="300" />[/caption]

In conclusion, I would add to this that the coffee tastes much, much better if someone has made it for you and you are sitting in a cafe in Sarajevo or on a porch in Kotor so get moving.  But if you can't travel right now, I can only assume that you can make a pretty decent cup of Turkish coffee at home in the states given these outstanding directions.

One last thing, if Turkish coffee isn't your thing, don't fret.  In all of the cafes I was in during my travels you could always order an espresso rather than a coffee and get just that a good cup of espresso either short or long with or without milk.  I guess that means that there's a coffee for everyone's taste in the Balkans and I should know. I drank a lot of coffee on my trip as a pick me up, as a break, to have a chance to sit down and collect my thoughts or to plan out my next move.