Turkish coffee, a 500-year-old tradition

Fancy a cup of coffee that is steeped in tradition? Photo: Filepic

Tucked in a narrow alley in the middle of Taksim Square in Istanbul, Turkey, is a tiny cafe that proudly proclaims to serve coffee “so thick even a water buffalo cannot sink in it”. That term can be simplified in one Turkish word Mandabatmaz, which incidentally, is the name of the cafe.

The cafe’s name may be given in jest, but its message is no joke. Turkish coffee (Turk Kahvesi) is incredibly thick and dense, and it has a consistency similar to hot chocolate.