Turkish Tea
(Turk Cayi)
4 tsp Turkish tea leaves + 2 tbsp bottled water
3 cups bottled cold water
Brewing Tea Turkish-style
To make Turkish tea you should use Caydanlik (picture) which is a small tea pot-brewer (demlik) on top of a kettle.
Pour 3 cups of water into the larger kettle. Put the Turkish tea leaves and 2 tbsp of water into the teapot and place it on the kettle. Bring the water in the kettle to boil over medium heat. Then turn the heat off. Wait for the water to settle*, then pour half of the boiling water from the kettle over the leaves into the brewer. Let it brew for about 5 minutes**. Then pour the brewed tea into tea glasses using a small tea strainer. Fill in half of the tea glasses with the brewed tea and the rest with the hot water.
Serve Turkish tea with sugar cubes. I like to have my Turkish tea without sugar with just a few drops of lemon juice.
* If you pour boiled water immediately over tea leaves, the tea will lose its vitamins.
** If you extend brewing time, the taste will get bitter. Also freshly brewed Turkish tea should be consumed within half an hour of brewing time.
This recipe produces 4 servings in Turkish tea glasses.
About Turkish Tea
In Turkey, tea growers don't use pesticide and Turkish tea doesn't contain much caffeine. For these reasons, Turkish tea is more natural and healthy. The tea is produced in Northeastern (Dogu Karadeniz) Turkey, which is the 5th largest producer in the world. You can find Turkish Tea at local Turkish Grocery stores or online at Tulumba and Taste of Turkey.
Benefits of Turkish Tea
- C and E vitamins in tea boosts the immune system and wards against leukemia.
- Caffeine in tea stimulates the nervous system, increases concentration, makes you feel relaxed and comfortable.
- Lowers cholesterol levels.
- Fluoride in the tea helps prevent tooth decay.
- Cleans the liver, lowers blood pressure, stabilizes the kidneys and it's also good for atherosclerosis.
11 Comments:
if you add some saffron , clove , cardamom , ... it will be so tasty
if you add some saffron , clove , cardamom it will be some other tea. But not Turkish tea :)
Di mi ama Binnur?
Hi Saeedeh,
Turkish cuisine isn't generally heavy on spices but I will give it a try:)
Sevgili Hande:)
Cayimizi oldugu gibi sade severiz di mi:)
Sevgiyle kal,
I have just discovered your wonderful website and have added it to my favourites. My husband is from Kosovo their food is heavily influenced by Turkish cuisine. I tried the recipe for lahmacun today and he went mad for it!
I have never liked Engish tea yet I love Turkish tea and drink it nearly every day. We have good Turkish stores in London so I already have a caydanlik. I can't wait to try some other recipes.
Thank you so much.
Thank you for the nice comment:) I hope you and your husband will like
my other recipes:)
I love this kind of tea. I just made it right for the first time and it is great.
Hi John,
Glad you liked it:)
Merhaba Binnur
Nasilsin..It's Sam
Just asking how you can make it if you dont have a brewing kettle. Also do you just buy the tea leaves from a Turkish bakkal?
Tesekkurler
Sam
Hi Sam,
Tesekkur ederim, iyiyim:) You can buy Turkish Tea in a box from the Turkish Bakkal. My understanding is that there is a Turkish bakkal close to you. They mostly sell brewing kettle. Otherwise it is very hard to brew the Turkish tea:)
Sevgilerimle,
This is so fantastic!! I found your website last year and made borek(yummy!), but I didn't see that you had info about Turkish tea! I lived in Turkey as an exchange student in high school (over 10 years ago) and I adored the food. It really warmed my heart to find this website--it brought back so many great memories! I also see you added baklava- I'm going to try that next. By far the most consise, easy to follow baklava recipe I have ever seen. I liked that you have a traditional recipe with sugar syrup. All the baklava I find in the states has honey and I don't like it as much. Yay!!!!! You and your daughter so great. Thank you for this awesome website!!!!
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