Turkish tea addicts
A teapot comprised of two pieces placed on top of each other, two handfuls of Turkish canary yellow tea and at least one or two friends. These are just enough for pleasant chat and friendship! Let the tea handle the rest!
Turkish tea is characterized by its taste: bitter-sweet and strong. For this you need a special tea maker, which consists of two jugs placed one on top of the other, the Caydanlik. Prepare a tea concentrate in the smaller pot (Demlik in Turkish) The second, larger jug has hot water ready to use to dilute the concentrate.
Turkish tea works better if the tea leaves are not cut too finely. The traditional black tea from Turkey is much coarser than our usual black tea.
Turkish tea is served in small special glasses, in reddish-brown colour.
Some call it “the heavy tea”, while some speculate that you need to be careful while drinking it, if you drink more than two or three glasses, your blood pressure can rise to the 140s area.
Anyone with experience with teapots can tell you about the myths about tea. If you have not sipped tea until now, it’s pretty much a shame on you. Immediately go to the nearest teahouse or call your Turkish, Albanian, Bosnian friends… and ask them about the pleasure you have had so far!
Turks call it simply “tea”, whereas in some Balkan countries they call it the “Turkish tea”. Regardless and where it is brewed and by whom the cost is covered, tea always has some common features.
Turks, Albanians and Bosnians all prepare the tea from Thea sinensis or Camellia sinensis plants. The only difference between Turkish tea and other types of tea is in its preparation method.
Turkish tea is brewed with a teapot and a kettle underneath. The teapot holds the tea leaves whilst the kettle boils the water and brews the tea by heating the teapot above.
The preperation starts with pouring the water over the tea leaves by making contact with the air from a high distance. Also pour the still hot water from a single point of the teapot (without hovering it) so that you avoid burning the tea.
After brewing the tea leaves, leave the teapot on the kettle and wait 12-15 minutes on low heat for infusion.
Tea is an indispensable part of Turkish culture and tradition. Turks (and Albanians, Bosnians, Azeris) drink tea at home, in the teahouse, in the neighbourhood – in front of the house, at a picnic – wherever they can. Tea is a part of the daily life, it is a state of socialization.
TEA ADDICTS
Turkish tea lovers would emphasize that those who are new and unfamiliar to a taste should always be careful and that too much tea can be harmful for them.
Many Turks believe that tea is similar to drugs! Turks that are addicted to tea do not feel good unless they drink 10-15-20 cups of tea a day.