Armenian coffee is an invigorating drink that conveys the hospitality and flavor of the Caucasus. Armenians do not accept haste in cooking and pay great attention to detail. Traditionally, guests are treated to coffee; tea is not so popular in the country. Interestingly, the same word “surch” in the Armenian language refers to both coffee beans and the drink itself. A distinctive feature of Armenian coffee is the extremely fine grinding of the beans.
Growing or not
So, elite coffee trees actually grow in Armenia. But not in the country we are accustomed to, but in the distant Colombian city of the same name, founded at the end of the 19th century by the Armenian community. Enterprising settlers set about mastering the local business - growing coffee - and achieved great success. Today, Colombians call the city of Armenia their “coffee capital.” So the “Armenian” variety is Colombian coffee of excellent quality.
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Secrets of making delicious Armenian aromatic coffee
According to statistics, in Armenia almost every local resident drinks more than three kilograms of the drink. Despite the fact that coffee is not grown here, its popularity does not fall.
Local gourmets prefer finely ground and lightly roasted coffee beans. Thanks to this, the drink turns out to be unique, has a pleasant light aroma and unique taste. Cognac is also added to coffee - this gives a special chic to the drink.
In Armenia, it is believed that if coffee has boiled in a cezve, it is completely unsuitable for further consumption.
Knowing the recipe for Armenian coffee, you can now prepare it at home. The main thing is to follow all the secrets of brewing the drink and use only fresh coffee beans.
Traditions and just love
In historical Armenia they drink coffee with no less pleasure than in Colombia. Armenians love this wonderful drink even more than Italians and Americans. For them it is a ritual that sets the tone for the new day. They are greeted with a respected person and a dear guest. Friendly conversations are held behind him. Special sweets are served with it. And it is cooked in an intricate way, subject to special conditions.
Interesting point. The taste of coffee depends not only on the variety, but also on the quality of roasting. Its grains, usually a pale greenish-gray color, are carefully and long-roasted for at least 30 hours before going on sale. The roast level (strong, medium, low) is usually indicated on the packaging, and the caffeine content and strength directly depend on it.
Choosing an Armenian Turk
Copper Turks are made by hand by masters, despite technological progress and improvements in tableware production methods. They are suitable for brewing Armenian coffee. Only real copper is selected for manufacturing, and the inside is coated with food-grade tin. In some workshops you can find brass Turks, which use only food-grade alloy that does not contain lead.
The dishes have two layers: a base 1-2 mm thick and a top coating with decorative elements. Turks are a one-piece construction with no seams. This is done so that the copper does not oxidize and the seams do not come apart.
Armenian Turks are distinguished by their unique decor, which generously decorates the walls of their dishes: embossing, forged elements or engraving. Copper cezves are a special work of art. On them you can see realistic patterns of flowers and plants, as well as entire scenes of military battles.
Traditional cezves are safe for health and can last a very long time. They are distinguished by a unique design and have a very affordable price. In addition, copper is better than other materials in emphasizing the special taste of coffee and preserving the aroma.
Secret ingredients
Making coffee is a leisurely and thoughtful process, the steps of which are not complicated, but completely eliminate fuss.
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- True connoisseurs grind their coffee immediately before brewing: the taste and aroma are revealed brighter.
- Connoisseurs prefer manual coffee grinders. Conventional electric ones crush the grains heterogeneously: they grind most of them into dust, but they also leave large pieces, about the size of a grain of sand. With the manual method, the grinding fineness is regulated, it is produced evenly, and most importantly, valuable enzymes responsible for the taste and invigorating properties of the drink are released to the maximum extent possible. For Armenian coffee, the beans are ground into dust.
- If possible, before grinding, the grains are “refreshed” by lightly—or heavily, depending on the recipe—frying them again in a special frying pan. Some people add their favorite spices at this stage.
Only men grind coffee. Armenians like to repeat that a coffee grinder is an obligatory part of the men's national costume.
Interesting point. Experts say that a piece of butter added during roasting envelops the beans with a film, allowing them to better absorb and preserve the taste and aroma of both the ground coffee itself and the spices used.
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- Milk is not added under any circumstances. There are no analogues to cappuccino and latte here.
- Real Armenian coffee is brewed only in a cezve. Or, as it is also called - in Turk. The tapering shape of the vessel retains the aroma, preventing it from evaporating too actively from a small surface area.
Coffee on hot sand is more of a tribute to tourist traditions. For themselves, Armenians brew ground coffee on a regular gas stove. The main thing is not the sand, but the cezve!
Coffee traditions of Armenia
Armenians drink very strong coffee; tourists are not used to such a drink. Sugar is added at your own discretion - no specific norm has been established. The finest grinding is achieved with manual coffee grinders, which are gentle on the beans while crushing the beans at a slow pace. In contrast, electric ones chop the product by grinding coffee.
Armenians grind the grains only for one consumption of the drink, so as not to lose their richness in oils. Moreover, the responsibility for grinding lies solely with the man. As an owner, he uses a coffee grinder many times a day. Armenians like to joke that a coffee grinder is part of a man’s national costume.
It is customary to drink coffee in small cups. If there is cognac in the recipe, it is added during the cooking process. Only Russians add cognac to the finished drink. Armenian coffee is always served with foam, so you need to pour the drink into the cup carefully.
More: How to make Cuban coffee at home
Cooking in Turk
People in Armenia prefer strong coffee. For a small cup with a capacity of 60 ml, take 1 heaped teaspoon of finely ground grains.
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- The finished powder is poured into the bottom of the cezve. If sugar is expected, you need to add it now. If desired, you can add a few drops of cognac. Heat the mixture slightly and add cold water.
- Bring to a boil over low heat, but do not boil! The foam from the bubbles formed on the surface “catches” and preserves the volatile aroma; to destroy it by seething means to lose half the pleasure from subsequent drinking. You need to catch the moment when the foam thickens and begins to swell... and remove the Turk in time, without leaving it on the stove.
- All. It's time to pour it into a warm cup and enjoy.
It is not necessary to repeat the heating procedure and bring to a boil three times, as many advise. During slow, uniform heating, finely ground coffee will release into the water all the best that is hidden in it.
Interesting point. The rainbow shimmer of coffee foam bubbles indicates the high quality of the product. After removing from the heat, the foam in the Turk can be collected with a teaspoon and added to the cup; then bring the drink again until a new foam rises and only then pour it. Another interesting point. Cognac, like sugar, is added to the Turk, and in no case to the cup. And not for the sake of alcohol, but for enrichment and better development of taste.
How to prepare a burning drink in Armenian?
Men will especially like this coffee because of the special effect when serving it. It is easy to prepare and can even be done at home.
Ingredients:
- water - 195 ml;
- coffee powder - 25-35 g;
- sugar;
- rum - 35 ml
Preparation:
- Pour coffee, granulated sugar into the cezve, and pour clean water from the source.
- Place on the stove and brew like espresso.
- Then let the drink sit for three minutes, pour it into cups.
- Pour the Rum into a large stainless steel spoon and set it on fire.
- Carefully pour into cups.
Treat your guests to this coffee right away so that the rum does not have time to go out in the cups.
The same burning effect can be achieved by adding burning alcohol, vodka or cognac to coffee.
With what and how much
Because of its strength and pleasant bitterness, traditional Armenian coffee is drunk with sweets, dried fruits, and chocolate. How much do they drink? At least two cups a day. Everyone has their own maximum, depending on their needs, taste habits and health. And, of course, on the breadth of communication. After all, coffee is invariably present at business and friendly meetings, family gatherings and holidays, uniting people with a common affection.
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Interesting point. When the cezve warms up noticeably and “sings” (that specific sound when bubbles forming on the inner walls make noise), it’s good to add a couple of spoons of cold or even ice water. There will be much more fragrant foam.
How many Armenians live in the Russian Federation?
Armenians in Russia or Russian Armenians (Armenian: Ռուսաստանահայեր) are residents of the Russian Federation of Armenian origin. According to the 2010 census, more than 1,700,000 Armenians lived in Russia, of which over 1,182,000 Armenian citizens of Russia and 515,000 citizens of Armenia (in 2001 - over 1,130 thousand; in 1989
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Cooking features
You may need to experiment until you find the best way to make coffee in a geyser-type coffee maker. There are several parameters that affect the taste and aroma characteristics and the type of the finished drink.
- Ground coffee – choose a medium or coarse grind. Small or intended for Turkish coffee will not work.
- Cold or hot water - the brewing speed, extraction time, and therefore the taste of espresso depend on the temperature.
- Volume - they come in very different sizes, but it is advisable to choose one that is enough for you at one time. If it's too big, you won't be able to make a small cup.
You can add ground spices directly to the ground coffee.
Step-by-step instruction:
- In any case, before you make coffee in a geyser coffee maker, you disassemble it.
- Take out the filter mesh and pour the crushed grains into it. Do not compact it, otherwise the layer will be too dense and brewing will be complicated. Do not pour it in a heap; on the contrary, it is better to carefully level the top with your fingers or a spoon.
- Pour water into the lower container, no higher than the level of the safety valve.
- Assemble the structure by carefully placing the container with coffee so that it does not spill on the rubber seal. If this happens, remove the excess: with a sponge, brush, or simply blow it away.
- Screw the device in tightly. This is best done by holding the top and bottom, rather than pulling on the handle. Often the handle is the most fragile part and can break.
- Leave the coffee maker to warm up. The heat should be low, so the extraction will go slower, and your espresso will be more intense, aromatic, and thick. If the heat is too high, you can use the handle to hold the coffee maker above the burner, thereby controlling the temperature.
- When the liquid boils away, you will hear a hissing sound. Remove the geyser from the stove and pour the coffee into cups.
At first, you may not close the lid - this will not affect the taste in any way, but you will learn to recognize the sounds of the beginning and end of brewing.
Brewing with cold water
The simplest method that many people use. In this case, cold water, preferably filtered, is poured into the lower container, but it can also be from the tap if it is not too hard or soft. There will be no scale, but this may change the taste of the finished espresso.
Low temperature makes the brewing process longer. At the same time, all parts heat up quickly, including the filter with poured coffee. The coffee burns a little, so the taste is more bitter. Steaming is long, more aromatic and flavor components are revealed, the drink is intense, strong, dense.
If you plan to add milk, we recommend brewing coffee in a geyser coffee maker with chilled water. This will give you a more “coffee” flavor.
Brewing with hot water
For those who love a pure black drink and experiment with the flavors of different varieties. First boil the water and then pour it into the bottom tank. Carefully assemble the device and turn on low heat. Be careful when assembling, the boiling water will heat the metal in a few seconds, so the bottom of the tank will become hot, use a towel or oven mitt.
Boiling will happen very quickly, so the brewing process itself will be shorter. Nothing burns, the espresso turns out soft, there will be no bitterness or “burnt” smell. If you want more intensity, reduce the heat to very low, so the process will take longer.
To brew specialty coffee, it is better to use this method so as not to burn the rather expensive grain and be able to appreciate all its features.
Sweet Neapolitan coffee
In the process of preparing coffee in a geyser coffee maker, you get a beautiful foam, although not very dense. And if you add sugar and stir it, there will be no foam at all. There is a special recipe for cream lovers.
- Pour cold or hot water and put the coffee maker on fire.
- Open the lid so you can see when the spill starts.
- Pour as much sugar into a cup as you need.
- When there is a spill, remove the device and pour some coffee into the cup with sugar.
- Return the device to the fire.
- Using a teaspoon, quickly stir the sugar into the espresso to create something like a viscous syrup with a lot of foam. If there is not enough liquid, add a little more. For one teaspoon of sugar - approximately 2-3 tablespoons of liquid, do not pour too much at once, otherwise you will not be able to whip up the foam.
- When the drink in the geyser is ready, add it to the cup.
- Enjoy the sweet taste and beautiful dense high cream.
The crema foam whips up quite quickly and does not settle, so you can easily make this sweet coffee in 2-3 cups at a time.
Turkish coffee
It is interesting to know that if you order coffee in a cafe in Turkey, the waiter will bring Turkish coffee. Many countries prepare coffee according to a traditional oriental recipe, but name it after themselves. For example, in Arabia such a drink is called in Arabian, and in Cyprus - in Cypriot. In Turkey, there are entire traditions and rituals of preparation, the so-called “coffee culture”. The hospitality customs of eastern countries are directly related to the coffee ceremony. Although coffee was not discovered by the Turks, it was they who made a significant contribution to the spread of this recipe to all corners of the world. There are about 40 names of coffee in Turkey. By the way, it is not customary to drink it with sugar there, but either before or after drinking the drink they drink sweet halva or lokum. In Turkey it is customary to say that a cup of coffee is the key to strong friendship. It is also called sweet, like mutual love, and bitter, like the fate of Eastern people.
Oriental coffee has gained wide popularity in all countries of our planet. In some countries it is even considered a national drink. This recipe for making coffee is one of the oldest; it was used back in the days of the Ottoman Empire.
Oriental coffee is a purely European name; in the East they never call it that, for them it’s just ordinary coffee. Historically, people living here very rarely use other methods of brewing a coffee drink. To make oriental coffee, you just need to properly brew any type of finely ground coffee in a Turk.
Nowadays, special kits for making Turkish coffee are sold. They include a Turk or cezve and a box of sand, which is heated before brewing coffee. However, many argue that it is quite possible to use a regular gas stove; the coffee produced on it is no worse. This coffee is served in small coffee cups straight to the scalding stage.
