How to make Turkish Coffee with Big grind size
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After spending a few years on developing and refining Turkish coffee brewing technique, it was time to try something new.
People in comments frequently asked whether straining Turkish coffee is necessary in order to get a clean beverage. So today we have a combo - a new approach with the big grind size where you can optionally use the strainer to have a cleaner cup.
Contents:
- Why small grind size is used the most
- Why big grind size
- What is considered as “big” grind size
- It was tricky, now it’s simple
- The main secret - mixing
- When to mix Turkish coffee
- How to brew
- How to drink
- The result
Why small grind size is used the most
It allows you to achieve a very intense cup of coffee. So that it’ll be enough to drink a small cup (around 70 ml) to enjoy it. It is a concentrated beverage.
Also with such a grind size it’s easy to control the flavor that we get. By simply controlling the foam color and motion we have a precise understanding about the flavor and when to stop the brewing process.
And of course, smaller grind size creates a foam which most people enjoy in this coffee brewing method. Because it adds an additional layer of texture to the beverage.
Why big grind size
Market shows that instead of getting a small Cezve (Turkish coffee pot) or Briki (Greek coffee pot) - people buy 300-600 ml versions. Because they think about their usual cup size.
And after figuring out that it’s impossible to drink such an amount of coffee (20-40 g dose of ground coffee) - they stop using it.
So I decided to develop a way to have a Turkish coffee which will still have the soul of the beverage, but made slightly differently.
Also, not everyone has a Turkish coffee grinder or wants to spend that much effort to grind that small.
What is considered as “big” grind size
Anything that is bigger than Espresso grind size. I personally use Pour Over grind size which is like sugar to the touch or slightly smaller. On Comandante it will be 20 clicks, Kinu m47 - 3 rotations.
It was tricky, now it’s simple
When I tried to push the coffee particle grind size - it looked like a bad idea. The biggest which I stopped with for a while was an espresso grind size. It seemed like a limit. From here - it was uncontrollable and you ended up with the big particles floating at the top of the cup.
Luckily, through running the tests in order to fix the problems people have with their coffee, I was able to find the root of the problem - mixing.
In my original approach I used a foam color as an indicator of “stages” of brewing. And some people failed to get this stage right (mostly because of the grind size that they use). Because I’ve tried to avoid unnecessary steps in brewing - I didn’t mix the coffee after placing it on heat. But it turned out to be essential.
The main secret - mixing
So, our goal is to have a white (or dark) foam without coffee particles in it. And with the small grind size it’s easy to achieve. Water dissolves the CO2 and oils almost immediately and creates this layer at the top. While coffee particles stay below it.
With the bigger grind size - we need to mix the coffee to help the water to dissolve the CO2. Because it can’t penetrate deeply into the coffee particle in order to do that. And it makes particles less heavy than water so they float at the top.
The higher the water temperature - the easier it is to dissolve soluble material in it. So we just need to mix the coffee a couple of times (2-3) after placing on heat. So that the coffee particles will not have CO2 in them thus will not float.
When to mix Turkish coffee
Depending on how fresh the coffee is (how much CO2 is left in it) and depending on the size of the Cezve (coffee pot) that you’re using - you’ll need to mix at different times.
For a fresh coffee (under a month after roasting) - it’s better to mix 3 times. For older coffee - 2 times should be enough.
As for the time - I prefer to mix every minute. So that is enough time for the water to get heated to a normal temperature. And we gradually “beat out” the CO2 from coffee particles.
We mix it at the 1 minute mark, it releases some gas. Then the water goes slightly deeper into the coffee particle structure and dissolves some more CO2. It needs time for this. So we mix at the 2 minutes mark and coffee releases most of the gas. And third mixing is done at around 3 minutes to have a foam without coffee particles.
If you have more than 150 g of water - it’s probably better to mix less often. Like 1:30, 3:00, 4:00. You can play with timing by adapting to your size and power output. In my case I have 140 g of liquid and the total brewing time is around 3:40-4:00.
If you make coffee with the brewing time 6-10 minutes - obviously, mix at around 2, 3, 4 minutes.
How to brew
Now you know that our goal is to have a clean foam without coffee particles. Simply pour the ground coffee into the pot, add water and mix. Place on the heat (medium).
Mix it at around 1, 2 and 3 minutes (3 times total, around 7 mixing motions each time).
When the foam starts to “burst” or move aggressively - it’s a sign that it’s ready to be served into the cup.
How to drink
Here we go! The straining. You can use the strainer when serving into the cup. But if you don’t want - you can skip it. But be sure to mix the coffee at the top (don’t mix the whole liquid) to make particles sink.
After serving - wait for 5-10 minutes for it to cool down and filter itself so that the coffee will be clean. Enjoy.
Here you can read my technique for a “regular” Turkish coffee. And here is the shortened version with the pictures.
The result
Surprisingly, the coffee will be intense enough to have the spirit of Turkish coffee, but there will be way less foam. The flavor is very balanced and rich, not watery, but easy to drink.
Now it’s time to try it and share your thoughts in the comments.