Istanbul, like much of the world, has spent the last three months locked down due to COVID-19. Coffee shops, along with bars and gyms, were some of the first businesses to be shut down by the government. As such, I went the longest stint I’ve gone in my coffee-drinking life without having an espresso or cappuccino.
Of course, it’s hard to complain about missing such luxuries when so many have truly been forced to go without. Besides, if I’m being honest, it hasn’t been coffee I’ve missed as much as coffee shops. The human interaction. A space to be creative. Bumping into old friends and make new ones. Corona Virus might have called the economic viability of coffee shops into question, but we’ve never been in greater need of the holistic services a good coffee shop provides….
Earlier this year we were at a cupping at Istanbul’s 
“Good coffees is worth the stairs.” That’s the motto that’s helped make 
I’ve longed bemoaned the fact most tourists visiting Istanbul don’t make it to Balat, the old Jewish quarter. In addition to its colorful row houses and historic synagogues, Balat is home to one of my favorite coffee shops, 
The most exciting neighborhood for coffee in Istanbul right now is a full 12 kilometers from the city’s center, and technically it’s not really a neighborhood. Maslak is something of an urban curiosity— a suburban financial district on the Northern edge of Istanbul’s European side. But this island of skyscrapers is also home to a booming number of specialty coffee shops— driven by the plethora of white collar office workers that populate the glass high-rises during working hours. The newest of of those shops is the latest café from roaster/retailer 
Çağatay Gülabioğlu is something of a legend in Turkish coffee circles. Gülabioğlu was the first licensed Q grader in Turkey, serves as the national coordinator for the Turkish Aeropress competition, and is the regional distributor for Cafe Imports. He also founded the pioneering roaster/retailer Kronotrop, a company he has since sold. After moving on from Kronotrop, Gülabioğlu cofounded the wholesale roastery 
Three flat screen televisions are showing The Wizard of Oz on mute while loud speakers blast classic 50s rock and roll. In the background, a dull screeching sound, accompanied by the immediately recognizable smell of roasting coffee, fills the expansive space. A small army of baristas, all dressed in identical horizontally striped shirts, swarm behind the bar, making drinks for the quickly growing queue of office workers on their lunch break. Somehow, all of these disparate things harmoniously join to create Petra Coffee’s headquarters in Istanbul’s Gayrettepe neighborhood….
