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Turkey

Coffee in a Time of Corona Virus: Cup of Joy Opens New Istanbul Café

June 11, 2020 By Michael Leave a Comment

Cup of Joy

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….

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Filed Under: Stories Tagged With: Cup of Joy, Istanbul, Turkey

Montag Coffee Roasters Opens in Bomonti, Istanbul

July 18, 2019 By Michael Leave a Comment

“Good coffees is worth the stairs.” That’s the motto that’s helped make Montag Coffee Roasters a fixture of the coffee scene in Istanbul’s Kadıköy district. The original location occupies some prime real estate overlooking the fish market, and despite being a floor removed from street level, is almost always crowded. As such a pillar of the city’s Asian side, perhaps it was inevitable that Montag would expand to the more densely populated European side. But rather than opening up in specialty coffee hot spots, like Nişantaşı or Cihangir, Montag chose the up-and-coming Bomonti neighborhood….

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Filed Under: Coffee Shop Reviews Tagged With: Istanbul, Montag Coffee Roasters, Turkey

Coffee Department Opens New Cafe in Nişantaşı

January 31, 2019 By Michael Leave a Comment

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, Coffee Department. The roaster/retailer has set themselves apart as one of the strongest brands in a very crowded marketplace, due in no small part to founder Metin Benbasat’s tireless dedication to quality. Benbasat is a longtime resident of Nişantaşı, so it makes sense he would open his second café closer to home….

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Filed Under: Coffee Shop Reviews Tagged With: Coffee Department, Istanbul, Nişantaşı, Turkey

A Look Inside Petra Coffee’s Gayrettepe Headquarters

March 7, 2018 By Michael Leave a Comment

Petra Coffee 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….

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Filed Under: Coffee Shop Reviews Tagged With: Istanbul, Petra Coffee, Turkey

Cafe Review: Norm Coffee in Istanbul

March 21, 2016 By Michael 3 Comments

Norm Coffee

Nobel Prize-winning novelist Orhan Pamuk wrote in his memoir, Istanbul: Memories and the City, “it was in Cihangir (where we too would move as our fortunes dwindled) that I first learned Istanbul was not an anonymous multitude of walled-in lives – a jungle of apartments where no one knew who was dead or who was celebrating what – but an archipelago of neighborhoods in which everyone knew one another.” Pamuk’s observation rings true today. Cihangir has long been a destination for artists and writers, but at the neighborhood’s heart is a community: a village surrounded by a megacity.  Norm Coffee is one piece of that community….

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Filed Under: Coffee Shop Reviews Tagged With: Cihangir, Istanbul, Norm Coffee, Turkey

Meet Reza Kosar, Iran’s First Q Grader

February 23, 2016 By Michael 1 Comment

Reza_Kosar

Recently, I traveled to Istanbul, Turkey to take the Q Grader Exam. I expected to be challenged in my coffee knowledge and abilities as well as make a few new friends in the Turkish coffee scene. I didn’t anticipate  meeting a dynamic young coffee professional from Tehran, Iran. Reza Kosar quickly impressed me with acute sense of smell, thorough knowledge of SCAA cupping protocols, and his enthusiasm for all things specialty coffee. By the end of the week he proved to be Iran’s first Q Grader, a feet which involves passing 20 very difficult exams. We caught up with Reza to ask him what it means to be Iran’s first Q grader and what’s next for him. 

Tell us a bit about yourself.

Well, I’m 24. I work at Sam Cafe as a manager of R&D and the director of coffee. …

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Filed Under: Stories Tagged With: CQI, Iran, Q Grader, SCAA, Turkey

Geyik Coffee Roastery & Cocktail Bar Makes Waves in Istanbul

September 1, 2014 By Michael 1 Comment

Geyik Coffee

It’s a quiet morning in Istanbul’s Cihangir neighborhood, and Serkan Ipekli is tired. The 2013 Turkish Barista Champion is fighting an ear infection, but he’s also experiencing the grueling pace of running what amounts to be a 24/7 business: Geyik Coffee Roastery & Cocktail Bar. Geyik, which means “deer” in Turkish, only opened five months ago, but it’s already been a wild ride….

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Filed Under: Coffee Shop Reviews Tagged With: Geyik Coffee Roastery & Cocktail Bar, Istanbul, Turkey, Turkish coffee

Cup of Joy in Istanbul Looks Heavenly in this New Video

June 27, 2014 By Michael 3 Comments

Cup of Joy BebekIn the past two years the specialty coffee scene in Istanbul has exploded. We covered one of the first quality focused cafes that opened in Turkey’s largest city, and we’re beyond excited about all of the new cafes we’re going to visit in August when we’re back in the country for two weeks. One of those cafes is Cup of Joy in Istanbul’s posh Bebek neighborhood. I’m not ashamed to admit when I lived in Istanbul, I frequented Bebek’s Starbucks. I may not be a fan of dark, stale espresso, but I’m a big fan of drinking coffee next to the deep blue water of the Bosphorus, and Bebek has some of my favorite Bosphorus views.

CUP OF JOY from Nople Productions on Vimeo.

Cup of Joy may be a new shop, but they’ve already produced a Turkish barista champion. After watching this video from Nople Productions, it’s easy to understand why. Be prepared for some level tamping, pretty latte art, and smooth jazz. And what would a Turkish coffee shop be without some simit?

simit

cup of joy filter

Filed Under: Videos Tagged With: Bebek, Cup of Joy, Istanbul, Nople Productions, Turkey

Turkish Delight: Çekirdek Cafe Opens in Istanbul, Turkey

December 19, 2012 By Michael 5 Comments

Çekirdek Istanbul
Brief History of Turkish Coffee

If you had a cup of coffee this morning, you can thank the Turks. Coffee came to the West through Turkey as the Ottoman Empire expanded into the European continent.  According to one legend, the first coffee house in Austria was opened with the coffee abandoned by the Ottoman army when they were repelled at the Battle of Vienna.

Fast forward several centuries later and …

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Filed Under: Coffee Shop Reviews Tagged With: Çekirdek, Istanbul, Kadıköy, Turkey, Turkish coffee

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