Turkish Tea
(Türk Çayı)
4 tsp Turkish tea leaves + 2 tbsp bottled water
3 cups bottled cold water
Brewing Tea Turkish-style
To make Turkish tea you should use Caydanlik (picture) which is a small tea pot-brewer (demlik) on top of a kettle.
Pour 3 cups of water into the larger kettle. Put the Turkish tea leaves and 2 tbsp of water into the teapot and place it on the kettle. Bring the water in the kettle to boil over medium heat. Then turn the heat off. Wait for the water to settle*, then pour half of the boiling water from the kettle over the leaves into the brewer. Let it brew for about 5 minutes**. Then pour the brewed tea into tea glasses using a small tea strainer. Fill in half of the tea glasses with the brewed tea and the rest with the hot water.
Serve Turkish tea with sugar cubes. I like to have my Turkish tea without sugar with just a few drops of lemon juice.
* If you pour boiled water immediately over tea leaves, the tea will lose its vitamins.
** If you extend brewing time, the taste will get bitter. Also freshly brewed Turkish tea should be consumed within half an hour of brewing time.
This recipe produces 4 servings in Turkish tea glasses.
About Turkish Tea
In Turkey, tea growers don't use pesticide and Turkish tea doesn't contain much caffeine. For these reasons, Turkish tea is more natural and healthy. The tea is produced in Northeastern (Dogu Karadeniz) Turkey, which is the 5th largest producer in the world. You can find Turkish Tea at local Turkish Grocery stores or online at Tulumba and Taste of Turkey.
Benefits of Turkish Tea
- C and E vitamins in tea boosts the immune system and wards against leukemia.
- Caffeine in tea stimulates the nervous system, increases concentration, makes you feel relaxed and comfortable.
- Lowers cholesterol levels.
- Fluoride in the tea helps prevent tooth decay.
- Cleans the liver, lowers blood pressure, stabilizes the kidneys and it's also good for atherosclerosis.
Labels: Drinks
61 Comments:
if you add some saffron , clove , cardamom , ... it will be so tasty
if you add some saffron , clove , cardamom it will be some other tea. But not Turkish tea :)
Di mi ama Binnur?
Hi Saeedeh,
Turkish cuisine isn't generally heavy on spices but I will give it a try:)
Sevgili Hande:)
Cayimizi oldugu gibi sade severiz di mi:)
Sevgiyle kal,
I have just discovered your wonderful website and have added it to my favourites. My husband is from Kosovo their food is heavily influenced by Turkish cuisine. I tried the recipe for lahmacun today and he went mad for it!
I have never liked Engish tea yet I love Turkish tea and drink it nearly every day. We have good Turkish stores in London so I already have a caydanlik. I can't wait to try some other recipes.
Thank you so much.
Thank you for the nice comment:) I hope you and your husband will like
my other recipes:)
I love this kind of tea. I just made it right for the first time and it is great.
Hi John,
Glad you liked it:)
Merhaba Binnur
Nasilsin..It's Sam
Just asking how you can make it if you dont have a brewing kettle. Also do you just buy the tea leaves from a Turkish bakkal?
Tesekkurler
Sam
Hi Sam,
Tesekkur ederim, iyiyim:) You can buy Turkish Tea in a box from the Turkish Bakkal. My understanding is that there is a Turkish bakkal close to you. They mostly sell brewing kettle. Otherwise it is very hard to brew the Turkish tea:)
Sevgilerimle,
This is so fantastic!! I found your website last year and made borek(yummy!), but I didn't see that you had info about Turkish tea! I lived in Turkey as an exchange student in high school (over 10 years ago) and I adored the food. It really warmed my heart to find this website--it brought back so many great memories! I also see you added baklava- I'm going to try that next. By far the most consise, easy to follow baklava recipe I have ever seen. I liked that you have a traditional recipe with sugar syrup. All the baklava I find in the states has honey and I don't like it as much. Yay!!!!! You and your daughter so great. Thank you for this awesome website!!!!
Hello Sam,
You can use coffeemaker and it works very well. Just instead of coffe use tea. I tried and it came out just like one made in brewing kettle.
Hi Binnur, the Turk Cayi is the best. And the Turkish cuisine is very very good. I especialy like Patlican Imam Bayildi. I'm from Romania, and I bought last year, from Turkey, some pomegranate dry tea. Can you tell me what is made of? zest or peel? Thanks!
Hi,
Yes, you are right Turk Cayi is the best:) Pomegranate Tea are made from the dried scarlet red pomegranate flowers like other herbal Turkish teas.
Camomile Tea are made from small white and yellow flowers which have been bitter and aromatic or Linden Tea are made from their fragrant yellow-white flowers...
Take care,
Hi Bunnur,
Thank you for your recipes I can finally cook turkish food, evde annem yapardi :) Evlendim ve esim ve ben sizin yemeklerinzi cok sevdik Cok Tessekurler!!
I have been making Turkish tea for 5 years now for my Turkish husband and I never knew the proper way to do it! Tea brewing is truly an art. This information is amazing! I never knew you needed to wait for the water to settle. I am truly impressed. Thank you!
hi, in turkey i bought some cherry flavoured turkish tea. but how do you make the tea with cherry?
Hi,
If it is loose follow the same instruction that I gave. If it is in the bag, just soak into the hot water.
Merhaba!
I am so happy I finally found my çaydanlik! It took the local market several months to get one for me (I live in Florida so there is not much call for them here). I made my first pot of Turkish çay a few days ago and was so happy, but now I know how to do it right! I can show my daughter what we did wrong! çok Guzel!
teşekkür etmek,
Sevgilim,
Suzy
Binnur,
can You please tell us how to
make (home made) real good
apple tea (elma çayı).
Thank You
Sure, I am going to post it soon:)
Thank You
Binnur.
I have tried couple of times,
but it isn't the same taste as
it was in Istanbul.
I used wild apple, cinnamon and cloves...
Taste is much better, after Your suggestions
(way of cooking) I have found here...
Can't wait for Elma Çayı suggestions...
Hi,
I have a very long request list and I am not sure when I will post it yet:)
ok,
I had to check out am I forgotten...
I will wait as long as is needed
to feel again that taste...
Today I have tried (Babil - Turkish Tea) but that is not the same taste.
I would like to make it by my self!
Thanks again, sorry for impatient behavior. ;)
Hi,
It is not a problem. I just wanted to let you know that it may take time:)
You can find Turkish Apple Tea at Tulumba.com which is Turkish on line store:)
Take care,
Binnur,
You first sent me to Tulumba for something I couldn't find in my local market. I Love that store. I just wanted to let your readers know that they drop ship from within Turkiye if you wish to send gifts and it is much safer. I sent my boyfriend's mother a Turkish version of "Time Traveler's Wife" and shipping was only $6.95 as opposed to nearly $30 to send a book from the US to Turkiye.
And Thank you for all of your wonderful recipes and ideas!
Sevgiyle,
Suzy
What is the best way to store the tea. I ordered 2 bags of CAYKUR. One is a red bag called, FELIZ cayi. The other one is a black bag called ALTINBAS. What is the diffence. Are they the same kind? I have been storing them in the freezer until I could get a new pot. When we were in Turkey, I had purchased the double tea pot in porcelain, but it has been used so much that the inside was cracking. I ordered your book online and I am looking forward to trying the recipes out. Thank you so much for your blog.
Hi Sherree,
Caykur, Feliz or Altinbas are the brand names like Lipton or Tetley or Red Rose or Choice Organic etc. You will decide which one you like after tasting each of them that has their unique flavour. Some brew strong, some acidic, some mellow taste......
What do you store them in the freezer for? Do you always store the tea in the freezer? Just store them in the pantry:)
"Tea should be kept dry, at room temperature, away from direct light, and in an air-tight container."
Thanks for getting back with me. I put the tea in the freezer, because i was not sure how long the tea would store. I know that i brought some home with me in the 1980's and just kept it in a sealed glass jar.
I really liked the tea that the vendors would serve when you were shopping. I think that i would like the more mellow taste than the stronger one. I love your blog, it is so nice to be able to ask a question and get an answer.
Hi Binnur,
While living in Turkey, our wonderful hosts had their own special "blend" of tea. She liked to add just a little bit of bergamot or Earl Grey to the regular Caykur, etc. Have you ever done such a thing? If so, what proportion do you use?
Thanks, Bill
P.S. We love your site!
Hi Bill,
It is not common for Turkish women to cook by using measurements. They just use approximate quantities by experience, it is eyeball. Therefor you need to determent it by trial and error.My intention is to introduce to Turkish kitchen and culture to others by making it easier with measurements.
Binnur Hanim,
Siz ailenin bir parcasi oldunuz artik - yemek yaptigimda ailem hemen sorruyor "Binnur'un tarifi mi diye?" Sizi cok seviyoruz!!
Cayim sayenizde cok guzel oluyor ama maalesef bulanik oluyor hep. Neyi yanlis yapiyorum?
Sevgilerimle,
Mary
Merhaba Sevgili Mary,
Ben de sizleri cok seviyorum, iyi ki varsiniz ve bu guzel mailler ile beni mutlu ediyorsunuz:D
Cayi musluk suyu ile degil icme suyu ile yaparsaniz daha berrak olacaktir:)
Sevgilerimle,
Hi Binnur,
I was in Turkey on vacation 2 years ago, and on Managdav's market place I bought a Pomegranate flower tea - well, actually it was just dried Pomegranate's flowers. The color was dark, navy-blue. I tried to find such tea on the net, but no luck :( Could you please help me out with finding a place to buy it online ?
I'm from Poland :)
Hi Grim,
I'd like to help but I don't know any online Turkish stores in Europe:(
Merhaba Binnur Hanim,
Sayfanizi tesaduf eseri bulduguma cok sevindim.Size birsey sormak istiyorum. Cayi demledikten sonra cay yapraklarinin dibe inene kadar icmemeli diye duymustum.Aksi takdirde, cayin tadi bozuk olur diye biliyordum. Bugun sizin tarifinize gore cayi demledim fakat 5 dakika da cay dibe cokmedi. Sizce beklemem gerekli mi ayrica ne tur cay kullandiginiza gore bu sure degisir mi? Ben seylan cayi diye bilinen buyuk tanecikli caydan kullandim.
Cok tesekkurler ve ellerinize saglik. Tariflerinizi deneyecegim.
Sevgiler,iyi calismalar.
Merhaba Candy,
Yapraklarin dibe cokmesi gerektigi konusunda bir bilgim yok. Tarifte blirttigim gibi, uzun sure bekletilen cayin acilasip tadini kaybettigini soyleyebilirim.
I am thinking about making Turkish tea for my wedding (about 40 people will be there). Is it possible to make Turkish tea using the sun tea method- letting it brew in the sun? I thought I would brew the tea that way, then add a simple sugar syrup to sweeten it, then serve it over ice. I guess this would be an American suntea, using Turkish tea. Would it taste good to brew it this way and serve it iced? Would it retain the nutrients?
Hi Sahannon,
First of all, you should try it with the a small amount of tea. Turkish Tea is a black tea so you will be able to adjust the amount of tea and ice:)
You can check out this blog in order to see how you can find Turkish products in US and Canada:
http://madeinturkiye.blogspot.com
Hi i have just arrived back from Turkey with lots of different flavoured teas... Is it true they all work like medicine. Eg mint tea good for indegestion.. I would be gratefull if you could tell me what they are good for..! Mint, lemon,Orange,Apple, Peach, and strawberry tea... Thanks Sally x
Hi Sally,
I've already posted Apple Tea:) I am going to post linden tea, sage tea, mint-lemon tea in this winter and more in the future:)
Hi Binnur, I've just returned from Turkey with a fresh memory of the fantastic tea. I've brought some with me but no matter how I try I can never make it so strong and rich in flavour:( do you have any ideas what could be the problem? I would be very grateful for any suggestions. Thank you! Marketa
Hi Marketa,
If you add one extra spoon of tea leaves in the demlik you will have
stronger Turkish tea. Or, you can always have only brewed tea without
water or less water:)
I have natural apple tea and I'm not sure how to make it, could you please tell me the best way to make it thanks, joe
Hi Joe,
I've laready posted the Turkish Apple Tea (Elma Cayi) under the "Drinks" section:)
hello Binnur,thank you for the recipe for cay,there is no chance I get demlik here but I thought I will pour the water over tea leaves and boil the rest in a normal kettle and just combine.or the taste will be different?I would love to make Turkish tea somehow:)Nat
Hi Nat,
Sure, just keep the brewing leaves warm like wrapping the mug or little pot with kitchen towel:)
Hi,
I live in NJ and although I have Turkish stores here a lot, I still prefer tulumba mostly. Thanks to you Binnur, I found them on your page. :) Because they have so many products from Turkey, not only food and their product quality and service is much better.
Merhaba binnur :)
Nasilsin? Gercekten cok guzel yemek tarifleri pasta cesitleri paylasiyorsun! 6 yildir amerika'da bi restorantimiz var babam yemek cesitlerinde cok buyuk bi usta fakat pasta tariflerini o kadar iyi bilmiyordu. Babama senin tariflerini onerdim o da bi kac tanesini denedi ve simdi herzaman yapiyo Hatta menuye koydular musterilerde gercekten cok seviyorlar. Boyle bir sayfa actigin icin gercekten cok mutluyum ve turk olmakta bi ayricaliktir.. Sevgilerimle Busra..
Merhaba Sevgili Busra:)
Tariflerimden faydalaniyor olmaniz beni gercekten cok mutlu etti, tesekkur ederim:)
Her tarifimi, Turk olmanin verdigi ayricalik ve keyif ile yayinliyorum:)
Bol kazanci gunler diliyorum...sofraniz hep berketli olsun!
You can buy it online, a wide selection of Turkish tea.
http://marketurk.co.uk/en/category/index/42
could you please advice on the best Pomegranate tea brand in Turkey. thanks
Hi Hasan,
I live in Toronto, so I am not sure about the best Pomegranate tea brand in Turkey:)
Merhaba Binnur !
i have been making your recipes for the past couple of days and the foods are amazing!! Thank you for posting them!!
Greetings from Greece :)
Hello Binnur? I heard that some ppl refill the hot water pot after they use water from it for cay leaves and boil water and water with tea leaves again. Is it a correct method? greetings
Hello,
Sure, you can refill the hot water pot as the water evaporates due to longer time boiling. But if you add hot water over the tea leaves (in caydanlik-teapot) over and over again the taste will get bitter. I like the freshness of Turkish tea and I would not ruin it:)
I heard that some ppl boil Turkish tea two times. The first time when water is boiling, the second after pouring water over leaves...(they replace the water used for leaves with cold water and boil again)
Merhaba Binnur
Nasılsınıs? I wanted to ask you a question; my tea never turns out red. Every time I drink turkish tea at someone's house it is always red. I've tried adjusting the amount of tea leaves but it becomes bitter in taste.
Çok yakında senden haber almayı dört gözle bekliyorum.
Merhaba Amnağül,
Tesekkur ederim, iyiyim:) Have you ever used the spring water? I always use spring water to make my Turkish tea and coffee. The tap water can be limy and it makes the tea hazy:)
Sevgilerimle
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