Turkish Tea: The Taste and Experience of Turkey
Turkish Tea: Taste and Experience
The Turkish people love tea and drink it all day long and turkish tea is an important part of the country’s warm hospitality. Even children are offered tea! Show the tiniest inkling of interest in purchases like carpet, jewelry, ceramics, or lamps and you’ll be offered tea. Accept it for what it is – a warm gesture and an excuse to shop longer, but sip slowly as it is served very, very hot!
Turkish Tea: Drink All Day Long
Turks love tea so much that is is constantly available. Their tea servers have a large container on the bottom full of water which is kept boiling all day long. On top of the boiling water is a teapot full of tea. I love hot tea and drink it year round, but the term hot is relative. I didn’t drink nearly as much tea in Turkey as I would have liked because it was served way too hot for me. The ice cubes I use to make it cool enough to drink here at home were not available. Brewed tea is kept for only an hour and then tossed to make new. If it sits longer than that it is too bitter. Truth be told – Turkish tea is pretty strong!
Turkish Tea: Served Uniquely
Tea is served in a small glass on a saucer with a tiny spoon and a cube of sugar. The cup makes a wonderful souvenir and you can find them in all the shops. I love sweet tea (Texas girl here!) so I usually added another cube.  There is always more sitting on the table. 😉 Through the clear glass you can see the color of the tea which is ideally the color of rabbit’s blood. Having never seen the color of rabbit’s blood thankfully, I can only guess that mine was the right color because it was delicious.
Turkish Tea: The Tea is Grown in Turkey
Tea is popular in Turkey because it is grown here in the northern regions near the Black Sea. The rain near the coast makes for tea growing heaven. In addition to traditional Turkish black tea, you’ll find tea with different flavors such as peach. The most common tea other than traditional black Turkish tea is apple and ironically it doesn’t contain tea – just dried apple and flavorings like cinnamon!
Turkish Tea: Try the Flavors!
Apple tea is a lot like our hot apple cider and is served just like traditional tea and it smells wonderful. We had it many times and it was a favorite for my kids. There is no word on what animal blood it is supposed to resemble. 😉
Turkish Tea: How to Make Tea like the Turks
Turkish tea starts with loose tea. According to those I asked in Turkey, porcelain or cooper pots make the best tea. Add boiling water and let the tea steep for 10-15 minutes. Serve in a small glass immediately because hot is better!
Turkish Tea: Relax and Enjoy the Experience
Stopping to sip hot tea is a great way to experience the Turkish culture and you’ll have lots of opportunities to do just that. It is available at every restaurant and hotel. Turks are warm, very relaxed people and things move at a slower pace than in the United States. Don’t fight it – instead just sink into it. Take a deep breath, relax, sip the tea, and enjoy your vacation. Spend the time talking with your family, connecting, and making family memories. Combine the relaxed tea sipping with a hammam experience and you’ll wonder why anyone ever leaves Turkey!!
The Turks have so many wonderful dishes! The lentil soup is one of my favorites! Check out more about the delicious menus of Turkey.
CLICK HERE – The Flavors of Istanbul
CLICK HERE – Turkish Delight – What is the Origin of this amazing Food?
Have you tried the Borek? Try these Borek recipes at home!
Happy and relaxed family travels,
Natalie, The Educational Tourist
When visiting Turkey with family many years ago we got offered tea all the time, in every store we strolled through, but when we visited Istanbul last year no one offered us some tea at all. I really love their fruity tea with lots of sugar, so I got a bit disappointed. haha!
How strange! I wonder why things were different? We bought some of the lovely tea home, too. It is delicious, but not the same as enjoying it there! 🙂
The Turkish are such hospitable people I can’t wait to go back. Plus I love drinking tea and Turkey has some of the best, don’t you think?
I couldn’t agree more. I feel like we only scratched the surface. I want to see more of the turquoise coast. Which part of Turkey did you see?
I would love to try that apple tea if and when I’m in Turkey 🙂 I’m a tea-lover myself and I find it so interesting how different cultures make, prepare and serve tea.
I love tea, too and was amazed at how incredibly available it was. Tea heaven! Thanks for stopping by!
I am a tea drinker and lover.I was in Istanbul about two decades ago. But I didn;t know about Turkish tea.Thanks.
Thanks for sharing. I’ve done a traditional British tea, but love learning about how different cultures take something similar and turn it into their own thing. Thanks!
I love tea. And how amazing for a culture to embrace it so much like Turkey does. How interesting that it’s so much hotter than how we do it. Really interesting read!