I made a new best friend when I was in Turkey recently – the Turkish Tea. Trust me when I say this, no matter how pissed off you might be, you just cannot ignore Turkish tea. #TrueStory.
After a long flight, I found myself in the reception of a hotel in Cappadocia, seething over how I was offered a room that overlooks a valley instead of the white honeycombed hills that seem right out of a fairy tale, which I had been promised.
As I sat there waiting for the staff to give me a better room, the manager pulled out a tulip shaped glass and with the precision of an artisan, poured me cay (Turkish for tea). Meticulously, he placed two cubes of sugar that rest on a saucer. My instant reaction was to reject it, but the glistening bronze coloured liquid is hard to resist. The soothing aroma of freshly brewed tea leaves teases my nostrils.
As I sipped, the tea worked like magic. It gently breathed life into me at the end of a tired day. For reasons I cannot explain, drinking ‘cay’ is an experience. I could feel my anger recede. Before I was done, the manager smiled at me as he handed me the keys to a room that faced the honeycombed hills. A beautiful friendship thus unfolded.
The Turkish tea seemed to have done its job.
In Turkey, it is not wrong to say that a lot can happen over a cup of cay. When I headed to the local market later that day and sauntered into a shop that sold exquisite Turkish carpets, the shopkeeper poured me some cay. As I mulled over the purchase, the tea assisted me in the process. Tea here was more than just a beverage. It spelled camaraderie and bonhomie.
It is served almost everywhere – the minute you check in to your hotel to the time you check out.
His‘tea’ory
Though nuanced in its flavour, tea was never the preferred beverage in Turkey. Until the fall of the Ottoman Empire, coffee was preferred as it was produced in Yemen, and could be easily transported throughout the region. But in the 20th century, when the Ottoman empire fell, coffee became an expensive commodity to import. It was then that the Turks turned towards tea. It could be easily grown and proliferated in the Black Sea Eastern province of Rize, where the land was perfect for tea cultivation. Today, Turkey is the sixth largest producer of tea.
Thus, much like in India, tea vendors or ‘cayci’ can be seen darting across a busy road with a tray in hand filled with cay glasses. Tea forms a large part of the social fabric. Perhaps, that’s why Turkey is dotted with local cay houses with a signboard saying “Afiyet Olsun” (bon appetit). At any point in time, especially during the summer months, tea houses swarm with men – gossiping, smoking, talking sports or enjoying a board game; leaving their wives behind, as it is uncommon to find women in these tea houses.
E‘tea’quettes
A faux pas while having cay would be asking for milk. When I was first offered cay, my first reaction was if I could have some milk. The waiter stared at me in disbelief. I realised I had committed a blasphemy.
A glass of cay is usually accompanied with two ‘kitlamas’, (sugar cubes), and refusing sugar could lead to an inquiry into your health. I later discovered that an interesting way in which Turks enjoy their cay was to place the kitlama under the tongue or cheek, until the sugar slowly dissolves. Tea etiquettes demand that you place the teaspoon on top of the glass, or inside the glass, if you have enjoyed your cay. Sometimes, the glass is also turned onto its side as a gesture of contentment, but turning it upside down could mean your tea was bad!
T(e)ayyari
Turkish tea is prepared in a double tea pot or caydanlik. The bottom pot is filled with water and is set on the flame to boil. The top pot is filled with dry tea leaves, depending on how strong one wants their tea. Once the water has boiled, it is transferred to the top pot, and tea is allowed to steep for 15 minutes, but generally no longer than 30 minutes to avoid bitterness.
Accompanied by the savoury borek or baklava, the cay hits the spot with its simplicity.
Tea Shot
Having stayed in Turkey for nearly ten days before I checked out, I couldn't do without sipping cay for the last time.
Only this time, after I was done, I placed my glass onto its side, as this seemed like the perfect way to celebrate a beautiful drink that forged many friendships.
(A freelance food and fashion blogger, Pranjali Bhonde Pethe wants to get people closer to their favourite food and style through her blog, moipalate. Email her at pranjali.bhonde@gmail.com and follow her on @moipalate.)
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