SC - Fw: Turkish Coffee Battles Invasion -OOP

[Alderton, Philippa]

Thought this might be of interest to you all. Got this from the Byzantie
list.


>Turkish Coffee Battles Invasion
>Saturday January 16, 1999  7:00 am
>
>
>ANKARA, Turkey (AP) - Trouble is brewing over Turkish coffee.
>
>Fearing that the beverage is headed toward extinction - overtaken by the
>lighter espresso and cappuccino - a leading public action group has
>started a boycott of restaurants that do not serve coffee the
>traditional Turkish way.
>
>The call to cups: Protecting the thick, strong brew that first
>introduced the West to the joys, jolts and jags of caffeine.
>
>"They are on the way to destroying our grand old tradition," declared
>Abdullah Kehale, a spokesman for the 10,000-member Association to
>Support Contemporary Life.
>
>The group, whose previous efforts have included supporting modern,
>secular education through grants, is urging Turks nationwide to join its
>days-old boycott.
>
>"It doesn't make sense. You wouldn't expect a restaurant in Italy not to
>serve cappuccino," Kehale said. "Restaurants in Turkey must serve
>Turkish coffee."
>
>To blame are the fashionable brasseries and cafes that have mushroomed
>in cities like Ankara and Istanbul. They spurn the traditional Turkish
>coffee in favor of trendier European brews or filtered coffees.
>
>Although still popular in smaller towns, Turkey's traditional, male-only
>corner coffeehouses are becoming a rarity in big cities.
>
>Coffee comes from the Arabic word "qahwa" and was introduced to Turkey
>from Yemen during the Ottoman Empire. According to Taha Toros, author of
>a book on the history of Turkish coffee, the Ottoman Turks took sacks
>full of coffee with them during warfare in Europe.
>
>The Europeans first thought the sacks contained camel food, but soon
>developed a taste for the invigorating drink. A Western addiction was
>born.
>
>Unlike its European counterparts, made in machines in seconds, Turkish
>coffee is time-consuming to produce. The ground coffee is meticulously
>brewed and rebrewed until it reaches a thick consistency and gains a
>rich aroma.
>
>With Turkish coffee, drinkers have the added benefit of having their
>fortunes read through the patterns that remain in the cup after the
>coffee is drunk.
>
>"Apart from Turkish delight and Turkish baths, coffee is one of the only
>things in the world known by the accolade 'Turkish.' But now it is
>becoming unfindable in Turkey," wrote Haluk Sahin, a columnist for daily
>Radikal. "We want Turkish coffee in restaurants in Turkey."
>
>The All Sports Cafe in Istanbul's fashionable Etiler district is one
>place where customers are served a range of aromatic coffees - but not
>the traditional Turkish variety.
>
>"Some customers do ask for it," said waiter Kerim Tuncer. "But the
>management has decided against it."
>
>To some, that smacks of treason.
>
>"Turkish coffee cannot die," Toros said. "It was the Turks who
>introduced coffee to the Europeans in the first place. They still serve
>it in restaurants in France and Vienna."
>
>
>

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