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    Home » Drinks » Turkish Tea - How To Make It

    Published: Feb 22, 2019 · Modified: Nov 30, 2020 by Zerrin & Yusuf

    Turkish Tea - How To Make It

    Jump to Recipe·Print Recipe

    Turkish tea is a staple at breakfast, a perfect way of relaxing during breaks at work and a must after a long tiring day. We serve it to our guests even without asking because everyone expects so. This strong black tea has a big role in our daily life. We love its soothing effect at any occasion. 

    Hot Turkish tea in its traditional tea glass and saucer.

    Can you imagine a classic Turkish breakfast including menemen, cheese, olives, jams, butter and honey without a large tea pot on the side? It would be incomplete without tea.

    A glass of tea and Turkish bagel simit make the quickest breakfast when you are out. We pair Turkish tea with several other foods. Turkish Baklava, Turkish Borek, Turkish Pogaca and mercimek koftesi (lentil balls) are just to name some.

    Jump to:
    • A Part of Breakfast
    • When To Drink Turkish Tea
    • What Is A Turkish Tea Set?
    • How To Make Turkish Tea In A Tea Pot
    • Notes About Brewing Turkish Tea
    • How To Serve Tea In Turkey
    • More Turkish Recipes To Serve With It
    • Other Turkish Drinks
    • 📖 Recipe

    A Part of Breakfast

    In Turkey, we start the day not with coffee, but with a glass of newly brewed Turkish tea, which has a tempting and stimulating fragrance. Breakfast means tea for us. If there is no tea at breakfast, it lacks the main thing. You know a typical Turkish breakfast includes several foods like olives, cheese, cucumber and tomato slices, jams and eggs.

    These must be accompanied by tea as a drink. On the other hand, if you don't have time for breakfast at home during weekdays, you can buy a newly baked crunchy simit from a pastry shop or a street vendor and have it with a glass of tea at work. The  quickest way of breakfast for working people.

    As for coffee, we drink it for pleasure. Whenever we want to spoil ourselves. Oh and when saying coffee, I mean Turkish coffee. If you now nothing about it, please check out our How To Make Turkish Coffee post.

    Woman serving Turkish tea in traditional tea glasses from a nostalgic teapot.

    When To Drink Turkish Tea

    Drinking tea is not limited to breakfast time in Turkish culture. Unlike Turkish coffee, which is considered as a more special treat, we are almost every time ready to drink tea. From early morning till the bedtime. In every home, there is always a tea pot ready on the stove to brew tea for the family or guests. Not only is tea ready to serve to guests at home but also at workplaces.

    It is quite normal if you are offered a glass of tea at a bank, at your dentist's or hairdresser's when waiting. When waiting for your package at a fish market, don’t be surprised if the salesperson offers you tea. It is a way of welcoming your customer, which is a part of our culture. I'm quite sure a typical Turkish person drinks way more tea than water in a day.

    It is said that tea removes your tiredness. That’s why people drink tea when they have a break while working. Tea break at workplaces is officially allowed because it is considered as a way of renewing and recharging yourself. Also, in most workplaces, there is a small kitchen-like room with a Turkish tea set and a person there in charge of brewing and serving tea to the employees every now and then.

    Believe it or not, tea is a staple treat even for picnics in Turkey. Traditional Turkish picnic is like a barbeque party with lots of food and people take a tea pot with them to make tea either over wood fire, which definitely enriches the taste of tea, or over a small gas cylinder. Drinking tea means ending the picnic because it is brewed after all the food (read it meat) is gone.

    So although our afternoon tea sessions look like a traditional British tea party with all the pastries we serve, we are not limited to those times. There is always a room for a glass of tea any time during the day.

    Turkish tea served in three Turkish tea glasses, thin lemon wedges on the side of two. Accompanied by a nostalgic blue tea pot set.

    What Is A Turkish Tea Set?

    A Turkish tea set normally contains the following four items:

    1. Turkish tea glasses
    2. Turkish tiny teaspoons
    3. small plates on which you put the glasses
    4. a tray to serve all the glasses together.

    You can find these easily at online shopping sites that sell Turkish products. When I searched for it on the web, I saw that there are hundreds of types. Choose the one you like if you want to serve tea in an authentic way. One thing that surprised me on those online markets is that they are selling some glasses with lids. This is not something we normally see in Turkey. Really no need for lids.

    Turkish tea glasses mostly have a thin waist, which makes it easy to hold. The glasses with holders are another alternative, but they are not that common or famous.

    Tiny teaspoons are for people who love their tea sweet. They add cubes of sugar into their tea and give a good stir with those teaspoons. As nobody in my family sweetens their tea, we forgot to include sugar or teaspoons in our tea photography.

    While you can buy all these in a Turkish tea set, you can buy them separately as well. If you buy them separately, make sure that the tea glasses fit in the tea plates. Otherwise, it might be difficult to hold them together as the glass slides from one side to another if it is too small for the plate. It's better if there is a circular space in the middle of the plate for the glass.

    Pouring Turkish tea into a tea glass from a Turkish teapot. Accompanied by a lemon cake.

    How To Make Turkish Tea In A Tea Pot

    There are two pieces of our traditional tea pot. As you see in the pictures here, one small and one larger. The small one is placed above the larger one. It is really so easy to brew Turkish tea when you follow these steps:

    1. Pour ¼ cup of water in the small tea pot. Add in tea leaves (5 tablespoons for 6 people) and cover with its lid.
    2. Fill the large tea pot with water. Put them together (small one above the larger) on the stove over medium high heat. Bring it to boil.
    3. Reduce the heat and let it simmer for about 5 minutes so that the heat reaches the tea leaves in the small tea pot.
    4. Transfer more than half of the water in the large tea pot into the small teapot. Fill the large one with additional water and put them back on the stove. Again the small tea pot over the large tea pot. Bring the water to boil first and reduce the heat to the lowest and let it simmer for 10-15 minutes. The tea will be brewed as the tea leaves will sink by the end of this time. Then you can either leave tea pot set on the stove over the lowest heat so that the tea keeps hot or remove from heat, serve and reheat when needed.

    Notes About Brewing Turkish Tea

    Never place the small tea pot which contains leaves directly on the stove just to shorten the time! This will spoil both the taste and the look of the tea. We need to wait for this brewing process. Tea in the small pot is heated thanks to the steam caused by the simmering water in the large tea pot and this takes time for sure.

    A real tea drinker hates tea bags as they don’t have the same flavor as the original ones. Tea bags are not brewed at all, they are just put in cups filled with hot water and it’s ready. I think tea bags are like prepackaged foods, as tasteless as them. So if you want to drink a good tea, you must absolutely brew it in a Turkish tea pot set.

    One glass of tea is never enough for us, we often want for the second or third or even more. So the measurements here are for 6 people, but not for 6 glasses of tea. Consider it as two glasses for each person, that makes 12 glasses.

    Hot Turkish tea served in a traditional Turkish tea glass on a tea plate photographed from front view with a dark background. Accompanied by a lemon cake.

    How To Serve Tea In Turkey

    When it is brewed, you can serve it in Turkish tea glasses or tea cups. There is a certain way of doing this. Fill the quarter of the glass with brewed tea and then complete it with boiled water from the large tea pot. Adjust the amount of tea depending on how you like your tea -strong or lighter. And it is up to you to add sugar into your glass or not.

    Some people hate it when they see tea leaves floating in their tea, so they use a small sieve when pouring tea into their glass, but I don't think it's necessary when the tea is finely brewed. Tea leaves stay at the bottom of the tea pot or go to the bottom of the glass then.

    As for its service , culturally we prefer drinking tea in a glass specially designed for Turkish tea. You see it in the pictures here. Serving them in Turkish tea cups doesn’t have a very long history in our culture. It has become popular for some years, but tea glasses are still the most preferred.

    A few sugar cubes are put near the glass at coffee houses, cafes or tea gardens while sugar is served in a separate bowl at houses. There are certainly people who love their tea without sugar like all my family members. Some prefer their tea strong (with more tea from the small pot and less water) some love it lighter (with less tea and more water). And those who love it light mostly ask for tiny lemon wedges on the side of their tea.

    More Turkish Recipes To Serve With It

    You can serve any Turkish dessert with a glass of tea on the side. We love it with lokum and Turkish cookies with apple filling. It is also great with savory pastries like sigara borek, gözleme and pide too.

    Other Turkish Drinks

    • Turkish Apple Tea
    • Rose Hips Tea
    • Salep

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    📖 Recipe

    Turkish Tea - How To Make It

    Woman serving Turkish tea in traditional tea glasses from a nostalgic teapot.
    Print Recipe
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    4.9 from 8 reviews

    Making Turkish tea with a Turkish tea pot set.

    • Author: Zerrin & Yusuf
    • Prep Time: 2 minutes
    • Cook Time: 20 minutes
    • Total Time: 22 minutes
    • Yield: 6 1x
    • Category: Drink
    • Method: Cooking
    • Cuisine: Turkish

    Ingredients

    Units Scale
    • 7 cups water
    • 5 tablespoons black tea leaves

    Instructions

    1. Pour ¼ cup of water in the small tea pot. Add in tea leaves (5 tablespoons for 6 people) and cover with its lid.
    2. Fill the large tea pot with water. Put them together (small one above the larger) on the stove over medium high heat. Bring it to boil.
    3. Reduce the heat and let it simmer for about 5 minutes so that the heat reaches the tea leaves in the small tea pot.
    4. Transfer more than half of the water in the large tea pot into the small teapot. Fill the large one with additional water and put them back on the stove. Again the small tea pot over the large tea pot. Bring the water to boil first and reduce the heat to the lowest and let it simmer for 10-15 minutes. The tea will be brewed as the tea leaves will sink by the end of this time.
    5. Serve it hot.

    Nutrition

    • Serving Size: 2 glasses
    • Calories: 0
    • Sugar: 0 g
    • Sodium: 11.8 mg
    • Fat: 0 g
    • Carbohydrates: 0.1 g
    • Protein: 0 g
    • Cholesterol: 0 mg

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    Reader Interactions

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    1. binsu says

      August 23, 2022 at 1:55 am

      hi there i would like to see a video of the brewing process or a step by step of the small tea pot in a larger one photos.. 😀

      Reply
      • Zerrin & Yusuf says

        August 29, 2022 at 3:10 pm

        Hi Binsu,

        It is in our list. Hope to make it soon. If you have a question until then, feel free to ask.

        Reply
    2. Maricruz Kruse says

      May 26, 2022 at 9:08 pm

      Why my tea is not coming red?

      Reply
      • Zerrin & Yusuf says

        May 28, 2022 at 1:55 pm

        What color is yours?
        The color might depend on the quality of the tea leaves. Also it might be lighter or darker depending on how much boiling water you pour over the brewed tea in the glass.

        Reply
    3. Mariam says

      October 21, 2021 at 8:28 pm

      I absolutely love Turkish tea, thank you so much for sharing this recipe!!

      If I wanted to make the tea for 3-4 people, how many tablespoons of tea leaves would I use and how much water in the top pot please and if there is leftovers, can I drink it on the following day?

      Reply
      • Zerrin & Yusuf says

        October 22, 2021 at 1:39 am

        Hi Mariam,
        Thank you for asking these questions. It really depends on how many glasses each person will drink. As Turkish people, we drink several glasses when we brew a pot of tea. Normally, 4 or 5 tablespoons of tea leaves are fine for 3-4 people. There is no strict measurements for it indeed. You can pour water over the leaves until the hole in the top pot. After it is brewed, you will pour the brewed tea in the top pot into the glasses first, then pour water from the bottom pot over it. You can test and decide how much dark or light you want your tea.
        As for the second question, well we don't recommend drinking the leftovers on the following day. The taste will be bitter as the leaves wait for a long time.
        Hope these help. Please feel free if you have any more questions about Turkish tea.

        Reply
    4. Ella says

      October 14, 2021 at 2:29 pm

      I love the post. I just bought the tea maker and the glases yesterday. I wonder how long can the tea stay in a pot ? And does it get stronger by reheating it or just staying in a pot for a few hours ?
      Thank you very much 😊

      Reply
      • Zerrin & Yusuf says

        October 15, 2021 at 12:53 am

        Hi Ella! Great question! Thank you for asking this 🙂 It can stay fresh for 2-3 hours. That being said, it doesn't go bad even after 4-5 hours. Just the taste is not the same. It gets stronger as it sits in the pot. Even if you put less tea and more water in your glass, the taste is not as fresh, but still good. Enjoy your tea!

        Reply
    5. Simge TurkishTaste says

      June 12, 2020 at 1:41 pm

      I love Turkish tea and it is a ritual in our home to drink tea everyday. Thanks for your post! I like it so much

      Reply
    6. Avirag says

      May 31, 2020 at 2:09 pm

      Wow, Its a good post about turkish Tea. I searched cay on net and came to this page. Certainly I want to taste it now, hopefully I would get it in my town. Thanks for this beautiful and informative post.

      Reply
      • Yusuf says

        June 01, 2020 at 2:27 am

        Glad you liked Turkish tea and the post about it. Hope you can find authentic Turkish tea.

        Reply
    7. Michelle says

      April 30, 2020 at 4:18 pm

      I love this post - I visited Turkey last year and simply fell in love. The food, the place but above all, the people! They are so friendly and welcoming, and really can't do enough for you. Had hoped to go back this year, but with the lockdown in effect, that sadly hasn't happened. Still, I have my Turkish tea and genuine Turkish tea set, as well as my Turkish rice to keep me going until I can go back. #Sigh#... I miss you Turkey!

      Reply
    8. Marsida says

      April 25, 2020 at 4:41 am

      I love Turkish tea so much. Please may i know how much water has to be in the large pot? As you said more than half of the water we have to put in the small pot, it is not clear for me how much has to be in the big one. Please explain to me because I am not doing it right.

      Reply
      • Yusuf says

        April 26, 2020 at 3:18 am

        The amount in the big pot is really not important indeed because you serve the tea in glasses by filling one third of it with the brewed tea from the smaller pot first and then fill the rest with hot water from the large pot. Hope this helps.

        Reply
    9. Adina says

      March 11, 2019 at 4:43 pm

      I love Turkish tea, we get it sometimes in Turkish restaurants around here, but it is usually very sweet. I don't normally drink sweetened tea, but I love it in this case. 🙂 Your post was very interesting to read.

      Reply
      • Zerrin says

        March 11, 2019 at 5:44 pm

        Sweet? Are they serving the tea sweet? We never add sugar before serving it. We serve sugar cubes or granulated sugar on the side because you can never know how sweet a person wants his tea. Oh and lots of people like me love their tea with no sugar at all.

        Reply
        • Manan says

          September 30, 2021 at 7:44 pm

          Are u from Turkey?

        • Zerrin & Yusuf says

          October 01, 2021 at 3:15 am

          Yes we are from Turkey but living in the UK 🙂

    10. Aysegul Sanford says

      February 24, 2019 at 10:28 pm

      Ahhhhh I am in love with this post. Having been living outside of Turkey for many years, Turkish tea is one of those things that I missed the most. Like you said, it is a way of life. The kind that you can find anywhere else, but in Turkey.

      Gorgeous photos as always. Cheers!

      Reply
      • Zerrin says

        February 25, 2019 at 2:55 am

        Thanks my friend! I know, living without tea in daily life must be really hard for someone who grew up in this culture. You know our tea pot is always on the stove. Come join us!

        Reply
    11. Christa @ Exploring The Turkish Kitchen says

      February 23, 2019 at 9:39 am

      I ♥ Turkish tea but that blue çaydanlık is amazing, why do I imagine çay would taste even better using such a fab pot?!

      Reply
      • Zerrin says

        February 24, 2019 at 12:08 am

        Hi Christa! I just fell in love with this çaydanlık when I saw it on a shopping website. My grandma used to have one that is exactly same as this blue tea pot. It's great that nostalgic items like this have become popular again.

        Reply
        • Xant says

          October 03, 2020 at 10:13 am

          Love the post. I would love to know where to find the blue caydanlik. Any hint is much appreciated

        • Yusuf says

          October 04, 2020 at 3:44 am

          Thank you so much! We bought it from a local store when we were in Turkey. But I think you can find it on online shops when you search for 'enamel teapot.' Hope this helps.

        • Elizabeth says

          October 15, 2020 at 3:43 am

          You can find a similar one on FairTurk.com

    12. Elke says

      January 14, 2018 at 7:18 pm

      Ellerinize sağlık ikinize de for a great blog and the wonderful photos to complement the writing. I really enjoyed this particular article.

      Reply
    13. Kristina @maptrotting says

      December 09, 2017 at 6:37 pm

      This is a wonderful post! Really enjoyed reading it. We have recently come back from Istanbul where we had endless amounts of Turkish tea and I was just wondering how it's prepared 🙂 The photos are stunning, especially the last 2! 🙂

      Reply
      • Zerrin says

        December 09, 2017 at 7:49 pm

        Thank you Kristina! So you know how much we as Turkish people love tea. I sometimes have more than ten cups a day! Hope you have a chance to make it yourself.

        Reply
    « Older Comments

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    Meet Zerrin and Yusuf Gunaydin: The couple behind this blog. We bring Turkish food into your kitchen! From kebabs to desserts, everything you crave is here.

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