How to Make Turkish Tea (Without a Double Teapot)

It goes without saying that tea is a very significant part of living all around the globe. It is easy to claim that tea has altered the course of history many times.

Tea has grown and become popular throughout the world’s continents, therefore it’s natural to assume that various locations would have diverse tea traditions.

If you truly appreciate learning about other nations and their ways of life, and you are interested in learning about tea, you will have a long, long journey ahead of you in studying about the history of tea and its influence on the globe.

Iced tea is a fantastic illustration of how various countries of the globe have varied tea practices, as opposed to Britain, which generally serves tea warm. Some locations may severely sweeten tea, while others may never provide tea with milk.

These are only a few instances of cultural diversity in how tea is prepared in various regions.

With that out of the way, there’s a possibility you’ve started to study about tea in other places, such as Turkey. Turkey may not be the first country that comes to mind when thinking about delicate and aromatic teas from across the globe, but the reality is that it has a rather significant tea sector that people love being able to concentrate on.

Turkey even has its own specific teapot that it uses to serve tea from to check that the tea was made properly.

If you want to learn about Turkish tea but don’t have a double teapot or a means to go to Turkey, you may be put off by the prospect.

You won’t have to be afraid of tasting Turkish tea since there are several methods to make it in the comfort of your own home.

Surprisingly, when it comes to brewing and serving tea in Turkey, you may be unaware of several conventions and practices that have developed.

One of the most intriguing is that it is regarded customary to serve tea in transparent glasses so that you can enjoy the color of the tea, rather than in a typical mug or cup, as in many other nations.

In some ways, knowing how to prepare tea the way Turks do will be a fantastic opportunity to immerse yourself in a culinary and cultural history lesson.

Without further ado, if you want to learn how to make Turkish tea, even if you don’t have a traditional teapot, the first thing you need do is have a thorough grasp of how tea has played a part throughout the nation of Turkey.

While it did not have the same impact in Turkey as it had in the United Kingdom or the United States, it had a significant impact when it was ultimately introduced to the nation.

Tea in Turkey

If you’re wondering when people started drinking tea in Turkey, it’s a little tough to say.

It is unknown when Turkey started selling teas across the globe, while some reports claim that tea was traded as early as 400 BCE, with the earliest documented evidence of someone trading tea and popularizing it occurring in the early 1900s.

Because Turkey is an arid country, despite people’s attempts to cultivate tea for a decade, it was not a huge success. This implies that the bulk of Turkish teas from this time period were imported, since most teas could not have been cultivated legally in Turkey’s weather due to agricultural limitations.

In 1924, the parliament established a rule allowing individuals to begin planting tea near the Black Sea area, and as a result, around 70 tons of boxes of tea were supplied throughout the 1930s.

Because most teas in Turkey are imported in some manner, shape, or form, few are considered collectors goods unless they are exceedingly old or have emotional significance.

Instead, Turkey’s tea culture stems from how tea is presented. Tea in Turkey is typically served using specialty teapots, clear glasses, and traditions.

Some Turkish tea practices involve putting a tiny quantity of water in the transparent tea cups so that when you pour the tea into the glass, the water already in the glass dilutes the taste somewhat.

There are a few distinct taste characteristics to be aware of when it comes to Turkish tea. There are powerful and dark colors, medium deep brownish red colors, weak and light colors, and so on. You can change how strong the taste profile of anything you like is simply changing the quantity of water in the transparent glasses.

You now have a better grasp of the culture surrounding tea in Turkey, as well as the fact that it has played a massive agricultural and commercial role in the globe.

One of the first things you’ll notice is that most ordinary Turkish teapots seem to have two nozzles, which may appear a little awkward at first.

The Double Teapot’s Purpose

As you learn more about tea and Turkey, you’ll discover that many of the teapots on display seem to have two tales.

One of the primary reasons why Turkish teapots seem to be multi-storied is because people feel that this successfully saves expenses in tea manufacturing and is less costly to maintain, since you may pour water into the cup while steeping the tea.

As you will soon understand, the main reason people like their double-stacked routine is that there is significantly more opportunity for efficient meal serving. The bottom chamber of the kettle is often used to heat water so that it may be utilized while the tea steeps.

This is where you normally steep loose tea leaves, usually several little spoonfuls of it, in the upper chamber. One of the most effective methods to get things done with as few dishes as possible is to have the tea leaves in one spot where the vapor from the boiling water can travel.

Surprisingly, while serving Turkish tea, transparent glasses are usually used so that the color of the tea may be appreciated, and milk is nearly never added to tea for the same reason.

Now that you know more about how Turkish people prepare tea, you can start thinking about comparable approaches that may provide a similar result. Most people in other nations will be aware of just one thing that may achieve such a comparable effect, and that approach is most widely known as a double boiler.

Using a Double Boiler to Make Turkish Tea

For those who do not possess a coffee maker, this will be the closest impact that you can get for the money that you spend for it.

The procedure of making a double boiler for tea is quite similar to the other way that most people utilize. To begin, decide which tea leaves you want in your tea so that you may experience the colors and hues that come with high-end teas.

You may also choose some spices to add to the tea at this point to make it more delightful, with the most acceptable seasonings being apples, mint, rosehip, or lemon ginger.

Once you’ve decided on the tea and any possible garnishes, you’ll want to start by heating around five cups of water in a big saucepan. This is basically the process of making the bottom kettle from the Turkish teapot.

In fact, Turkish teapots are designed to be almost double boilers on their own. Depending on the size of your bowls, you may even use a mixing bowl to make things simpler.

Some individuals may use this stage to add fruits or other flavors to the tea to make it more to their liking. Lemon, orange, and grapefruit are some of the most typical flavorings used in this phase.

People who desire these tastes in their tea normally blend one spoonful of it in with the leaves.

Pour around two cups of boiling water over the leaves in the smaller pot with the leaves in it. This means you should take the bigger pot off the heat now that the water has reached a boil.

Pouring the water over the leaves should be done slowly, evenly, and in a circular manner to ensure that everything is as uniform as possible.

With the leaves well soaked and ready to steep in the small saucepan, transfer them to the main pot and add another two cups of water. If you wish to follow Turkish tea practices, you will use this water to serve the tea.

Otherwise, set it aside for a few minutes on a nearby surface that is out of the way but still accessible.

You’ll want to check on the tea leaves in the smaller sauce pan every now and then by peeping through the cover (which should be on at all times). When you observe the tea leaves starting to swell up, you may be certain that this is working.

You may wish to stir the leaves every now and then so that they swell uniformly and steep properly.

Last but not least, with this cooking technique, you’ll want to set your burner to a low heat setting so that you may gradually complete steeping your tea. Place the smaller saucepan on top of the bigger saucepan, just as you would if you were attempting to balance them on top of each other.

Everything will be cooking and ready to be prepared at this point so that you can make the most of it. You may anticipate this to take between 10 and 15 minutes, depending on the quality and success of your Turkish tea.

All that remains is for you to serve the tea.

Serving Your Tea in a Turkish Way

Even if you don’t have the right cup for your new tea, you’ll want to understand how the process works in case you ever want to try it yourself. Tea is served differently in Turkey than it is in other nations, such as the United States.

In Turkey, it seems that the residual water after putting two cups of water into the huge pot is finished, and then tea is poured over it.

To be more particular, you should fill one-fourth to one-half of your Turkish tea glass with tea and the remainder with water.

If you want it to appear as wonderful as possible after you’re done pouring, pour it softly so there are no bubbles and you can appreciate the beauty of the tea color even more.