What to Drink - The Beverages of Istanbul

With its long and rich history it seems like there's historical importance to every little thing in Istanbul. The beverages of Istanbul are no exception and there's even folktales and anecdotes associated with the taste of the drinks, how it is served, and what happens when you finish it. Beverages are an important part of social and cultural life in Istanbul. Water is usually my go-to beverage but during my trip, I just couldn't resist all the available options. So I've listed the 6 most common beverages you'll encounter in Istanbul and the amusing stories that go along with each.

Tea

Turkish Tea is a huge staple and the most commonly consumed hot beverage in Turkey. It’s served scalding hot in an adorable tulip shaped glass. The tulip shaped glass is usually accompanied with two cubes of sugar and a matching plate and tiny spoon. The glasses are also a unique souvenir to bring home and you can find a wide selection of them at the Grand Bazaar.

Offering tea is an important part of Turkish hospitality and we were not only offered tea at hotels and businesses but even while shopping at carpet, scarves, and jewelry stores.

Tea also accompanies breakfast as the first beverage in the morning. When we were on a food tour with other Americans, they actually wanted to start their day off with coffee but our tour guide informed them that locals don’t usually have coffee in the morning and he would have to ask for a special delivery for it.

Speaking of deliveries, each little section of stores or businesses within a few blocks has their own tea shop. The tea shop itself is usually very small and their sole purpose is to make and deliver teas and other beverages. Inside the tea shops you can see multiple sets of phones lining the walls where the local businesses can order their tea. In the beginning of the month, a shop owner would prepay for their beverages in a lump sum and the tea shop would give them buttons or tokens to use as payment later on.

Once an order is made, someone from the tea shop will balance the beverages on their scale looking tray and make the delivery. Shop owners and businesses will then pay for their tea with the little tokens or buttons predesignated for that shop.

After the customer finishes their tea, they simply place it outside of their building on the floor and eventually the deliveryman will make his rounds to pick up empty tea glasses. It’s a pretty cool concept that each few blocks has their own tea shop, so you’re never too far away from a quick delivery!

I consumed an insane amount of tea when I was in Turkey, even more than when I’m in China or London. It’s just widely available and served in that tiny tulip glass so I can keep having more and more. I for sure had it at every meal and also just various times throughout the afternoon or evening. It's just so fun to drink! And now that I’ve purchased my own set of tulip shaped glasses, it’s the only way I enjoy having tea at home.

Turkish Coffee

Turkish coffee is another important aspect of the country's culture and also served in a miniature cup, although it isn't tulip shaped. It’s traditionally made in a small copper pot with a long handle to prevent burning your fingers. The size of the pot is small because no matter how many cups of coffee is to be made, the quality cannot degrade. Therefore each coffee that is ordered deserves its own time and pot to be prepared.

You can tell how well a coffee is made by looking at the thickness of the foam on top. The cup with the thickest layer of foam is highly sought after. It’s also a fun tradition for you to have your fortune told from your Turkish coffee. After you’ve finished your coffee, you flip the cup over onto the saucer and the pattern that emerges from the thickness of your coffee can be read by a fortune teller.

Some amusing tidbits that our guides told us is that serving coffee is also an integral part of arranged marriages. One tradition states that a man’s parents will look for a suitable bride for their son. When they’ve found the right girl, they will show up at her house to reveal their intentions. The girl and her family will then serve their guests Turkish coffee. If the coffee is served with sugar in it, they have accepted the arranged marriage proposal. However, if the coffee is served with salt in it, it’s a polite way of declining.

The other story is that the arrangements have already been made and when the groom and future in-laws show up at the house, the bride is expected to serve coffee to them. The bride will then sneak salt into the groom’s cup only to see how he reacts. If he doesn’t react and continues to finish the coffee, the bride will know that he’s a gentleman and he truly loves her.

Ayran

Ayran is considered the national drink of Turkey. It’s a mixture of water, yogurt, and salt, and usually served chilled. It’s found pretty much in every restaurant including fast food places like McDonald’s and Burger King. We saw numerous locals enjoying this drink with their meals from street stands to high end restaurants.

I admit that I didn’t like the drink too much but it may also be psychological and will probably take a little getting used to. I'm accustomed to sweet yogurt drinks like smoothies so when I took a sip of this, my mind didn't know how to process it. We also tried various versions of the salty yogurt drink including one that had jalapeño seeds floating in it. So now we're having a salty, spicy, thick yogurt and water mixture on a hot summer day. We barely finished the cup but maybe we'll learn to appreciate the drink more next time!

Rakı

Now to the national alcoholic beverage of Turkey: Rakı. Rakı is either consumed straight, or mixed with water in which case the liquid turns into a milky white color. It ends up looking similar to Ayran, but less thick.

Rakı straight up tastes like black licorice to me and I really don’t like black licorice. It was pretty difficult for me to stomach. However, we experimented a bit and mixed it with Redbull which actually made it super delicious. We also enjoyed it more when mixed into fancy cocktail versions of it at 360 Istanbul, then it was much more suitable to my taste.

If you're going to enjoy a night out in Istanbul, do it the right way with their national alcoholic drink. But be warned, if you hate the taste of black licorice, make sure you have another drink to mix it with!

Şerbet

Şerbet is a very sweet and fragrant beverage made from either fruit or flower petals. It tastes similar to very sweetened mixed fruit juice. Since alcohol is forbidden in Islam, Şerbet rose to become an important and widespread beverage for Muslim culture during the Ottoman times.

It’s usually served chilled and it’s really refreshing on a hot summer day. Şerbet dates back to the Ottoman Empire where it was actually served in public fountains and distributed to the general public. Just imagine a giant fountain in a park pumping coca cola and being supplied to anybody who passed by for free. Pretty neat.

Pomegranate Juice

Juice stands can be found along many major streets displaying their wide selection of fruits. But what stands out and what Istanbul is known for, is their pomegranate juice! During the fruit’s season, vendors will be pumping out cup after cup of pure pomegranate juice to quench anyone’s thirst. During off season, the fruit is still used but usually blended with a variety of other fruits. Another great beverage to relax and cool off with!