Istanbul Coffee Culture: New Wave Cafes, Turkish Coffee & the Third Wave Scene

Istanbul has one of the world's oldest and most deeply embedded coffee cultures — Türk kahvesi (Turkish coffee) has been brewed in the city's coffeehouses since the Ottoman era, when the city's kahvehane tradition essentially invented the European coffeehouse concept in the 16th century. Five centuries later, Istanbul's coffee scene is experiencing a second revolution: a new generation of specialty roasters and baristas has built a thriving third-wave cafe culture alongside the traditional Turkish coffee preparation, creating a city where both traditions coexist at exceptionally high quality.

The traditional Turkish coffee experience is still best found in the old neighbourhoods: the historic Mandabatmaz cafe on a tiny alley off Istiklal Avenue has been serving intensely concentrated, perfectly prepared Turkish coffee for decades, the tiny space always crowded with regulars. In the Grand Bazaar area and Sultanahmet, numerous traditional coffeehouses serve the thick, unfiltered sade (unsweetened) or az şekerli (slightly sweet) preparations in small copper cups with a glass of water. The ritual of having your coffee fortune read from the grounds after finishing your cup (fal baktırmak) remains a culturally embedded social practice.

The specialty coffee scene is concentrated in Karaköy, Cihangir, and the emerging neighbourhoods around Yeldeğirmeni on the Asian side. Kronotrop and MOC (Ministry of Coffee) were among the early pioneers of specialty coffee in Istanbul, and a subsequent generation of roasters has deepened the scene significantly. The Karaköy Güllüoğlu baklava institution (technically not coffee but indispensable nearby) and the ferry terminal tea gardens represent Istanbul's other great hot-beverage tradition. A morning that begins with specialty pour-over in Karaköy and ends with strong Turkish coffee in a Sultanahmet garden covers the full range of Istanbul's remarkable coffee history.