 | Istanbul tea and coffee Reviews | Tips 1 - 10 of 29 |  |
 | |  |  | tea and coffee: A is for Apple (Tea) | Tip Rating:   |  |  | |  |
Year round - winter, spring, summer or fall – tea served in little gold-rimmed glasses is the most popular beverage in Istanbul. It is offered on every conceivable occasion. With a Polish mother-in-law, I am used to the idea of every meal ending with a steaming hot glass of tea. But the Turkish custom goes beyond mealtime. It seems to accompany all human interaction. Shopkeepers offer you tea to draw you into their shops and get you to look at their wares. No transaction is closed without an offer of tea. The men huddled around their backgammon games in outdoor cafes always have glasses of tea within arm’s reach. Tea sellers walk around the parks and bazaars balancing brass trays laden with glasses of tea. Turkey, of course, is not alone in its tea obsession. The English, the Japanese, the Chinese, the Russians – they all love their tea and have invented all sorts of ceremonies and rituals to go along with it. Turks drink their tea dark and sweet, and without milk. But “elma chay” - apple tea - is the tea of choice for many tourists. Now, I’m not knocking apple tea. I liked it very much and drank a lot of it in Istanbul. But here’s an interesting factoid for you. It’s not tea. It’s hot apple juice. At a restaurant near our hotel on our first night in Istanbul, we did have “apple tea” brewed from teabags. This is what tea mavens would call a “fruit infusion.” To qualify as real tea, the beverage in question must be made from the leaves of a plant called Camellia sinensis. All the other “apple tea” we drank in Istanbul was simply apple syrup diluted with boiling water. Leave a Comment
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| | | | tea and coffee: Drink TEA all day long! | Tip Rating:  | | | | |
At first I thought that people drink coffee here, because of the famous Turkish Coffee, but I was wrong. Instead it's TEA! It's a trdition of drinking tea in Turkey I would say. Like in England or China, the tea drinking became part of the Turkish culture. People drink tea here all day long, in the winter and in the summer, morning or evening! And the tea is really tasty, generally served in special small tea glass. It is served at home, in any restaurant, at working places, and even in the street, at bus stations, and many many other places - ANYWERE! I must tell you I have tasted so nice tea here! Leave a Comment
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| | | | tea and coffee: Turkish Tea | Tip Rating: | | | | |
One thing I really got into while in Istanbul was drinking tea almost every chance I got. Drinking tea is almost mandatory here. Nevermind the fact the fact that it is really tasty, if you like very strong, hot tea that is, but here having a glass of tea is more of a social experience. People in restaurants, places of business, cafes, even on the street, enjoy striking up a conversation while sipping tea. The tea is traditionally served in a small tulip-shaped glass, with a small spoon to stir in sugar cubes. You can get it either "koyu", strong, or "açik", weak, then dump in as many sugar cubes as you like. While trotting around Istanbul, make a few stops along the way and enjoy a refreshing glass of tea!
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