Coffee and Caffeine FAQ

To make coffee in an ibrik follow the following steps. First fill the ibrik with the correct amount of water for your brewer. This varies depending on the size of the pot. This is a method that does not allow for making a partial pot so chose your ibrik to match the amount of coffee you want to make in a single sitting. Put the coffee on the heat for 1-2 minutes before adding powdered coffee. There are special grinders for grinding Middle Eastern coffee (aka Turkish or Greek coffee) although I am told that a whirly blade grinds will do a decent job. If you want sugar, cardamom or other spices you will add them with the coffee. Raise the heat so that the coffee rises to a near boil-over in about 2 minutes. Remove the pot from the heat for about 20 seconds when the coffee rises to the rim to allow it to settle. Repeat this rising and falling process 2 more times. The number of times is debatable but 2-3 seems to be a fairly common recommendation.

Allow the coffee to settle for a couple of minutes. After it settles the coffee is ready to serve in very small 2oz cups. Take care not to allow grounds into the cup.

This entire process should take no more than 7 minutes.

Oddly enough even though the coffee is being boiled this is still reported to be an excellent flavorful way to produce coffee.