The Art of Kurdish Coffee: History and Preparation

A drink that crossed mountains

Coffee reached Kurdistan along the same trade arteries that carried it from the highlands of Yemen and Ethiopia into the wider Middle East. By the seventeenth century, coffeehouses in Diyarbakır, Sulaymaniyah, and the towns along the Tigris had become gathering places for poets, merchants, and travelers — much as they had in Istanbul and Cairo. In the homes of Kurdistan, coffee took on a quieter role: a marker of hospitality served to anyone who crossed the threshold.

Roasting the old way

Traditional Kurdish roasting is done in small batches, often over an open flame in a long-handled iron pan called a tawe. Green beans are stirred constantly until they reach a dark, even color — closer to a French roast than the lighter profiles fashionable in third-wave cafés today. The beans are then cooled on a wooden tray and ground fresh, usually moments before brewing, in a brass hand mill known as a destar.

The grind is fine, almost powdery. This is what gives Kurdish-style coffee its characteristic body and the thin layer of foam that should crown every cup.

Brewing in a cezve

Kurdish coffee is brewed much like its Turkish and Arabic cousins, in a small copper or brass pot called a cezve (or ibrik). Water, finely-ground coffee, and — if the drinker prefers — sugar are combined cold, then heated slowly without stirring. As the coffee rises toward a boil, a foam called kayfa forms on the surface. The pot is pulled off the heat just before it overflows, the foam is spooned into each cup, and the pot is returned to the flame once more.

In Badini-speaking households around Zakho, cardamom is sometimes added directly to the pot; further south, it is often served on the side along with a glass of cold water and a small sweet.

The ritual of serving

How coffee is poured matters as much as how it is brewed. The host serves the eldest guest first, the cup held in the right hand. Cups are small — no more than a few sips — and a guest who wants no more gently tilts the empty cup from side to side. To refuse coffee outright is rare; even a brief visit is marked by the offer.

At weddings and engagements, a bride traditionally prepares coffee for her future in-laws. In some villages, salt instead of sugar is added as a quiet test of the groom's patience — a tradition shared with Turkish and Levantine communities.

Kurdish coffee today

Modern cafés across Kurdistan — La Tazza among them — sit at the intersection of these traditions and a younger, more international coffee scene. Espresso machines now stand beside the cezve, and a flat white can be ordered next to a cup brewed the old way. What endures is the role coffee plays: an invitation to slow down, to talk, and to be welcomed.

If you visit us in Zakho, ask for a Kurdish-style coffee. We'll brew it the way it has always been brewed — slowly, in a small pot, with the foam intact.