Turkish Tea
"Çay is strong black tea brewed in a double-stacked teapot (çaydanlık) and served in small tulip-shaped glasses. It's the social glue of Turkey—offered constantly in shops, drunk on ferries, and consumed all day long. The tea is always hot, often accompanied by sugar cubes, and refusing it can seem cold. Turks drink an estimated 3-4 glasses per day on average."
Logistics
Affordable
Vibe
Ubiquitous, Social, Comforting
Duration
10-20 minutes
Best For
Everyone
The Backstory
Tea only became popular in Turkey in the early 20th century. Coffee was the traditional drink, but after World War I coffee imports became expensive. Mustafa Kemal Atatürk promoted tea cultivation in the Black Sea region (Rize) in the 1920s as part of agricultural modernization. By the 1930s-40s, tea had replaced coffee as the everyday drink. The distinctive tulip glass was designed in the 1950s to show the tea's color and keep hands from burning. Tea houses (çay bahçesi) became central to male social life.
Local Secret
"To signal you're done drinking, place your spoon across the rim of the glass—otherwise, it will be refilled endlessly. If you want it less strong, ask for 'açık çay' (light tea). The best çay experience is on a Bosphorus ferry at sunrise or in a traditional tea garden overlooking the water."