Tasting Notes
Tahmis Kahvesi was built in 1635 by Mustafa Ağa, a provincial governor, to provide income for the nearby Mevlevi lodge, and it has served coffee in the old bazaar quarter ever since. The name means the place where coffee beans are roasted and pounded. The two-storey building keeps its wooden interior, sofas and old copper mortars, and the upper floor is usually quieter than the ground floor.
Menengiç coffee
The drink to order is menengiç coffee. It is made from the roasted berries of the terebinth tree, a wild relative of the pistachio, ground to a paste and simmered slowly; it has no caffeine and a nutty, slightly resinous taste. Here it comes both plain and with milk (sütlü menengiç). Turkish coffee, tea and zahter, a thyme infusion, are also served.
Baklava and nargile
Baklava is sold by the slice, so you can try a few kinds: havuç dilimi, şöbiyet, dolama, soğuk baklava and the house Fıstıklı Hürrem. A half portion is two slices and a full portion four. Nargile (water pipe) is also offered, which gives the room its traditional coffee-house atmosphere.
“Stop here after a walk through the bazaars, sit upstairs, and order a sütlü menengiç with a slice of Fıstıklı Hürrem.”
LR Kitchen — field note