Ottoman Coffee is not a single-origin pour-over or a quick capsule. It is a layered blend — a style of coffee that was popular across the Ottoman Empire before espresso existed anywhere — and this 250-gram metal tin from Dr Tea Coffee brings it into any kitchen in the world. The base is finely ground arabica coffee, which carries the body and the caffeine. Around that base, the blend adds cream for rounding, cocoa for depth, and carob — a naturally sweet pod from the eastern Mediterranean — for a gentle, chocolatey background note that does not overpower. Two further ingredients set this apart from every standard Turkish coffee: menengiç and mastic. Menengiç (the dried, roasted fruit of Pistacia terebinthus, the terebinth tree native to southeastern Turkey) contributes a warm, nutty, earthy dimension. In Ottoman blends its role is aromatic texture — a quiet smokiness that sits behind the coffee rather than competing with it. Mastic, the resin harvested from Pistacia lentiscus, brings a faintly piney, balsamic quality with subtle woody-citrus top notes. Its presence is what makes Turkish coffee with mastic (قهوة تركية بالمستكة) a recognisable style in its own right: the resin softens the sharpness of the roast and leaves the palate clean. The final ingredient is salep — a starchy powder milled from dried wild orchid tubers — which thickens the cup slightly and adds a mild, creamy sweetness that rounds the entire blend. How to brew: measure 1–2 teaspoons of the powder per 60–70 ml of cold water in a cezve. Stir until dissolved, then place over low heat. Let the coffee rise slowly. Just before it reaches a full boil, the surface will foam; remove from heat, let the foam settle for a moment, then pour carefully into a small cup, leaving the grounds at the bottom. Sugar, if desired, goes into the cezve before heating — decide before you brew. Serve in a small ceramic cup; the grounds settle after a minute or two. The tin holds 250 grams and stays sealed between uses.
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