Turkish tea

Tea (Turkish: çay pronounced [t͡ʃaj]) is popular throughout Turkey and the Turkish diaspora. Turkish tea culture also extends to Northern Cyprus and some Balkan countries.

Most of the tea produced in Turkey is Rize tea, a terroir from Rize Province on the eastern Black Sea coast, which has a mild climate with high precipitation and fertile soil. This tea is usually processed as black tea.

In 2004 Turkey produced 205,500 tonnes of tea (6.4% of the world's total tea production), which made it one of the largest tea markets in the world, with 120,000 tons being consumed in Turkey, and the rest being exported. Furthermore, in 2004, Turkey had the highest per capita tea consumption in the world, at 2.5 kg per person—followed by the United Kingdom (2.1 kg per person). Tea is grown mostly in Rize Province on the Black Sea coast.

Turkish tea is typically prepared using two stacked kettles called "çaydanlık" specially designed for tea preparation. Water is brought to a boil in the larger lower kettle and then some of the water is used to fill the smaller kettle on top and steep (infuse) several spoons of loose tea leaves, producing a very strong tea. When served, the remaining water is used to dilute the tea on an individual basis, giving each consumer the choice between strong (Turkish: koyu; literally "dark", tavşan kanı (literally: rabbit's blood) – a deep brownish red or weak (Turkish: açık; literally "light"). Tea is drunk from small glasses to enjoy it hot in addition to showing its colour, with cubes of beet sugar and without milk.

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Wikipedia