Turgay Yildizli, roaster, barista and Turkish coffee specialist, is an Istanbul native who now lives in New Orleans. Turgay has made it his mission to improve the standards of Turkish Coffee and raise it up to the place it deserves in the specialty coffee community. In advance of his presentation of our first Coffee After Hours event, A Workshop About Turkish Coffee, on June 2 at French Truck, we asked Turgay a few questions about his coffee journey and inspirations.

How did your love for coffee develop?
It all began during my travels. I had the chance to explore the different coffee cultures around the world. Exploring coffee’s adventure from cultivation to brewing allowed me to gain a perspective on its amazing importance in so many lives. My aim is to promote coffee awareness, focusing on coffee’s rich history and amazing variety as well as its impact on the environment and people who grow and process it.

When did you first consider applying specialty coffee principles to Turkish coffee preparation?
When I became involved in Specialty coffee, I was already involved in manual brewing. I have always been a “Turkish Coffee” drinker, but came to realize that we were using poor quality coffee and there were no standards for the Cezve/Ibrik method. This inspired my involvement in the World Cezve/Ibrik (Turkish Coffee) Competition competition as well as Brewers Cup. The Specialty Coffee Association of Europe developed the Gold Cup Standards for manual or filtered brewing, and I have tried to apply the same standards to an extent to the Cezve/Ibrik method. I like this brewing method not only because of the ritual involved; I also truly believe that this method can be used to highlight what is best in some coffee and roast profiles.

What do you hope your efforts in Turkish Coffee will inspire?
I hope there is a future for this brewing method in the Specialty Coffee arena. However, even if there is not, I’ll still be serving Turkish coffee to the specialty coffee standards to my guests and friends.