Balkans | Bosnia and Herzegovina’s 560-year-old traditional drink: Bosnian coffee

Bosnian coffee, one of the symbols of the country, began to be consumed in the early hours of the day in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and it is among the indispensable traditional drinks of the people.

The words “kahva, filcan, cezva and şeçer”, which the country inherited with the Ottoman conquest of Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1463, maintain their position as an integral part of the drinks, which have become an indispensable part of Bosnian culture for 560 years.

Hajareddin Buric, 77, who runs Dibek, a 128-year-old coffee grinding shop inherited from his grandfather in the historic Ottoman bazaar Bascarsija in the capital Sarajevo, and Mithad Crusko, who works as a waiter at the historic Moriça Han. Anadolu Agency (AA) spoke about the importance of Bosnian coffee.

Boric, who grinds Bosnian coffee in traditional ways, said, “We are in the oldest coffee shop in Sarajevo, owned by my grandfather and started operating in 1895. Our shop was open until the war years, but when the war broke out, it was destroyed by bombing. After the war, the municipality of Stari Grad gave me this shop So that I can continue our historical traditions.” Use phrases.

Noting that he is trying to preserve the heirloom traditions by grinding coffee, Buric said that the shop has been visited by famous people from many parts of the world, including Kenan Imirzaloglu.

They call the drink “kava” in Croatia, “ras” in Serbia, and “coffee” in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Burke said. “Muslims drink coffee immediately after performing the dawn prayer and then have breakfast or go to work. Coffee first, then prayers are performed and breakfast meals are eaten at iftar time, he said.

Boric said, “Apart from my local customers, I have most Turkish customers and my best customers are definitely Turkish. Everyone who comes from Turkey and those who go to Turkey from Austria and Germany come to me to buy a few kilograms of coffee.” He said.

Favorite drink in coffee shops: “Bosnian coffee”

Methad Crusko, who works as a waiter at Moriça Han, which was built in 1551 and is used as a caravanserai in historic Al Barça and today houses a traditional coffee shop, said that the most favorite drink for local and foreign customers is Bosnian coffee.

Serving Bosnian coffee with sugar cubes and Turkish delight in traditional copper coffee pots and mugs, Crusko showed how to make it:

“A quantity of coffee is placed in the copper pot, hot water that was previously boiled is added to it, then the coffee pot is placed on the stove and it is expected to boil again. The traditionally prepared coffee is served in a copper pot, a cup and a copper sugar bowl. Besides Bosnian coffee, coffee is also served Serve Turkish delight and sugar cubes.”

Crusko said, “Most Bosnians start their day with Bosnian coffee and drink coffee after the day at work. We said, ‘Let’s go to coffee!’ The phrase is used frequently. This is an invitation to drink Bosnian coffee.” He said.

Noting that visitors from all over the world come to the coffee shop in the historic caravanserai, Crusko said, “Outside our local customers, there are a lot of tourists. Customers from Arab countries, Western Europe and many other places, especially Turkey, come to our coffee shops.” Use phrases.

Pointing out that everyone who visits Sarajevo also comes to Moriça Han because it is a historic building, Krusko said that all customers who drink Bosnian coffee leave the place satisfied.

Bosnian tourists prefer

Frenchman Manon Jean Biddle, who is visiting Bosnia and Herzegovina for the first time, said, “This (Bosnian coffee) is delicious. We love drinking coffee in France. It’s very strong, but also sweet, and very different from the coffees I’ve had in France,” he said.

He liked the cup and the way the coffee was served, Biddle said, “It’s so good you can choose to drink it with or without sugar. (The coffee set) I like it so much I think I’ll buy one when I go to France.” He said.

French tourist Lilo Rogers also stated that she loves the way Bosnian coffee is served and said: “I have heard about Bosnian coffee before and it tastes very good. I am not a big fan of coffee, but this coffee is really delicious.” Use the phrase.

AA