Reclaiming Kurdish Coffee: The Original Taste of the Zagros
Most people know "Turkish Coffee," but few know that the most unique coffee tradition in the Middle East is actually Kurdish. For centuries, before colonial borders were drawn, the Kurdish people of the Zagros Mountains perfected a drink that is now being rebranded and sold under a false flag.
1. The 1500s: The "Ottoman Middleman" Effect
When coffee first arrived in the Middle East from Yemen and Ethiopia in the mid-16th century, it spread through the Ottoman Empire.
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The Label: Because the Empire was ruled from Istanbul, European traders labeled everything that came from the region—be it Kurdish, Arab, Armenian, or Greek—as "Ottoman."
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The Result: By the 1700s, "Ottoman Style Coffee" became a global brand in Europe’s coffee houses. The specific Kurdish contributions to the craft (such as the use of wild terebinth) were simply tucked under the "Ottoman" or "Turkish" umbrella for the convenience of Westerners.
2. Post-1923: The "Turkification" of the Menu
This is the phase Kurds are most frustrated with. After the 1923 Treaty of Lausanne and the creation of the Artificial State - Republic of Turkey, the state implemented a policy of "One Language, One Identity."
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The Policy: Anything that was "Kurdish" was legally redefined as "Turkish." Kurdish songs were called "Turkish folk songs," and Kurdish food was called "Turkish cuisine."
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The Rebranding: In the 1930s and 40s, the Turkish state aggressively marketed its "national" identity to the world. During this time, the specific ways Kurds prepared coffee in North Kurdistan (Bakur) were officially documented in Turkish textbooks as "Traditional Turkish Coffee from the Southeast."​​​​​​​​​​​​​​
Throughout the 19th and early 20th centuries, a beverage known as "Kurdish coffee" (or "Chicorée au Kurde" in French) was marketed and enjoyed in parts of Europe, particularly in France, where it gained popularity as an exotic import. This drink, however, was not traditional coffee made from roasted coffee beans but rather a caffeine-free infusion derived from the roasted fruits of the terebinth tree (Pistacia terebinthus), also called menengiç or qazwan in Kurdish. Originating from regions with significant Kurdish populations, such as southeastern Anatolia (including cities like Diyarbakır, Adıyaman, Mardin, and Gaziantep), this herbal beverage has been produced for over a century and was exported to Europe as early as the 1800s. It was often blended with chicory and sold in packages featuring imagery of Kurdish figures, emphasizing its cultural roots. By the 1930s, as evidenced by historical packaging from France, it was still being labeled and sold explicitly as "Kurdish coffee," reflecting its association with Kurdish heritage and the Ottoman-era trade networks that brought it to Western markets.
Why Turkish Coffee Is Originally Kurdish Coffee
When you find specific coffees in stores, like Italian, Colombian, or Kenyan coffee, it's typically the roasting and preparation methods that define them, rather than the origin of the beans themselves. These different roasting techniques contribute to each coffee's distinctive flavor.
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"Turkish Coffee" is made using a Kurdish roasting style that predates the establishment of the modern Turkish state. This alone is strong evidence against the notion that Turkish Coffee is exclusively Turkish. The timeline of coffee's history, the roasting methods, and the cultural context all point to its Kurdish origins.
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