I love tea. Actually, I think I prefer it to coffee, but don’t tell my fellow Seattleites that or I’ll be hung from the nearest Starbuck’s. I used to be able to find my favorite teas from Murchie’s at The Crumpet Shop in Pike Place Market, but last time I checked they no longer carried it.

Murchie’s Tea & Coffee has been in operation in British Columbia since 1894. Their goal is “focused on procuring only the highest grades of Fairly Traded teas and coffees obtained from the finest tea gardens and coffee farms.” Their coffees are roasted on site at their plant in Richmond, BC, where their teas and spices are also blended and packaged. According to Murchie’s, their “philosophy is grounded in purchasing their products only from growers that contribute to requisite wages, schools and medical facilities for their workers.” To me, that alone makes the tea sweet.

Barnaby likes their fruit blended teas; my two favorites are Earl Grey and their famous Empress Afternoon Blend, their exclusive blend served at Afternoon Tea (until 2001) at the Empress Hotel, a stone’s throw from their Victoria store.

You can purchase their products online, but it’s much more fun to go to their store in Victoria where you can buy 12-bag sample boxes of tea for about $5 Canadian.

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My aunt and uncle moved to Bosnia almost two years ago. “Why Bosnia?” you ask? My uncle has donned the humanitarian cape and is prosecuting war crimes in Sarajevo, and my aunt, the little globetrotter that she is, has been traveling around exploring all corners of Europe. Lucky her!

One of her jaunts was to Turkey, where she purchased us a beautiful Turkish coffee set. Four demitasse cups, a sugar bowl and the pot (known as a cezve) of pounded silver and ceramic with a little star and crescent. Brewing the coffee, or kahve, is an intriguing method that dates back to the 16th century. It’s surprisingly easy to make and is so rich, flavorful, and whew! strong. One cup of this and I was hopped up like a whirling dervish.

The coffee we used is a finely ground (finer than espresso) Turkish blend called Mehmet Efendi. For each serving I placed one demitasse full of fresh water and one teaspoon each of coffee and sugar into the cezve. I stirred the mixture thoroughly over low heat then waited until the coffee frothed up. Next, I poured a little foam into the cups then placed the cezve back on the heat until the coffee frothed up again. Let the dregs settle then sip and enjoy the creamy sweetness.

Brew some up for yourself and imagine sitting on an Istanbul terrace overlooking the blue of the Bosphorus Straight.

But then be prepared to clean out your garage, plant your garden, iron all your linens, wash your car and re-caulk your bathtub. You’ll certainly have the energy for it!

Check out Incasa Coffee’s history of Turkish coffee and I Need Coffee’s Turkish coffee tutorial. Here’s a short video we did of our first time using our new coffee set.

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