Brewing guide · Armenian style

How to Make Armenian Coffee

Սուրճ · soorj

Armenian coffee, or soorj, is coffee ground to a fine powder and heated with water in a small pot called a jezve. It's the same brewing method many people know as Turkish or Greek coffee. We make ours with Minias, a specialty coffee from Armenia, Quindío, Colombia, scored 84.5 and roasted medium so it foams well without tasting burnt.

Hammered jezve stamped Armenia Yerevan on a small burner, a bag of Coffee Armenia Minias, and the Halebian family's century-old bronze Ottoman coffee grinder, in black and white
Our family grinderThis bronze Ottoman grinder is over 100 years old. It has been passed down in our family and used for generations to grind coffee for Armenian coffee.
ARMENIA  |  COLOMBIA
7gground coffee
100mlfiltered water
50°C122°F water to start
≤10stirs, no more
1demitasse cup, extra fine (Turkish) grind

Halfway to boiling

Water temperature

50°C is about halfway to boiling. Add the coffee at this point, let a low flame bring up the foam, and take the pot off before it ever reaches 100°C.

How to Make Armenian Coffee, Step by Step

Prepare

  1. 01

    If you're using whole beans, grind them extra fine, on your grinder's Turkish setting.

  2. 02

    Warm 100 ml of filtered water to about halfway to boiling, around 50°C (122°F), in a kettle or right in your jezve on the stove.

  3. 03

    If you used a kettle, pour the water into the jezve.

  4. 04

    Add 7 grams of ground coffee.

  5. 05

    Stir no more than 10 times. Stirring more over-extracts the coffee.

What you need

  • Minias ground Extra Fine (Armenian Style), or whole bean and a grinder with a Turkish setting
  • A jezve (ibrik)
  • Filtered water
  • A demitasse cup
Armenian coffee foam rising in a jezve over a low flame

Heat

  1. 06

    Set the jezve on the stovetop, or keep it there, over a low flame.

  2. 07

    Watch the foam rise. Take the pot off the heat just before the foam reaches the top so it doesn't spill over.

  3. 08

    Don't let it boil. Boiling turns the coffee bitter.

Serve

  1. 09

    Pour into your favorite cup and let it sit for a couple of minutes to cool and let the grounds settle.

Anush lini. Enjoy.

Armenian coffee pouring from a copper jezve into a demitasse cup
Two cups of Armenian coffee with cookies on handmade saucers
Bag of Coffee Armenia Minias After Dinner Roast next to a cup of Armenian coffee on a pomegranate saucer
The coffee

Roasted for the jezve

MiniasAfter Dinner Roast

sugarcane • caramel • dark chocolate

Traditional Armenian coffee is often roasted very dark. Minias is a medium roast from Colombia's Quindío highlands, chosen to keep its sweetness and still build a thick foam.

Score
84.5
Region
Armenia, Quindío, Colombia
Variety
Caturra & Castillo
Process
Washed
Grind
Whole bean or Extra Fine (Armenian Style)
Shop Minias

Questions

Is Armenian coffee the same as Turkish coffee?

It's the same method: powder-fine coffee heated in a small pot and served unfiltered. The name changes with the culture serving it. What changes the taste is the bean and the roast.

How much coffee do I use for Armenian coffee?

7 grams of extra-fine coffee for 100 ml of water makes one demitasse cup.

What grind do I need for Armenian coffee?

Extra fine, the Turkish setting on a grinder, finer than espresso. If your grinder can't get there, order Minias ground Extra Fine.

Why does Armenian coffee taste bitter?

Usually from a very dark roast or from boiling. Minias is roasted medium to keep its sugarcane, caramel and dark chocolate notes, and taking the pot off before it boils keeps the cup sweet.

Can I read the cup afterward?

Yes. Turn the cup over onto the saucer, let it cool, and read the grounds.