I’m sorry, we don’t make Armenian coffee here. Would you like an Americano instead?
How many times have I heard that in Yerevan? This article stems from one of the many frustrations I often encounter on the streets of our capital. Amid the growing number of modern, stylish cafés, finding a place that serves simple, authentic Armenian coffee is becoming increasingly difficult.
As a diasporan, whenever I am in Armenia, I expect to be served Armenian coffee—a handmade brew, not just
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Young girls were often tasked with grinding beans and brewing coffee, learning the delicate timing and technique required to avoid boiling over.
Thank you, Bella, for illustrating the Armenian role in coffee culture. Too many articles avoid mentioning this and give plenty of credit to those who don’t deserve it. Here is just one of the many articles that gets it wrong.
https://sprudge.com/the-sprudge-guide-to-yerevan-armenia-141377.html
I don’t know about Dilijan but at least in Yerevan Armenian surch is served everywhere you go. Don’t panic!
Look at how richly dressed the Armenian ladies are and their surroundings!
It just goes to show what a pivotal role the Armenians played in the Ottoman Empire.
Many things are known as “Turkish”, even if they were not invented by Turks, such as “Turkish coffee”. Coffee as a beverage was invented in Ethiopia sometime in the first millenium AD, where coffee beans are native to. It was perfected by Arabs in Yemen, and spread from there to the Ottoman Empire, Persia, India and to the rest of the world. Unfortunately, neither the Ethiopians who invented it, the Arabs who perfected it, or the Armenians who helped to spread it, get any credit. The credit goes to the Turks, and even more so to the Italians, who invented so many varieties of coffee, which dominate the world.