戀上土耳其咖啡

By+Alan+Scott

When I first came to Istanbul back in the dying years of the 20th century it wasnt easy to find a decent cup of coffee. One of the reasons， I came to understand， was that there had been a time， not long before， when tea bags and instant coffee were restricted imports， and according to that invariable rule of economics， desirability had increased in proportion to scarcity on the market. Nescafe and tea were served everywhere in European-style cups， with the option of Turkish coffee of somewhat variable quality. In fact， European- or American-style， or low quality imitations thereof， pervaded much of life in Istanbul in those days. Traditional features of Turkish culture had been more or less isolated in the tourist area of Sultanahmet， or relegated1） to the back streets of the poorer parts of town.

Well， times have changed. Opening the countrys doors to globalization brought the delights of McDonalds and Burger King， Starbucks and Gloria Jeans2） to a people starved of hamburgers and quality java3）. Interestingly， at the same time as international， multi-national and transnational fast-food franchises began to invade the streets of Istanbul， they seemed to trigger an offensive/defensive reaction from local entrepreneurs. Almost overnight， Turks seemed to discover that their own home-grown culture was capable of competing with， perhaps even bettering the imported offerings. Tasteful chain eateries and up-market4） boutique restaurants began repackaging d?ner kebab5）， lahmacun6）， ?i? k?fte7） and other local specialities.

However， it is coffee culture that has responded most enthusiastically to the threat of foreign invasion. Kahve Dünyas? and several other local chains have begun emulating and improving on8） the coffee and ambience9） provided by better-known international brands. Roasting and grinding their own brews， packaging them for the drink-at-home market， and adding side dishes of chocolates and lokum10）， these post-modern coffee-houses are carrying the fight to Starbucks， and have succeeded in driving Gloria Jeans into the niche market of high-end shopping centres.

Whatever the link between the modern republic of Turkey and the defunct11） Ottoman Empire may be， there is no doubt that Turkeys people have begun to rediscover and appreciate their own traditional roots and cultures. In 2013， UNESCO added Turkish coffee to the list of The Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. Currently to be seen in the grounds of Topkap? Palace12） is an exhibition entitled “A Drop of Pleasure—The 500-year Story of Turkish Coffee.”

I have sometimes wondered how primitive human beings first discovered certain gastronomic13） delights. OK， bananas are pretty straightforward. Pick it off the palm， peel it， eat it—a monkey could do it. But what about olives？ Pretty unappetising in their natural state. Who figured out how to soak them and salt them etc. to produce the tasty little green or black morsels we love today？ There must have been some disastrous offerings concocted14） before our ancestors hit on the best recipes. And take a look at a coffee bean straight off the tree. You pick it， roast it， grind it and boil it into something unrecognisable but euphoria-inducing. Who figured that out？

According to legend， it was an Ethiopian goatherd who first stumbled upon the magic properties of Coffea Arabica. Apparently his goats had been unusually frolicsome15） of late， and he came to the conclusion that their high spirits came from munching on the berries of a particular tree growing on the hillsides. He tentatively sampled a few himself but was unimpressed. Still curious， however， he took a handful home to his more enterprising wife who， after a few unproductive experiments， hit on a method of boiling the leaves and beans together to make a kind of tea.

At first the resulting brew was treated largely as medicinal， and a local doctor acquired quite a reputation for curing just about everything from heart disease to chronic depression. Soon， however， the populace， discovering that coffee beans， unlike money， actually grew on trees， began bypassing the middleman. The craze spread from Ethiopia to Yemen， and the Yemenis are said to have been the first to roast， grind and boil something resembling our modern brew. The drink began finding its way into the Ottoman Empire in the latter half of the 15th century and before long coffeehouses were springing up Istanbul like mushrooms or Starbucks franchises. Coffee drinking and the ritual surrounding its preparation and consumption are credited with exerting a civilising and socialising influence on Turkish culture with its traditional male focus on horses， camels and warfare.

The Topkap? exhibition contains around 800 pictures and artifacts illustrating different aspects of this 500-year story： from potted Caffea bushes to carved stone sarcophagi16） of Kayseri noblemen depicting the paraphernalia17） associated with their favourite beverage. Originally the roasted beans were ground to a fine powder with pestle and mortar. Even today， the old method of cooking the coffee on charcoal embers is experiencing a revival. Connoisseurs maintain that coffee needs to be slowly brought to the boil over a period of five minutes or so to bring out the best flavour.

The cezve18）， a small specially designed pot in which coffee is cooked， was made from copper， tinned on the inside， narrowing towards the top with a spout for pouring—nowadays available in a left-handed version. Turkish coffee cups are espresso-sized in an infinite variety of designs and decorations. The older style china or porcelain handle-less cup fitted inside a sleeve19） of worked silver is also staging a comeback， in less-precious metals for general use.

The coffee is measured and prepared according to the number of guests—cold water， ground coffee and sugar （if desired） are mixed together and slowly brought to the boil， at which point froth forms on top. The presence of froth is indispensable， and disappears if the coffee is allowed to continue boiling. Your coffee should be served with a small glass of water and a cube of lokum. According to Turkish culture， drinking coffee is synonymous with friendship. A well-known rhyme goes：

The heart wants neither coffee nor coffeehouse.

The heart wants friendship; coffee is the excuse.

Traditionally it was associated with tobacco-smoking， in nargile20） or long-stemmed pipes. Formerly public coffeehouses were a male domain， but a recent resurgence has seen the water-pipe culture cross the gender divide.

The joys of coffee do not end with the drinking. The cooking process results in a few millimetres of sludgy21） sediment22） in the bottom of the cup. For the novice drinker this can create a problem and turn some off the beverage. If you persist， however， you will learn when to take your last lees-free sip， thereafter turning your cup upside down on its saucer while intoning a kind of spell： Neyse halim， ??ks?n fal?m （Let the cup show what life will bring me）. When the mixture cools， the resulting unique pattern of dregs23） in the cup can be interpreted by a falc?24）—usually a woman skilled in the arcane25） arts of fortune-telling. Which may help to explain why personal psychiatric analysts are less common in Turkish culture.

Afiyet olsun！

在20世紀(jì)的最后幾個年頭，我第一次來到伊斯坦布爾時，還很難喝到一杯像樣的咖啡。后來我才知道，其中一個原因在于不久之前茶包和速溶咖啡都曾被限制進口。根據(jù)那個永恒不變的經(jīng)濟學(xué)定律，需求的增加與市場稀缺度成正比。那時，到處供應(yīng)的都是裝在歐式杯子里的雀巢咖啡和茶，也有品質(zhì)參差不齊的土耳其咖啡可供選擇。事實上，在伊斯坦布爾的那些日子里，大多數(shù)時間喝到的都是歐式或美式咖啡，或者質(zhì)量低下的山寨貨。具有傳統(tǒng)特色的土耳其文化幾乎都被隔絕在蘇丹阿美特這個旅游區(qū)里，或是流落到窮人聚居的偏僻街巷。

時過境遷。土耳其打開了國門，迎接全球化的到來，給這個渴盼漢堡和優(yōu)質(zhì)咖啡的民族帶來了麥當(dāng)勞、漢堡王、星巴克和高樂雅的喜悅。有趣的是，在各種打著國際旗號、多國旗號、跨國旗號的快餐特許經(jīng)營店開始侵占伊斯坦布爾大街小巷的同時，當(dāng)?shù)仄髽I(yè)家似乎受到觸動，發(fā)起了反攻或防御。幾乎是一夜之間，土耳其人似乎發(fā)現(xiàn)，他們土生土長的本土文化也能和進口產(chǎn)品一較高下，或許甚至更好。品味高雅的餐飲連鎖店和高端市場的精品飯店開始重新包裝土耳其烤肉、浪馬軍薄餅披薩、生肉丸及其他地方特色美食。

然而，面對外來飲食文化入侵的威脅，反應(yīng)最為強烈的還是土耳其咖啡文化。Kahve Dünyas?咖啡館和其他幾家當(dāng)?shù)剡B鎖店已經(jīng)開始模仿并改進國際知名品牌所提供的咖啡和環(huán)境。他們烘焙、研磨自己的咖啡，包裝好后供應(yīng)到家用飲品市場，同時搭配巧克力和土耳其軟糖等小吃。這些后現(xiàn)代風(fēng)格的咖啡館正肩負(fù)著對抗星巴克的使命，并且已經(jīng)成功地將高樂雅咖啡驅(qū)趕到了高端購物中心的小眾市場。

無論現(xiàn)代的土耳其共和國和已成過去的奧斯曼帝國有何關(guān)聯(lián)，毫無疑問的是，土耳其人已開始重新發(fā)現(xiàn)和欣賞他們自己的傳統(tǒng)根基與文化。2013年，聯(lián)合國教科文組織將土耳其咖啡列入人類非物質(zhì)文化遺產(chǎn)名錄。如今，在托普卡帕故宮的庭院可以看到一個展覽，名為“滴滴難舍——土耳其咖啡500年歷史展”。

有時，我會好奇地想，原始人最早是怎樣發(fā)現(xiàn)某些東西可以讓人一飽口福的呢？嗯，香蕉是特別直截了當(dāng)?shù)?。從樹上摘下來，剝掉皮，吃下去——這是猴子都會干的事。但是橄欖呢？自然狀態(tài)下的橄欖看起來可一點都不誘人。是誰想出來用浸泡、腌制等一系列工序?qū)⑺鼈冎瞥晌覀兘裉烊巳讼矏鄣囊涣Ａ＞G油油、黑嘟嘟的美味零食呢？在找到最佳加工方法之前，我們的祖先一定配制過一些“黑暗料理”，并為此吃了苦頭?？纯磩倧臉渖险碌目Х榷沟臉幼影伞Ｕ聛?，烘烤，研磨，烹煮，直到變成面目全非卻能令人飄然愉悅的飲品。這是誰想出來的呢？

據(jù)傳說，是埃塞俄比亞的一位牧羊人最先意外發(fā)現(xiàn)了阿拉比卡咖啡的神奇功效。他發(fā)現(xiàn)他的羊近段時間明顯比以前活潑好動得多，他得出的結(jié)論是：它們之所以情緒如此高漲，是因為吃了長在山坡上的某棵特定樹上的漿果。他試探性地嘗了幾顆，但覺得沒什么好吃的?？伤匀缓闷?，就采了一把拿回家，交給他妻子，他妻子比他能干多了，在經(jīng)過幾次失敗的試驗后，她想到了一種方法，將咖啡豆連同葉子一起煮沸，做成一種茶。

起初，熬制的湯汁通常都被當(dāng)做藥水來用，一位當(dāng)?shù)氐尼t(yī)生因此名聲大震，從心臟病到慢性抑郁癥，幾乎沒有它不能治的病。不過，人們很快就發(fā)現(xiàn)，原來咖啡豆跟錢不一樣，其實是長在樹上的，于是便不再從中間商那里購買。后來，這一時尚從埃塞俄比亞傳到也門，據(jù)說也門人是最早開始烘焙、研磨、烹煮，制出類似于我們現(xiàn)在的咖啡飲品。15世紀(jì)后半葉，咖啡開始傳入奧斯曼帝國。不久，伊斯坦布爾的咖啡店如雨后春筍般涌出，跟現(xiàn)在的星巴克專營店差不多。飲用咖啡的時尚以及圍繞咖啡制作與消費所產(chǎn)生的禮儀習(xí)俗被認(rèn)為對土耳其文化產(chǎn)生了重要影響，使得這個傳統(tǒng)上男人崇尚馬匹、駱駝和戰(zhàn)爭的國家也變得文明有禮、喜愛社交。

在托普卡帕故宮舉辦的咖啡歷史展展出了大約800幅圖片和實物，展示了500年咖啡歷史的方方面面：從盆栽的咖啡灌木到開塞利貴族所用的石棺，石棺上雕刻著與他們最喜愛的飲品密切相關(guān)的各種器具。最初，人們會將烘焙后的咖啡豆放在研缽中用碾槌研磨成細(xì)碎的粉末。甚至在今天，在炭火上煮咖啡的古老做法又變得時尚起來?？Х绕疯b專家認(rèn)為，咖啡需要慢慢煮沸才能達到最佳口感，這大約需要五分鐘。

土耳其銅壺是一種經(jīng)過特別設(shè)計用來煮咖啡的小壺，壺身以銅制成，內(nèi)壁鍍錫，壺口處較為狹窄，帶有一壺嘴，用以傾倒咖啡——現(xiàn)在可以買到便于左手使用的款式。土耳其咖啡杯大小跟意大利濃縮咖啡杯相近，上面飾有數(shù)不清的各式各樣的花紋和裝飾。還有一種款式較老的無柄瓷杯也開始卷土重來，這種瓷杯外部配以雕花的銀質(zhì)杯套，只是現(xiàn)在杯套采用了較為廉價的金屬，以便日常使用。

客人的多少決定了咖啡的用量和沖泡方法——將冷水、研磨好的咖啡和糖（假如想要的話）混合在一起，慢慢地煮沸，這時咖啡表面就會形成一層泡沫。泡沫的存在是必不可少的，如果繼續(xù)煮泡沫就會消失。端上咖啡時，應(yīng)搭配一小杯水和一塊土耳其軟糖。根據(jù)土耳其文化，一起喝咖啡是友誼的象征。有一首廣為傳誦的詩是這樣說的：

心靈需要的，不是咖啡也不是咖啡屋。

心靈需要友誼，咖啡只是個借口。

就傳統(tǒng)而言，喝咖啡往往和抽煙斗聯(lián)系在一起，通常是水煙筒或者長柄煙斗。以前，公共咖啡屋是男人的世界，但最近隨著抽煙時尚的再次興起，水煙文化也跨越了性別的界限。

咖啡的樂趣并不僅僅在于飲用。煮咖啡的過程導(dǎo)致杯底會有幾毫米厚的淤積沉渣。對于新手來說，這可能會是一個問題，并使一些人對土耳其咖啡望而卻步。但如果你繼續(xù)喝下去，你就會知道喝到什么時候是最后一口，還不會喝到沉渣。喝完后，你將咖啡杯倒扣在小碟上，口中吟誦出一句咒語：“Neyse halim， ??ks?n fal?m （杯子杯子告訴我，我的人生將如何）?！碑?dāng)這混合之物冷卻后，杯子里的沉渣就會呈現(xiàn)出一種獨特的形狀，然后可以請占卜師進行占卜——占卜師通常是女性，擅長占卜命運的秘術(shù)。這或許可以解釋為什么土耳其文化中私人精神分析師不那么常見。

Afiyet olsun！ （祝你好胃口?。?/p>

1. relegate [?rel?ɡe?t] vt. 把……降級;把……置于次要地位

2. Gloria Jean：即Gloria Jeans Coffee （高樂雅咖啡），澳大利亞最大的連鎖咖啡品牌之一

3. java [?d?ɑ?v?] n. 〈美口〉咖啡

4. up-market：豪華的;高級的;高檔的

5. d?ner kebab：土耳其語，意為“土耳其烤肉”。

6. lahmacun：土耳其語，譯作“浪馬軍”，是一種配有烤碎肉、洋蔥、番茄等配料的特色薄餅披薩。

7. ?i? k?fte：土耳其語，意為“生肉丸”。

8. improve on：改進;生產(chǎn)出比……更好的東西

9. ambience [??mbi?ns] n. 氣氛;環(huán)境

10. lokum：土耳其語，意為“土耳其軟糖”。

11. defunct [d??f??kt] adj. 不再存在的

12. Topkap? Palace：托普卡帕故宮，伊斯坦布爾的一座皇宮，昔日舉行國家儀式及供皇室娛樂的場所，現(xiàn)為旅游觀光勝地。

13. gastronomic [?ɡ?str??n?m?k] adj. 與美食有關(guān)的

14. concoct [k?n?k?kt] vt. 調(diào)制

15. frolicsome [?fr?l?ks?m] adj. 愛鬧著玩的

16. sarcophagi [sɑ?（r）?k?f?ɡa?] n. [復(fù)] （常有精美雕刻裝飾的）石棺

17. paraphernalia [?p?r?f?（r）?ne?li?] n. 與某活動有關(guān)的大量用品

18. cezve：土耳其語，意為“銅咖啡壺”。

19. sleeve [sli?v] n. 套筒，筒狀套子

20. nargile：土耳其語，意為“水煙筒”。

21. sludgy [?sl?d??] adj. 有淤積物的

22. sediment [?sed?m?nt] n. 沉渣

23. dregs [dreɡz] n. [復(fù)]殘渣，渣滓

24. falc?：土耳其語，意為“占卜師”。

25. arcane [ɑ?（r）?ke?n] adj. 神秘的