page_title: Tea in Turkey
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Tea in Turkey / History
caption_attribution_description: English: Emine Ülker Tarhan, Anatolia Party 2015 general election campaign in Kocaeli
context_page_description: Tea is popular throughout Turkey and the Turkish diaspora. Turkish tea culture also extends to Northern Cyprus and some countries in the Balkan Peninsula.
  Turkish tea
context_section_description: Tea is an important part of Turkish culture, and is the most commonly consumed hot drink, despite the country's long history of coffee consumption. Offering tea to guests is part of Turkish hospitality. Tea is most often consumed in households, shops, and by kıraathane – social gatherings of men. Despite its popularity, tea only became the beverage of choice in Turkey in the 20th century. It was initially encouraged as an alternative to coffee, which had become expensive and at times unavailable in the aftermath of World War I. Upon the loss of southeastern territories after the fall of the Ottoman Empire, coffee became an expensive import. At the urging of the founder of the republic, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, Turkish people turned more to tea as it was easily sustainable by domestic sources. Turkish tea is traditionally offered in small tulip-shaped glasses which are usually held by the rim, in order to save the drinker's fingertips from being burned, as the tea is served boiling hot.
caption: Former Turkish MP Emine Ülker Tarhan drinking Turkish tea
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