First appearing in the Ottoman Empire, the strong coffee was considered a drug and its consumption was forbidden. Due to the immense popularity of the beverage, the sultan eventually lifted this prohibition.
Turkish coffee culture had reached Britain and France by the mid to late 17th century. The first coffee house in Britain was opened by a Turkish Jew in the mid 17th century. In the 1680s, the Turkish ambassador to France reportedly threw lavish parties for the city's elite where African slaves served coffee to guests in porcelain finjans on gold or silver saucers.
Fortune-telling
Superstition says the grounds left after drinking Turkish coffee can be used for fortune-telling.The cup is commonly turned over into the saucer to cool, and it is believed by some that the patterns of the coffee grounds can be used for a method of fortune telling known as tasseography.
