Treasures of Europe

Sarajevo: Coffee Sets

 

To know Sarajevo, you must understand the importance of coffee. Making traditional kafa (coffee) — introduced here soon after the Ottoman Empire conquered the Kingdom of Bosnia in 1463 — is a process. Grounds are roasted in a dzezva (JEHZ-vah) before adding boiling water. When the froth foams to the top, the rich brew is poured into a small, handleless china cup known as a fildzan (FILL-john), which sits in a copper sheath, or zarf. The world grinds to a halt. Cigarettes are lit. Conversations take hushed tones.

 

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SARAJEVO, Traditional Bosnian coffee. Credit Filip Horvat for The New York Times

The ritual that is Bosanska (Bosnian) kafa is lost on many tourists as they navigate the beehive of trinket-peddling hawkers in the cobblestone alleys of Bascarsija, the Ottoman Quarter. But a trained ear can make out craftsmen coaxing copper into vessels used for preparing and drinking Sarajevo’s beloved beverage.

On Kazandziluk (or coppersmith’s) Street, across from Sebilj, find the wooden fountain in Bascarsija’s main square. Midway down the narrow flagstone avenue, Muhamed Husejnovic sits in his shop, Kazandzijska Radnja (Kazandziluk 18), hammer-pinging coffee sets (around 50 Bosnian convertible marks, or KM, $34 at 1.46 KM to the dollar), as Bosnians have done for 500 years.

 

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/19/travel/12-treasures-of-europe.html?_r=3