Turkey Rize Caykur Black Tea
Strong, dark and almost red: Rize black tea brewed Turkish style in a double teapot.
Rize, on Turkey's eastern Black Sea coast, grows most of Turkey's tea, and the state company Çaykur makes much of it. It is brewed strong in a two-tier çaydanlık and served in tulip glasses. Brewed in a double teapot, then diluted to taste.
Sensory profile
Where it sits
That is 55 mg in one serving (6–8 oz cup (180–240 ml)), a concentration of 26.2 mg per 100 ml. The scale above ranks whole servings, and servings differ in size, so a larger drink can sit further right while being weaker cup for cup.
Editorial estimate, not a laboratory measurement
| Brewing method | Turkish Çaydanlık (Double Pot) |
|---|---|
| Brew ratio | 1:83 |
| Dose & yield | 9g → 750g |
| Grind size | Broken Leaf |
| Water temperature | 212°F / 100°C |
| Target brew time | 10–15 min in the upper pot |
| Serving | 6–8 oz cup (180–240 ml) |
What you need
- 9 g loose black tea, about 3 teaspoons
- About 800 g filtered water in the lower pot: 300 g goes over the leaf and the rest dilutes the glasses
- Sugar cubes, to taste
Required gear
- Çaydanlık, a stacked double teapot
- Tulip-shaped tea glasses
- Stove
- Scale accurate to 0.1 g
- Timer
Step-by-step protocol
- 0:00Fill the lower pot with about 800 g of water and bring it to a boil. Put 9 g of tea in the empty upper pot.
- 8:00When the water boils, pour about 300 g of it over the tea in the upper pot, set the upper pot on the lower one and turn the heat down so the lower pot barely simmers. The steam keeps the tea hot without boiling it.
- 20:00After about 12 minutes of steeping, pour the concentrate into each tulip glass until it is about a third full, and top the glass up with hot water from the lower pot. Use more water for a light glass, açık, and less for a dark one, koyu.
- 20:30Serve with sugar cubes on the side and no milk. A well-made glass looks almost red. Keep the upper pot on the steam so that later glasses stay hot.
Troubleshooting
What it may be good for
The caffeine count
We list about 55 mg for a 6 to 8 oz (180 to 240 ml) serving, about two tulip glasses, with the tea diluted to roughly 12 g of leaf per liter. A typical 8 oz cup of black tea has about 47 mg, and Turkish tea is often drunk strong, so the figure moves with how much concentrate goes into each glass.
Never boil the leaf
Keep the upper pot on the steam of the lower one, out of direct heat. Tea that boils turns bitter.
What to watch out for
- Caffeine affects everyone differently. If you are pregnant or nursing, sensitive to caffeine, or have been told to limit it, check with your doctor about how much tea is right for you.
Rize, on Turkey's eastern Black Sea coast, grows most of Turkey's tea, and the state company Çaykur makes much of it. It is brewed strong in a two-tier çaydanlık and served in tulip glasses. Brewed in a double teapot, then diluted to taste.
Origin & Story
Turkey drinks more tea per person than any other country, about 3.16 kilograms each a year, and sells some 400 million tulip-shaped glasses a year to drink it from. Almost all of that tea is grown in one place, Rize Province on the eastern Black Sea coast, where the mild, wet climate and fertile soil suit the bush.
Tea is new to Turkey. In 1918 the botanist Ali Rıza Erten was told to try tea in the Rize and Batumi region, and in 1924 the government set up a Central Tea Nursery in Rize to hand out about 50,000 seedlings. The first tea crop was harvested in 1938 and the first tea factory opened in 1947, and since 1963 home-grown tea has replaced imports. The state company Çaykur, which has its headquarters in Rize and runs 45 processing factories, was formally established as a public enterprise in 1983.
Turkish tea is made in a çaydanlık, a stacked double teapot. Water boils in the lower pot, and some of it is poured over loose tea in the smaller pot above, which sits on the lower one so that the steam keeps the leaf hot without boiling it. After 10 to 15 minutes the strong concentrate is poured about a third of the way up each glass and topped up with hot water from the lower pot: more water for açık, light, and less for koyu, dark.
A well-made glass looks almost red, and the middle way is called tavşan kanı, rabbit's blood. It is served in a small tulip-shaped glass with sugar cubes on the side and no milk.
To make a pot, put about 9 g of tea in the upper pot, pour on about 300 ml of boiling water, and let it steep over the steam for 10 to 15 minutes, then dilute each glass to taste.
Reading the Flavor Profile
| Axis | Score |
|---|---|
| Sweetness | 70/100 |
| Acidity | 40/100 |
| Bitterness | 60/100 |
| Body | 85/100 |
| Aroma | 75/100 |
These values are comparative editorial positions within our own catalog, calibrated so entries can be ranked against each other. They are not laboratory measurements.
How much caffeine is in Turkey Rize Caykur Black Tea?
One serving, 6–8 oz cup (180–240 ml), contains approximately 55 mg of caffeine.
What temperature should I use for Turkey Rize Caykur Black Tea?
Target 100°C (212°F).
How long should Turkey Rize Caykur Black Tea be extracted?
Timing: 10–15 min in the upper pot. Method: Turkish Çaydanlık (Double Pot). Ratio: 9g per 300ml water in the upper pot, diluted at the glass. Grind or leaf format: Broken Leaf.
What is a çaydanlık?
A stacked double teapot. Water boils in the lower pot, and the smaller pot on top holds the tea leaves, which steep in the steam rather than at a boil.
What do açık and koyu mean?
Açık means light and koyu means dark. Each person sets the strength in the glass, by pouring more or less of the strong concentrate and topping it up with hot water.
Who should avoid Turkey Rize Caykur Black Tea?
Caffeine affects everyone differently. If you are pregnant or nursing, sensitive to caffeine, or have been told to limit it, check with your doctor about how much tea is right for you. This information is educational and is not medical advice. If you are pregnant or breastfeeding, managing a cardiac or gastrointestinal condition, or taking prescription medication, discuss caffeine and botanical intake with a qualified healthcare professional before making changes.
What people say
Borosilicate Glass Teapot with Infuser
In this recipe: Çaydanlık, a stacked double teapot
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