To choose Turkish coffee in Egypt, pick the roast, then plain or cardamom, then a pack you will finish within 1 to 2 weeks: Al Ameed for light or medium, plain or with cardamom, Mehmet Efendi or Cafe Crown for a fuller medium-dark plain cup, and Segafredo Zanetti for a dark plain bag or a cardamom bag. Coffee & Cream stocks all of them ground extra-fine for the kanaka, in bags, sachets and a set with a pot.
Roast: from light to dark
A light roast gives a softer cup, and a medium or dark roast gives a fuller body. The grind on these bags is extra-fine, like powder, for the kanaka, and an espresso machine needs a different grind. The ground coffee guide compares the Turkish grind with espresso, moka and filter.
Al Ameed Kuwaiti comes in 250 g: light with cardamom and without, and dark without cardamom. Al Ameed Jordanian, in Turkish ground coffee, covers light and medium, with cardamom and without, in 200 g bags and in boxes of 24 sachets of 8 g. The listing describes the Jordanian light with cardamom as bright and mild.
Mehmet Efendi is a medium-dark roast with a full body and low acidity, roasted and ground in Turkey, ultra-fine for the kanaka. It is plain, and comes as a 100 g bag, 12 one-cup sachets, or a 250 g set with a coffee pot. Cafe Crown Turkish Coffee 200 g is medium-dark too, with a full body and low acidity, ground for the kanaka.
Segafredo Zanetti Plain 250 g is a dark roast with no cardamom, ground to powder for the kanaka. Segafredo Zanetti Cardamom 250 g has the cardamom blended in, ground powder-fine for the same pot, and the listing does not give a roast.
| Roast | With cardamom (mehawag) | Plain, no cardamom |
|---|---|---|
| Light | Al Ameed Kuwaiti 250 g. Al Ameed Jordanian 200 g. Al Ameed Jordanian 24 sachets of 8 g. | Al Ameed Kuwaiti 250 g. Al Ameed Jordanian 200 g. Al Ameed Jordanian 24 sachets of 8 g. |
| Medium | Al Ameed Jordanian 200 g. Al Ameed Jordanian 24 sachets of 8 g. | Al Ameed Jordanian 200 g. Al Ameed Jordanian 24 sachets of 8 g. |
| Medium-dark | No cardamom blend in this roast. | Mehmet Efendi 100 g, 12 sachets, or a set of 250 g plus a coffee pot. Cafe Crown 200 g. |
| Dark | No cardamom blend in this roast. | Segafredo Zanetti Plain 250 g. |
Many Turkish blends in Egypt include some robusta, which adds body and foam, while pure arabica gives a cleaner cup. None of the Mehmet Efendi, Al Ameed, Segafredo Zanetti or Cafe Crown listings gives an arabica and robusta percentage, so choose them by roast and by cardamom. Arabica vs robusta explains the difference in the cup. Bon Masr medium-roast blends (Thutmose, Horus, Cleopatra and Amun, 125 g and 250 g) state the share on each listing.
Cardamom or plain
Mehawag means the coffee is ground with cardamom, and sada on the bag means no cardamom. Sugar is a separate choice you add in the kanaka, and the Turkish coffee guide has the brew steps and the Egyptian sugar levels. Turkish coffee with or without cardamom compares the two cups.
Cardamom blends here include Al Ameed Kuwaiti Light 250 g, Al Ameed Jordanian light and medium in 200 g and in 24 sachets of 8 g, and Segafredo Zanetti Cardamom 250 g. Mehmet Efendi and Cafe Crown are plain. If your bag is mehawag, skip the extra pods in the pot, or the cup turns very strong.
Pack size and how long it stays fresh
- 100 g: Mehmet Efendi. About 14 cups.
- 200 g: Al Ameed Jordanian, and Cafe Crown. About 28 cups.
- 250 g: Al Ameed Kuwaiti, Segafredo Zanetti, and the Mehmet Efendi set (250 g plus a coffee pot). About 35 cups.
- Sachets: Mehmet Efendi, 12 sachets, one cup each. Al Ameed Jordanian, 24 sachets of 8 g, one sachet per cup, in light or medium, plain or with cardamom.
Bag totals use about 7 g a cup, one heaped teaspoon, from the Turkish coffee guide. The Al Ameed Jordanian sachet is 8 g, and the listing says one sachet makes one cup, so a box is 24 cups.
Ground coffee goes stale faster than whole beans and stays fresh for about 1 to 2 weeks at room temperature, so buy the pack you will finish in that time. At two small cups a day, 100 g lasts about a week and 200 g about two weeks. A 250 g bag lasts about two and a half weeks at that rate, so it suits a home that drinks three cups a day. Keep the open bag airtight and cool, in an opaque container, away from the oven and the dishwasher. Each sachet stays sealed until you use it, which helps when a bag would sit open past two weeks.
FAQ
What is the best type of Turkish coffee in Egypt?
The best type depends on the roast and on cardamom. A light roast gives a softer cup, and medium-dark or dark gives a fuller body. Al Ameed makes light and medium, plain or with cardamom. Mehmet Efendi and Cafe Crown are medium-dark and plain, Segafredo Zanetti Plain is dark, and Segafredo Zanetti Cardamom is a cardamom blend with no roast given on its listing. Pick a pack you will finish within 1 to 2 weeks.
Which Turkish coffee brand is the best?
Pick the brand that makes the roast you like. Al Ameed has the most options: Kuwaiti 250 g light, plain or with cardamom, and Jordanian light and medium, plain or with cardamom, in 200 g and in 24 sachets of 8 g. Mehmet Efendi is roasted and ground in Turkey, medium-dark and plain, in a 100 g bag, 12 sachets or a 250 g set with a pot. Cafe Crown 200 g is medium-dark and plain. Segafredo Zanetti makes a dark plain bag and a cardamom bag.
Which Turkish coffee brands can you buy in Egypt?
Turkish coffee brands at Coffee & Cream include Mehmet Efendi, Al Ameed (Kuwaiti and Jordanian), Segafredo Zanetti and Cafe Crown, all ground extra-fine for the kanaka.
Where can I find Turkish coffee in Egypt?
Order it online from Coffee & Cream. Mehmet Efendi, Al Ameed and Segafredo Zanetti are in Turkish ground coffee. Cafe Crown Turkish Coffee 200 g is in the Cafe Crown collection. The guide to buying coffee online in Egypt covers placing the order. Orders reach Cairo and Giza in 1 to 2 business days and other governorates in 2 to 4 business days. You can pay cash on delivery or by card. Delivery fees are on the shipping policy.
What is Turkish coffee called in Egypt?
In Egypt it is called قهوة تركي, and the ground coffee is sold as بن تركي. It is made in a kanaka, the pot called a cezve or an ibrik in other countries. On the bag, mehawag means cardamom is ground in, and sada means no cardamom. In the cup, sada means no sugar, and people order it sada, ala el reeha, mazboot or ziyada. The cardamom guide separates those two uses of sada.
Order a bag
Pick a bag from Turkish ground coffee: Mehmet Efendi, Al Ameed Kuwaiti or Jordanian, or Segafredo Zanetti. Cafe Crown Turkish Coffee 200 g is in the Cafe Crown collection. For the pot, Turkish coffee machines has the KGA handcrafted copper kanaka (medium, with a food-safe tin lining, for 2 to 3 cups) and Arzum Okka machines, which take the same extra-fine coffee, and H&K Art has stainless steel kanakas in 120 ml, 180 ml and 250 ml for gas and electric stoves.