High Tea at Pera Palace Hotel

Last month, the Pera Palace Hotel reopened after the completion of a two year renovation project. The hotel was originally built in 1892 for visitors arriving in Istanbul via the Orient Express. Many famous people have stayed here, including Agatha Christie, who stayed in room 411, now called the Agatha Christie room. Her novel "Murder on the Orient Express" may have some inspiration from this hotel. I went to the hotel for a visit and to experience their afternoon high tea. A nicely restored Plymouth is parked at the front door, and a friendly doorman opens the front door for guests.

High Tea is served in a large ballroom with a beautiful ceiling, faux painted marble walls and wooden interior balconies. At one end of the ballroom, a piano was being played - Moon River, and other western tunes.

Without giving me a menu, the server asked me what kind of tea I wanted. I asked what was available. English Breakfast Tea, Earl Grey Tea and Turkish Tea. These are all teas available in the food stores, so nothing special... I surpressed my laugh and requested the Earl Grey. The tea arrived as well as the sandwiches. I had a salmon sandwich and a roast beef and cheese sandwich. The pink and white plates were very pretty.

The next two courses of scones and sweets were served together via a buffet table. Yes, that is a bit of gold leaf on top of the square chocolate cake.

The atmosphere was very nice and relaxing and I was glad I had a chance to visit the hotel. Back out on the more hectic streets of Istanbul, I found myself humming Moon River, which did not seem to bother any of the Istanbulites a bit. Reservations are not required for the daily 3 - 6 pm high tea, but are for the hotel rooms. So if you are interested in a stay, here is the link http://www.perapalace,com

Turkish Coffee

Turks drink 245 million glasses of tea every day - that was news in yesterday's paper. With a population of 73 million, that only allows for 3 and 1/3 glasses per person. When you work the math, the number actually sounds a little low to me. It is by far the most popular drink. But there is some coffee drinking going on also. Turkish coffee is usually made one or two cups at a time and served in an espresso size cup. The coffee itself is very finely ground - I would call it coffee powder. The coffee and water are heated together in a little pot and after the coffee has boiled and foamed, it is poured in the cup. Sip slowly and carefully, as all the coffee powder is in the bottom of the cup.

When you have finished your coffee, place the saucer over the cup, give it a little swirl
and turn it over. Now it is ready to cool before having your fortune read.

An expert is needed to read the symbolism in your coffee grounds. Birds are good, but I don't see any in this cup. The handle of the cup marks the 12 o'clock position. So, if you had a bird at 3 o'clock, that would mean good news in 3 hours or 3 days or 3 weeks. The three is specific, but not the unit of time.

Not this, but another cup of Turkish coffee I drank, yielded the good fortune that I would be receiving lots of money. My reader is very new at this, but all encourage me to buy a lottery ticket. I was not so sure about this, and the lottery ticket costs $8. So I went for the 1/2 ticket for $4. The drawing is this Sunday evening. If I win a million dollars, my husband will retire for good. In the meantime, he is going to work.

Turkish Tea

Turkey is one of the largest tea drinking countries in the world. Tea is offered at restaurants and cafes and is also made in the home. Traditionally, it is served in small glasses with a saucer and sugar on the side. Never is milk or lemon used in tea. A glass of tea is often just 50 cents. This one had a view of the Bosphorus, right by the ferry terminal, so it cost $2.The process of making Turkish tea is an art I have yet to acquire. It takes about a half an hour and a double boiler type tea pot is needed. Initially, you boil water in the bottom kettle and just have the loose tea leaves in the top kettle. After the water boils, some water from the bottom kettle is poured into the top kettle to wet the tea leaves. Then the steeping process starts. More boiling water is added to the top as needed. After 30 minutes, you have some very strong (and I find bitter) tea in the top kettle. The server then pours tea from the top kettle into a glass and adds water from the bottom kettle to get the right color and strength. In the food stores, there are many brands of tea and the most popular packaging is the one kilo (2.2045 pounds) size. That's a lot of tea! And a great bargain...prices for a kilo of tea range from $6 to $8. Tea is grown in the north of Turkey, near the Black Sea.

So when two workers arrived at my apartment with our two night tables each in a box containing 17 convenient pieces, I felt I needed to offer drinks. Coffee, tea or water? One chose water and the other tea. I turned on the electric kettle, boiled up some water and poured it over a Dilmah Ceylon Supreme Tea bag, imported in one of my three suitcases and purchased at the Giant in Nazareth, PA. Well, what could the worker expect from a foreigner? As it turns out, he thought it was an excellent cup of tea and inquired as to the type of tea. Maybe he does not care for the traditional tea's bitterness either. Or maybe it was the packet of Equal I gave him that made it special, as I did not have any sugar in the house.

Enjoy your next cup of tea!

Amy