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ARMENIAN
COFFEE - "SURJ"Did you know
fortunes can be read from the Surj cup?
Do you know how to make Armenian Surj?
Armenian
coffee served from a traditional coffee pot
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According to
folklore, when you visited friends and relatives,
it was the custom to be served Surj (Armenian Coffee).
In all the Near Eastern countries where Surj
was served, it was the duty of the young girl in
the house to prepare the coffee for all
occasions. Traditionally, the girl who could not
make a pot of coffee (surj) with a good foaming
head on it was not worthy of a good husband!
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As I was growing up in my Armenian
household, I became familiar with Surj, and discovered
the aromatic spell it had on the friends and relatives
that visited us. Our woman friends in particular were
enamored with Surj, because after they drank it, they
would turn the cup over on the saucer and let the coffee
residue run slowly down the inside wall of the cup,
forming intricate patterns. After a while, the cup would
be handed to my mother who would read their fortune (pakhd in Armenian) from the coffee
patterns.
| My mother would look carefully at
the coffee stains and, after a short
deliberation, would proceed in declaring the pakhd that
was visible in the cup. The gathering would
listen attentively, nod their heads, and
periodically exclaim shidag es
(your right, in Armenian).
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Armenian
coffee cups from our Gift Shop
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I recall phrases like, jampa muh
guh desnam (I see a road), yergar jampa eh
(it’s a long road), Mart muh bidi desnahs
(you are going to see a person), and on and on my
mother would continue. I enjoyed looking at the
expressions on the faces of our friends and relatives
after my mother finished telling their fortunes.
When I asked my mother how she learned how to read
coffee cups and tell pakhds, my mother
laughed and said, "dghas, adiga
im kaghdniks eh (meaning-son that is my
secret)".
Making
Armenian Coffee
What is not a secret is making Surj.
| You will require Armenian coffee
powder which can be bought at most Gourmet shops.
My family would obtain their powder from a Coffee
store where they would ask for French and Italian
beans to be mixed in equal quantities and then
ground, very fine (pulverized). The other
requirement is an "Imrik" (or jesveh)
which is a pot with a long handle. If this is not
available then a heavy saucepan will do. Surj
is best served in demi-tasse cups.
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An Imrik (or
Jesveh)
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 Measure one demi-tasse cup of water for each
cup desired into the "Imrik", and heat it until
it is lukewarm.
Add one heaped teaspoon of Armenian coffee and one
teaspoon sugar for each cup, and stir it. Amounts may
vary according to taste.
As the mixture begins to boil, a thick foam should form.
Stir it once or twice. As the foam begins to rise, take
the pot off the heat, so that the foam will sink down.
Put it on again; a moment later the foam will rise again.
Do this three times so that the coffee grains are well
cooked. Now it is ready to serve.
Pour a little foam in all of the cups first, then pour
the remainder of coffee, filling to the brim.
Serve with an Armenian choreg.
Reference: Armenian
Heritage Recipes edited by Sirvat Bedrosian.
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