It is believed that coffee was first grown in Ethiopia. Its production increased once these trees were planted in Yemen too.
At first, coffee beans were eaten, either as fruit or grounded and mixed with oil. Coffee spread to the cities of Mecca and Medina (Saudi Arabia) from Yemen and with the help of Muslim travelers, reached the rest of the Muslim world. Even though the exact date coffee entered the Ottoman Empire is not known, historians believe it was with Sultan Selim I's military campaign in Egypt in 1519. During Ottoman times, coffee was imported from Egypt and Alexandria to Istanbul's port of commerce, Eminönü. Even though coffee was first only enjoyed by the elite and well-educated, it soon spread through Istanbul and coffee houses become an usual sight. Coffee's popularity in Istanbul also aided its spread to Europe. In 1615, Venetian traders started importing coffee to Europe from Mocha (Yemen). Even though Venetians maintained their monopoly over coffee trading until the 18th century, the first coffee production outside the Arab Peninsula was first realized by the Dutch.
Seen as a symbol of American capitalism by some, the introduction of Starbucks into the Turkish market brought about change in the ways of a country with its own complete coffee-making-and-serving tradition. Competition has become fierce, as some coffee houses try to imitate the 'Starbucks way' whereas others strive to be different.
On a busy Saturday afternoon, at the Starbucks coffee store in Istanbul's classy Nişantaşı neighborhood, the “barista,” as waiters are called in the Starbucks talk, hurriedly clears the table at the packed café. Huffing and puffing, he explains this is how it usually is on weekends. With every single table taken, the place is buzzing with customers' voices. Yet across the road is Barnie's, another American coffee chain, offering a calm environment, service at the table, free Internet access, and, believe it or not, free use of their Mac computers. One wonders what exactly it is that makes Starbucks just so popular in a country that has a coffee named after it (Turkish coffee) and a coffee culture that traditionally goes far beyond just drinking a warm beverage.
“There is no difference between the coffee we sell and the coffee they sell. The only thing is that [Starbucks] is more ‘Western' and that affects people, and that is due to people's choice,” said the young Yasin Atılan, who owns and operates a small independent coffee house in Istanbul's busy Beyoğlu district. His coffeehouse Şara is located right off İstiklal Street. It is a small place with barrel-vaulted ceilings, comfortable couches, and calm yet lively Turkish music. The sweet smell of apple tobacco from nargiles (water pipes) greets one as he or she walks in. This is a typical traditional coffee house, where one can relax on couches, smoke nargile, drink the traditional Turkish black tea, herb tea, or coffee, while playing backgammon or just chatting with friends.
Coffee: A tradition in Turkey
Coffee became a popular beverage in the Ottoman Empire in the 16th century, with the first coffee house opening in Istanbul's Tahtakale district. Coffee and coffee house culture spread rapidly and soon became an integral part of Istanbul social culture. Initially frequented by the city's literati, coffee houses soon became popular with the general public as well. People came throughout the day to read books, play chess and backgammon and discuss poetry and literature. Performances of traditional Turkish theatrical arts such as Shadow Puppetry (Karagöz) and Classical Turkish Drama (ortaoyunu) were first held at these coffeehouses.
Yet, this tradition started changing toward the end of the 20th century, when, at first instant coffee was introduced at the end of the 1970s and the beginning of the 1980s, and in the 1990s the first espresso brand entered the Turkish market to be savored in cafes and restaurants throughout the country. Today, coffee is basically enjoyed in three forms in the Turkish market, which is estimated to have a total volume of $100-120 million: Instant coffee, filter coffee including its variants, and Turkish coffee, which has the highest consumption rate among all the coffee categories with 70 percent of the total coffee consumed in Turkey.
The overall coffee consumption in Turkey remains below the world average though. In Europe, annual coffee consumption is roughly five-six kilograms per person, while the amount shoots up to 11-12 kilograms per person in Scandinavian countries, but remains at an average of 250 grams per person in Turkey. On average, Turks consume one cup of filter coffee per person annually compared to the 560 to 600 cups consumed on average by Europeans annually.
This, according to coffee professional Erkan Kavcı, is due to the fact that tea is drunk much more frequently in Turkey than coffee. “Turks drink tea at breakfast. But, for a European, the first thing he reaches out for is coffee,” he said.
Even though coffee consumption rates remain low for coffee types other than Turkish coffee, interest in Western-style coffee houses, and coffee chains, such as Starbucks, Gloria Jeans, and Barnie's has been growing, especially among the youth.
Enter foreign coffee chains
The first foreign coffee chain to enter the Turkish market was the Australian Gloria Jeans, which entered the market in 1999. Today the chain has 54 stores throughout Turkey, with 30 of them located in Istanbul. Starbucks came into the Turkish market in 2003, and has been expanding aggressively, and has reached a total of 89 stores around Turkey, with 59 of them located in Istanbul.
The interest that these two chains aroused, especially from younger clientele, instigated others to open similar chains. This inspired a local entrepreneur to also invest in the sector and Turkish food manufacturer Altınkılıçlar came up with a Turkish coffee chain in 2003, establishing Kahve Dünyası (Coffee World). The tide didn't abate and others followed, such as Barnie's, the Orlando, Florida based coffee chain that entered the market in the beginning of 2006.
Atılan believes the presence of Starbucks in three locations on İstiklal Street has influenced his café's business adversely and affects competition badly. “They do bring some aspect of quality, in terms of ambience; this cannot be argued. But it can cause harmful competition also,” said Atılan and cited the example of the Starbucks Banana Java Chip Frappuccino that Starbucks had prepared as a special summer beverage in 2007. “Yes, [Starbucks] does buy from high-quality suppliers. However, in order to catch up with competition, other coffee houses bought the cheap syrups on the market that are usually used in cooking,” he added.
Meanwhile in a fashionable quarter…
Meanwhile, not even a couple of kilometers away, in the hip Nişantaşı district, dotted with designer shops and busy cafes, with Ferraris, Porsches, BMWs, and Mercedes, and where the famous, the rich, and the wannabe-rich-and-famous meet and mingle, chatting about the latest fashion trends, significant others, and money, two women bravely opened a coffee shop right across the street from the biggest coffee chain in the world. Although also part of an American coffee chain itself, the duo behind Barnie's Nişantaşı, Fatoş and Gonca Sadiki are not worried about Starbucks, a company considered the symbol of American capitalism by many. “The presence of Starbucks [right across the street] does not worry us. We are not rivals because we operate on very different concepts. Besides, it is wiser to have similar commerce near each other,” said Gonca Sadiki of the sisters-in-law duo that has established Barnie's in Nişantaşı. She said the presentation was different, as well as service, that customers were served at tables in Barnie's whereas it is self-service in Starbucks. “They are fast and quick but we hold customer happiness and comfort as most important,” said Sadiki, adding: “Our aim is to provide a suitable environment for anyone that comes to Nişantaşı, whatever their primary aim might have been.”
Comfort and convenience for everyone
Barnie's Nişantaşı is located in a 96-year-old building with high ceilings. Only half a flight up from the entrance, one can see a bar with Apple computers and flat screens. Barnie's customers can use these computers or bring their laptops to hook onto wireless ADSL all free of charge while enjoying a hot cup of cappuccino. On a Wednesday afternoon, Sadiki said high school students had come there after school, had done some homework, and e-mailed friends, before settling down on the couches to enjoy tea with cake. “Our small rooms also come advantageous as they can be used for meetings. Some members of firms come here in the mornings to have their morning meetings over a cup of coffee or tea with sandwiches,” she said. Sadiki explained their clientele was varied but that Barnie's got customers from all sections of Nişantaşı frequenters. “Certain people come at certain hours of the day. Lunch is the time for business people, in the afternoons it is mostly those that come to Nişantaşı to walk around or shop. We have a large clientele over the age of 50 because we offer a calm environment. Many even come alone,” she said.
Barnie's Nişantaşı opened in March 2007 and remains one of the four Barnie's in Turkey. Three more are on the way, said Sadiki, with the franchise's sights set at 60 throughout Turkey.