"Beginning: Turkish Coffee Stories from Anatolia," a documentary prepared by the Turkish Coffee Lady Foundation for the promotion of Turkish coffee – the world's first coffee brewing technique – will be promoted with comprehensive events to be held in Los Angeles and San Diego in the United States within the scope of "Turkish Cuisine Week" and as part of a world tour. The documentary, which is a pioneering gastro-diplomacy work, aims to increase the awareness of the gastronomic value and historical importance of Turkish coffee abroad.
Hasan Kale, a Turkish artist who is famous for his micro art – involving transforming the smallest and often-overlooked items – will display cultural presentations of Turkish coffee, which boasts a 500-year-old cultural heritage.
Turkish Airlines (THY), Kütahya Porselen and leading local Turkish American associations are among the other sponsors of the documentary, which was prepared in cooperation with the Presidency for Turks Abroad and Related Communities (YTB) and with the support of the main sponsor, Arzum Okka, the electronic Turkish coffee maker brand.
The event, which will be hosted by Turkey's Los Angeles Consulate on May 20, will host leading names of the gastronomy industry, Turkish American community leaders, press members and distinguished guests from the world of arts and culture.
Documentary and art events, which will also be screened at the Turkish Festival in Long Beach, organized by the Association of Turkish Americans of Southern California (ATASC) on May 22, will meet American coffee lovers in San Diego on May 24-25 in cooperation with the House of Turkey, a nongovernmental organization (NGO) located in San Diego.
This influential project, which brings together the leading institutions of the public, private sector and NGOs, is aimed to introduce how the coffee culture that spread from Istanbul 500 years ago changed the world and the interesting stories of different coffee cultures that have existed in Anatolia for centuries.
Drawing attention to the importance of gastro diplomacy, the documentary was shot in various cities of Turkey, including Istanbul and the capital Ankara.
To convey the coffee traditions and culture in Turkey, the documentary explores dibek coffee in Mardin, myrrh in Şanlıurfa, menengiç, also known as pistachio coffee, in Gaziantep, saffron in Karabük, coffee on embers in Nevşehir, coffee in the sand in Ankara, coffee with mastic gum in Izmir and traditional Turkish coffee in Istanbul.
Selen Almaç Deniz undertook the production of the documentary, which was prepared in cooperation with Cinec Film, Broccoli Production and Karen Production, with Cihat Bilen and Mehmet Ismail Çeçen in the director's chair.
“Turkish coffee is a very important cultural heritage that is unique in the world. Although 400 million cups of coffee are consumed daily in America, the cultural value of Turkish coffee is not known well enough. We need more effective promotion of our 500-year-old coffee culture and its historical significance, which has played a major role in the spread of coffee culture all over the world, through communication from people to people,” Gizem Şalcıgil White, the founding president of the Turkish Coffee Lady Foundation, said.
Thanks to the foundation's initiatives, Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser officially declared Dec. 5 as "World Turkish Coffee Day" in the U.S. capital.
Expressing that the way to the heart of the world today passes through coffee, White added: "We aim to raise awareness about the value that our rich coffee culture has added to the world and to be able to identify coffee with Turkey abroad. We will bring together the historical importance and unique flavor of Turkish coffee through artistic presentations."
Foundation advisory board member Feriha Işhtar also underlined that they will tell American coffee lovers how coffee culture spread from Istanbul to Europe and then to the world through the Turks, who gave coffee a unique identity with their preparation, cooking and presentation methods. She also stated that they wish to promote the richness of Turkey's coffee culture more effectively and to embrace this unique value more as a society with their documentary work.
The Turkish Coffee Lady Foundation, which was established to increase the awareness of the national value of Turkish coffee in the U.S., will hold cultural promotion tours at U.S. landmarks in New York, Washington D.C., Los Angeles, San Diego, Boston, Florida and San Francisco.
