In 1543 Özdemir Pasha, the Ottoman Governor of Yemen, who had grown to love the drink, brought coffee to Turkey. Thanks to the new method for coffee preparation invented by the Turks, it is prepared in a cezve or pot and became known as Turkish Coffee.

The Turkish public became acquainted with coffee for the first time in 1554 through the establishment of coffeehouses in Tahtakale. People came here throughout the day to read books, play chess and backgammon and discuss poetry and literature. Coffeehouses play an important role in the social life of the people in that period.

As coffee became a staple in palace cuisine as well as in private homes, its consumption increased dramatically. The raw beans were roasted in pans, ground in mortars and then brewed in cezves.

For a very short time, thanks to the merchants and travellers who passed through Istanbul, and even Ottoman ambassadors, Turkish Coffee's renown soon spread to Europe and ultimately to the whole world.

In 1871, Kurukahveci Mehmet Efendi was the first company to sell roasted and ground coffee to the consumers.

Today, Turkish Coffee is known by the name Kurukahveci Mehmet Efendi both in Turkey and around the world.