Update International Turkish Pitcher for Coffee, Espresso Decanter, 18/8 Gauge Stainless Steel, 12 Oz. (Ounce) Barista

This works as an "ibrik" or "cezve", which is a Turkish coffee pot. Usually, they are brass with a tin lining, but I prefer the steel pots with resin handles as easier to use. I was concerned that the foam wouldn't work in this pot--and it was not quite as easy to get the "face" or foam on the coffee but it still worked well. You can also use this as a butter melter, if you like.The way I was taught to make Turkish coffee (actually, it was Syrian, since it was a Syrian student who showed me) is to get powdered coffee. I do this in a bullet-style blender until the beans are the consistency of coarse flour. The beans should not be over-roasted. A light roast is actually what is traditional despite the dark look of Turkish coffee. Mocha or another African coffee works well, if you can find it lightly roasted (almost impossible in the US.)You put a cup of water in the pot, and stir in a few teaspoons of sugar (for Turkish or Syrian coffee: Arabic coffee is unsweetened.) Add in a heaping tablespoon of the coffee powder. If you want spiced coffee, you can add a pinch of freshly powdered cardamom (it doesn't keep, so you have to crush it before using), a pinch of cinnamon or cloves, or a mix of any of the spices including nutmeg. Alternately, you can drop a single cardamom seed into the bottom of the coffee cup instead.Now, start boiling the coffee. It will start to foam up. As it reaches near the top of the pot, snatch it off the fire, and let it settle. Do this two more times. After it settles the third time, there should be a layer of foam on the top (it's the fines that don't settle from your powdered coffee.) Pour into two or three tiny espresso cups, pouring around so each cup gets some of the foam. Only fill the cups half way.The coffee will have grounds that settle, so really, you only drink half the cup and let the grounds stay at the bottom. It's traditional to drink three of these, so as you have your first cup, rinse out the pot and start again. If you are serving it Arabic-style, it will be quite bitter, so serve some small sweetmeats (Medjool dates, nut- or coconut-stuffed dates, apricots filled with almond paste, pastries like baklava, fancy jams in small cups with demitasse spoons, or chocolates or jellied candies) on the side.This isn't a very elegant pot, but it's quite functional and it cleans up well. It's fun to serve Turkish coffee with sweets as a dessert at the end of a dinner party where you've served Greek dishes like moussaka, or any Middle Eastern favorites (m'jeddara, cabbage rolls, dolmahs, roast lamb, shwarma, you name it.)

Before I purchased this item, I posted asking how tall it is but didn't get a response. I noticed that several others also posted asking the same question. This one was cheap enough that I decided to roll the dice, hoping it was the right size. I can tell you it's exactly 3-1/2 inches tall from the base to the top of the rim and fits my espresso machine like it was made for it. (The other dimensions are as listed in the description.)I was looking for a replacement for my glass espresso decanter for my household espresso machine. My requirements were that it be "short" enough to fit under the portafilter, it needed to hold at least 10 ounces of liquid, it needed to be stainless steel or another unbreakable material since I've already broken three glass decanters, and it needed to be well-made so I could put it in the dishwasher as well as to withstand quite a bit of daily use.This one seems to be well-made and sturdy. The handle is made from plastic, which means no burnt fingers. It holds approximately 16 ounces of liquid. I've put it through the dishwasher several times already with no adverse effects. The only thing I can see is that may be a problem for some is it doesn't have notches or any sort of markers indicating how many ounces of fluid are inside the cup. So if you're someone who needs a marker, that may be a problem for you. Personally, I just eyeball it.I know this is advertised as and "supposed" to be used for preparing Turkish coffee, but I can't speak to how well it performs that particular task. However, for use as a decanter for an espresso machine, it works perfectly.

We had a guest from Turkey who wanted to make Turkish coffee for himself and for us, so I ordered one of the 12-oz decanters. He seemed perfectly happy with it and made us delicious coffee. Although he mostly used it just for himself, when he made coffee for me and my husband also, the decanter was large enough for all three cups. He always made the coffee very strong and diluted it slightly with water that he had boiled separately in a tea kettle. The handle is a hard plastic and is OK to handle even when the metal bowl is hot. It seems sturdy and is securely attached by a single screw. I can't comment on the long-term durability but in several weeks of daily use it hasn't loosened at all.An aside: We didn't have quite the right kind of cups -- ours are a bit too wide. Since Turkish coffee is poured with the very fine grounds still in, the ideal cup is a small, relatively narrow cylinder so that the grounds will settle and you can drink most of the coffee above them.For the price, this simple decanter seems to be perfectly functional and does not seem shoddy.