Armenian Coffee (Surj): Tradition and How to Make Armenian Coffee

In Armenian homes, a guest rarely leaves without a small cup of surj (also written soorj), strong unfiltered coffee brewed in a long-handled pot called a jazzve. If you want to know how to make Armenian coffee, the method is simple: stir powder-fine coffee, cold water and optional sugar together in the jazzve, heat slowly until a thick foam rises, then pour into small cups and let the grounds settle before sipping. The whole process takes about five minutes, and the foam is the mark of a well-made cup.

Here is a reliable recipe, the details that make a difference, and the customs that go with it, from hospitality to reading the cup.

In this article

1. What is Armenian coffee?
2. How to make Armenian coffee: recipe
3. Tips for thick foam
4. How surj is served
5. Armenian, Turkish and Greek coffee
6. FAQ

What is Armenian coffee?

Armenian coffee belongs to the family of unfiltered coffees brewed in small pots across the Middle East, the Caucasus and the Balkans. The coffee is ground to a powder, simmered with water and served with the grounds in the cup. Armenia Discovery, a travel guide to Armenia, notes the common belief that coffee reached Armenia from Arabia, and that Armenians went on to open coffee houses both at home and abroad.

The coffee is usually a medium to dark roast, ground extra fine. It is drunk often, several times a day in many households, and it is the standard way to welcome guests.

The jazzve

The jazzve (also jazva or jezve) is a small pot, wider at the bottom and narrower at the neck, with a long handle. The narrow neck concentrates the foam and makes it easier to control the moment the coffee rises. Copper and brass are traditional; stainless steel works too.

How to make Armenian coffee: recipe

Serves: 1 small cup. Time: about 5 minutes.

Ingredients per cup

Steps

1. Measure the water with the cup you will serve in and pour it into the jazzve. Use cold water: slow heating builds better foam.
2. Add the coffee and sugar. Sugar must go in now; it cannot be stirred in later without ruining the foam.
3. Stir well until the coffee is fully mixed in, then stop stirring.
4. Heat over low to medium heat. After a few minutes, a dark foam forms and the coffee starts to rise up the neck.
5. Remove from the heat just before it boils over. Many cooks let the foam settle and return the pot to the heat once or twice more for a thicker foam.
6. Pour slowly into the cup, spooning a little foam on top first if you are serving several cups.
7. Wait a minute for the grounds to settle, then sip slowly. Stop before the sludge at the bottom.

For cardamom, either brew the crushed pod in the jazzve or, as some families do, place it in the cup before pouring. Not everyone uses it, and many Armenians drink their coffee plain.

Sweetness guide

Tips for thick foam

• Grind matters most. You need a powder finer than espresso grind. A hand grinder designed for Turkish coffee, or a burr grinder that goes very fine, works best. Regular espresso grind makes a gritty cup with thin foam.
• Use fresh coffee. Fresh-roasted beans hold more gas and foam better.
• Heat slowly. High heat rushes the boil and breaks the foam.
• Do not stir once heating starts.
• Match pot to portion. A small jazzve for one or two cups gives a deeper layer and better foam than a large pot with a little coffee.
• No milk. Surj is served black; offer water and something sweet alongside instead.
• Serve right away. The foam starts to fade within a few minutes, so have the cups ready and warm before the coffee rises.

How surj is served

Hospitality

Coffee is offered to guests, often after a meal or with sweets, chocolates and pastries such as gata, a traditional Armenian sweet bread. It is served in small demitasse cups and sipped slowly while people talk. Our article on demitasse cups explains the cup itself.

Reading the cup

After the coffee is finished, the cup can be turned upside down onto its saucer to let the grounds dry into patterns, which a reader, often an older woman in the family, interprets. Symbols are read as messages: Armenia Discovery gives the examples of a horse meaning a wish and a rooster meaning news to come. It is a social game more than a belief for most people. The practice is shared with neighboring cultures; see Turkish coffee fortune telling.

Armenian, Turkish and Greek coffee

The brewing method is essentially the same across the region, and each culture calls the drink by its own name. Differences come down to habits rather than technique.

Which coffee to use

A medium to dark roast gives the classic chocolaty, slightly bitter surj. Our French Roast, a smoky-sweet dark roast with low acidity, is a good match. For a fruitier cup, try Ethiopia Natural, with milk chocolate, fruit and caramel notes. Buy whole bean and grind it to powder at home: even our Espresso grind is coarser than surj needs. Every bag is roasted 1 to 5 days before delivery, which helps the foam.

Armenian coffee FAQ

What is Armenian coffee called?

Surj, also spelled soorj. The pot is a jazzve.

Is Armenian coffee the same as Turkish coffee?

The method is essentially the same: powder-fine coffee simmered in a small pot and served unfiltered. Habits and names differ.

Do you add cardamom to Armenian coffee?

Some families do, either in the pot or in the cup; many drink it plain.

Can I make Armenian coffee without a jazzve?

Yes, use the smallest saucepan you have and watch closely, but the narrow neck of a jazzve gives better foam.

Sources

1. Armenian Coffee, Armenia Discovery, accessed October 2026.
2. Armenian coffee, CNN Underscored, accessed October 2026.

Facts checked in October 2026.

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