Bosnian Coffee: What Is the Difference Between Bosnian and Turkish Coffee?

Order a coffee in Sarajevo and you will not get a cup. You will get a small tray: a long-handled copper pot, a tiny handleless cup, sugar cubes, a piece of rahat lokum and often a glass of water. It looks a lot like Turkish coffee, and both descend from the Ottoman coffee tradition. So what is the difference between Bosnian and Turkish coffee? Mostly the method and the ritual. For Bosnian coffee, the water is boiled first, some of it is set aside, the coffee goes into the rest, and the reserved water is added back at the end. Sugar is never cooked in; it is served on the side. And the pot comes to the table, so you pour for yourself.

Here is a side-by-side comparison, a step-by-step recipe, and how to drink it properly.

Key takeaways

• Turkish coffee is usually made by heating grounds, cold water and often sugar together from the start.
• Bosnian coffee starts with boiling water; some is held back, then returned after the coffee foams.
• Sugar is served on the side in Bosnia, often as cubes you dip or hold in your mouth while sipping.
• The Bosnian set: džezva (pot), fildžan (cup), sugar, rahat lokum and a tray.
• Drinking it is slow and social, often taking 20 to 30 minutes.

In this article

1. The difference, side by side
2. How to make Bosnian coffee
3. How to drink it
4. A little history
5. FAQ

The difference between Bosnian and Turkish coffee, side by side

The grind and the coffee itself are essentially the same. What changes is the order of operations and who controls the sugar. If you know Turkish coffee already, our guide on how to make Turkish coffee is a good comparison, and Greek coffee is another close cousin.

How to make Bosnian coffee

Serves 2 · about 10 minutes

1. Boil the water in the džezva (or a small saucepan).
2. Set some aside. Pour about 2 tablespoons (30 ml) of the hot water into a cup and keep it nearby.
3. Add the coffee to the džezva off the heat and stir once.
4. Return to low heat and let it rise slowly until a thick foam forms. Do not let it boil over. Lift it off as soon as the foam climbs.
5. Add back the reserved water. This settles the grounds and refreshes the foam.
6. Bring it to the table on a tray with the fildžans, sugar cubes, lokum and a glass of water. Let it rest a minute so the grounds sink.

Tips

• Grind matters most. You need a powder-fine grind, finer than espresso. A Turkish-style hand mill does it best; otherwise ask for a Turkish grind.
• Low heat, patience. Fast boiling destroys the foam.
• Spoon the foam first. When pouring, put a little foam in each cup before the coffee so everyone gets some.
• No džezva? The smallest saucepan you own works; a narrow pot gives more foam.

How to drink Bosnian coffee

1. Wait a minute for the grounds to settle.
2. Pour a little into your fildžan, keeping the foam.
3. Sweeten your way: dip a sugar cube in the coffee and nibble it, or hold a piece in your mouth and sip through it. Locals call this way of sipping srkanje.
4. Take lokum between sips.
5. Slow down. The point is conversation. A coffee can easily last 20 to 30 minutes.
6. Stop before the bottom. The last layer in the pot and the cup is grounds.

That unhurried enjoyment has a name across the former Ottoman world: ćejf, a sense of leisurely pleasure that Bosnians attach closely to coffee.

A little history

Coffee reached the Balkans with the Ottoman Empire. Coffeehouses appeared in Ottoman-ruled cities including Sarajevo, Belgrade and Buda during the 16th century, and the word for them, from the Turkish kahvehane, lives on in the Balkan kafana. Over centuries, Bosnia developed its own way of preparing and serving the drink, and many Bosnians feel strongly that “Bosnian coffee” is its own tradition, not simply Turkish coffee by another name. Croatian folklore collectors were already recording Bosniak coffee customs in detail in the late 19th century, as scholar Dorian Jurić has shown.

For the wider story, see our pieces on Ottoman coffee houses and Turkish coffee fortune telling.

Which coffee to use

Bosnian coffee is served black with sugar on the side, so rich, low-acid beans work well. Our Brazil Santos brings cocoa, gentle nuttiness and low acidity, and House Blend offers nutty, sweet chocolate notes with a clean finish. Our grind options stop at Espresso, which is too coarse for proper foam, so order whole beans and grind them powder-fine at home or at a shop with a Turkish grinder. Every bag is roasted 1 to 5 days before delivery. Browse more single origins.

Bosnian coffee FAQ

Is Bosnian coffee stronger than Turkish coffee?

Usually it is described as slightly milder, partly because water is added back at the end and sugar is taken separately.

Do you drink the grounds?

No. Let them settle and stop sipping when you reach the sludge at the bottom.

What is a džezva?

A small, long-handled pot, usually copper or brass, with a narrow spout that holds back grounds and keeps heat.

Can I make Bosnian coffee with milk?

Traditionally it is served black. If you want milk, add a splash of warm milk in the cup, or try an oat milk for a dairy-free version.

Sources

1. If you’re stirring sugar into Bosnian coffee, you’re doing it wrong, Tasting Table.
2. Bosnian coffee in Sarajevo: the ritual and the difference, Easy Balkan Transfers.
3. Kafana, Wikipedia.
4. Jurić D. Conveying Ćeif: Three Croatian folklore and folklife writings on Bosniak coffee culture. Folklorica, vol. 23, 2020.

Facts checked in October 2026.

Keep reading: How to make Turkish coffee · Greek coffee · Single origins