Bosnian coffee – only for real hedonists

For a true bosnian coffee always buy coffee beans. The biggest enemy to the coffee beans are moisture and air. Coffee will stay fresh longer if you buy and keep the whole grains, the best would be in opacity, well closed glass dish and away from the moisture.

Bosnian coffee green beans coffee

The best way to recognize fresh coffee beans is the smell – it needs to have sweet, soily aroma, of course if you buy already roasted coffee this rule does not apply. It would be the best to separate some time to roast the beans by yourself because that gives a special aroma, also on that way you will get a true Bosnian coffee.

Roasting coffee beans in a pan

Put the pan on a burner medium heated. You do not need oil or spices like salt or sugar. Heat up the burner well and put as much coffe to cover the bottom of the pan. Cover it with glass cover so you can see the color of your coffee. Then move the pan back and forth, so that the beans are rolling in the pan, and occasionaly stire the beans with the mixing spoon. To evenly roast the coffee a pan must be moved as much as possible. Soon the beans will start to smoke and pop like popcorns. Keep stirring untill the benas don’t get color of a dark chocolate (takes about 10 minutes). Not all the beans will get the same color and that is normal. When you finish roasting the beans pour them in another dish to get completely cold before you mill them.

Coffee roasted and milled on that way will stay fresh for one week.

Preparation of the bosnian coffee

Put cold water to boil, after it boils separate a small amount of water, then add coffee in boiled water and put it back on the burner for several secundes so it boils again. Put the coffee away when it boils, and back again for a few secunds to boil again. After two boils add separated water in boiled coffee and Bosnian coffee is ready for you to enjoy in her with your loved ones.


The coffee can be stronger or weaker, depends how you love it. For normal strength of the coffee put one coffe spoon for one cup of coffe.

Watch out so that your coffee pot is not filled with water to the top because when the coffee starts to boil, it creates foam and if the pot is filled to the top, coffee will get spilled.

Measure the water as much as you want, it is the easiest to pour as much cups of water as you need.

Pouring and sipping of Bosnian coffee

Bosnian coffee is served in coffee pots (dzezva), on that way her temperature is preserved because drinking coffee on Balkan is a long-term process with many conversation topics. Along with the dzezva with coffee it’s an obligation to serve glass of water and ratluk.

Before you pour coffee in a cup (must be small cups) take the foam off. If you drink sweet coffee you can put sugar cube on the bottom of the cup and cover it with coffe or to leave the sugar cube under your tongue and to drink your coffe (must be sugar in cubes).

Aldo not in quantities as before in some slower and maybe happier times, drinking coffe on Balkan represents more then just drinking a beverage, tradition is that with coffee you have long conversations about politics, sports, women, men….

Fun facts

By the tradition, you shouldn’t wash coffe pot thoroughly but just wash it a little bit with water. On that way the grout is created that gives special aroma. This tradition is almost extinct, of course today is recommended to thoroughly wash the coffee pot before usage, but it is on you if you want to respect this tradition and see if you like this old way of preparation of Bosnian coffee.

Dzezva is a coffe pot that origins from Turkey.  It has a specific shape and it’s made of copper and iron. Of course, if you do not have dzezva you can use regular coffee pot.

Bosnian coffee dzezva

There is no big difference between turkish and bosnian coffee, but there is a little difference which saw Brad Kohen, BBC reporter, during his visit to Balkan (BIH). On the north of Balkan, as a consequence of turkish rule, for centuries the way of drinking coffee was turkish coffee, but there was a lot of changes and development of specific ways of making coffee, and one of those ways is Bosnian coffee. By social globalization, different coffees (ness, expresso…) are taking over the domination, expecially amoung the young population.

Maybe all this effort about coffee seems unnecessary and long-lasting, but belive that it’s worth your effort.

Enjoy with friends in bosnian coffee.

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