6 Unique Ways Coffee Is Made Around the World

We all love the pep in our step that comes from downing a cup of java, but it's more than that. Silently filling your French press with fragrant coffee grounds can be an act of intention, a moment to collect your thoughts and focus your mind. Or, maybe you order it at a bar where everyone gathers around to talk together. For others, it's accompanied by a spiritual ritual. Whether made in a clay pot, from a machine, or with a tiny stovetop contraption, it's clear that humanity's collective love for coffee bridges the language gaps and oceans that separate us.

Every country — as well as specific regions, cultures, and households within — offers its own unique spin on coffee making. There is no one "right" way to enjoy this beautiful beverage, but here are a few from around the globe:

Beloved throughout the Middle East, Turkish coffee is rich, bold, and highly caffeinated. It's made with very fine coffee grounds placed into a cezve, which is a brass or copper pot with a long handle. Everything is mixed together and heated (traditionally, hot sand is used for this) in the cezve, including the coffee, water, sugar (either a bit or a lot, depending on your sweet tooth), or spices like cinnamon or cardamom. Creating a whole experience, the coffee is sometimes served with a side of dates or Turkish delight sweets, and it's not typically accompanied by milk. This coffee can be made by the cup and is poured into small vessels called fincan. The size of these vessels is key, since they need to have room for frothy foam to sit atop the coffee.

"Turkish coffee is a drink of friendship; you are offered this traditional, aromatic drink wherever you go in Turkey ... We take time to pause and enjoy this special drink with a friend or family or sometimes simply reflect with every precious sip," writes Özlem Warren, author of ​Özlem's Turkish Table: Recipes From My Homeland.​ In fact, a well-known Turkish proverb says, "One cup of coffee creates a 40-year friendship."

Want to get in on the goodness? You'll need a Turkish coffee pot and a Turkish coffee cup (or a set, to drink with friends!). Turkish coffee can be found here.

When we think of Italy, we often think of its coffee culture. Cue images of lively bars full of people clamoring for a morning cappuccino or post-dinner espresso (caffè) as the sun sets. In Italy, coffee is beloved by the people — and its flavor is taken seriously. You won't find Folger's on drip in many households. Rather, you'll likely find rich coffee and a trusted moka pot (which is also very popular in Latin America), although more and more people across the globe have one in the kitchen.

The pot has three chambers — one that holds the coffee grounds, one that holds water, and one that collects the brew. A moka pot is great for a cup of coffee, although many people use it to make an espresso-like drink as well. In fact, Serious Eats states that the moka pot is a cheap espresso maker alternative! The drink is rich and strong, but milk is almost never added after 11 a.m. to any coffee beverage. The ritual is largely about connection, says writer Anna De Filippo for Life In Italy. "Coffee is not simply a drink in Italy. It is a ritual, and it often becomes the drink witnessing friendship or long chats at cafes to which most Italians are not willing to renounce."

Make your own Italian-style coffee at home with a moka pot and some delicious Italian coffee.

The Mexican classic coffee beverage café de olla is known for its delicious cinnamon flavor. Traditionally, the drink was made in a large pot (olla) made of enamel or clay. Many people still use these pots today.

According to Mely Martinez of Mexico In My Kitchen, "This Mexican spiced coffee is actually sweet, with a hint of spice from the cinnamon. The primary ingredients added to the coffee are cinnamon and piloncillo (a dark sugar with a taste that resembles molasses)." You might also find orange peel or anise in some cups of café de olla, depending on where you go.

Modern households (without a clay pot!) can make this coffee by adding water, cinnamon, and piloncillo (until it melts) to a pot and letting it boil. When it boils, add the coffee, stir it, let it steep, and then strain it into a clay mug. If you order a café de olla, you may get it in a clay mug, which is thought to enhance the coffee's flavors.

If you're a fan of iced coffee, mazagran coffee could be for you because it might just be the earliest known incarnation of iced coffee as we know it. The story goes like this: When the French colonizers invaded Algeria, French soldiers stationed in Mazagran would drink hot coffee with milk, but as their beloved milk resources diminished, ​Coffee Magazine​ reports that they'd cut their coffee with brandy or ice water, leading to iced coffee. Ironically, they took this drink to Paris and the people loved it. Over time, mazagran became less common in Algeria, although it found popularity in Portugal, where it's known as mazagran or lemon coffee — since it's typically served with a lemon slice. The Austrians also drink it with a shot of rum mixed in.

Want to make one? Pour ice into a tall glass, fill a cup with a rich shot of espresso (here's a great affordable espresso maker) or some strong coffee. Mix your sweetener of choice into it, and then squeeze in half a lemon. Interestingly, lemon was originally used to make bad coffee beans taste better, but now it's a staple no matter the beans.

Today, you can find a 17th-century traditional Algerian drink called café algérois (or qahwa maâtra in Algerian Arabic), a coffee beverage made with espresso, cinnamon, and orange flower water. In days gone by, qahwa maâtra was enjoyed within a sort of ritual of poems, wishes, and games. According to The Teal Tadjine, a food blog about North Africa, coffee drinking gatherings today are about unity, with some people still reciting ancestral poems while drinking the beverage.

Sicily is known for its high temperatures and hot winds. To combat this sweltering heat, you can find Sicilians enjoying granitas, an icy beverage native to the island but inspired by sherbet (or sharbat, per ​Italy Magazine​) brought over by the Arab occupation, according to the book ​Sicily.​

Almost like a sorbet in that it's grainy and slushy, a granita can be made in a few different ways, depending on where you are on the island. A granita di caffé is typically made with superfine sugar, extra strong coffee, and some heavy or whipping cream. It is frozen for two hours (but stirred every 20 minutes) and served in a glass. The drink is usually prepared as a refreshing snack or as breakfast. Make like the Barefoot Contessa and serve it up in a martini glass.

If you like cheese and coffee, respectively, would you try a cheese-based coffee drink? In Finland, some people drink what is known as kaffeost, an unexpected combo of hot coffee and a cheese known as leipäjuusto or squeaky cheese (it squeaks when you bite it). Is it a meal? Is it coffee? The answer is: both.

Leipäjuusto can be traced back to the 1700s, and is traditionally made with the rich milk of a reindeer, according to Coffee Affection. The cheese is highly absorbent, which is why people pour coffee over it, creating an interesting flavor in the cheese and an earthy flavor in the coffee. (Many people also eat slices of cheese along with the coffee.)

According to Atlas Obscura, "Among the Sami people of Lapland and other regions around northern Finland, Norway, Sweden, and Russia, sharing a mug of kaffeost is a welcome and welcoming ritual." The beverage is traditionally enjoyed in a wooden mug carved out of a birch burl.

Want to try your hand at making kaffeost? The Little Green Cheese blog has helpful instructions. And don't forget to pick up some wooden mugs.