#onecupofcoffee Murat KOLBAŞI

'Turkish coffee should be introduced with its culture'

Born into a family engaged in trade, Murat KOLBAŞI is a manager who started to work in Eminönü-Spice Bazaar-Covered Bazaar while he was still in high school to support his father and uncles. An entrepreneurial spirit who always chose to be involved in trade while continuing his education.

At the fairs, events and cities she visited, she couldn't help but ask why a Turkish brand wasn't here... We think that she is the face that opened up the Arzum brand, her peer who grew up in Eminönü and gained national recognition in her early 20s, to the world. She was this month's guest at #birfincankahve chats, and we talked about Turkish coffee and culture.

For world recognition...

In order to become a global brand, we tried many products that were designed by us, such as toasters, tea kettles on one side and kettles on the other. We had a hard time with all of these. I discovered something; Turkish coffee. After that day, I started to intersect with Turkish coffee more in my life. I believed it would offer an opportunity. In 2002, we made the first electric coffee pot. Okka is a late product compared to the coffee pot. I researched the question of what I could do to make Turkish coffee drinkable in the world. I worked with competent professionals, consultants and my team on the subject. I found some answers for myself, some of the answers I found to that question are; Okka. When you leave Turkey and talk about the country, perceptions change positively and negatively, but the perception about Turkish coffee is always positive. They always smile. Or at least they are aware. Turkish Delight comes second. You know it is included in Madonna's song Candy Shop. This is an incredible introduction. Then Turkish Bath and then Turkish Airlines. Values that the world recognizes coming out of Turkey. I thought that if we could green Okka within these values, we could go there. There is also this: I would rather be a contradiction and not do what everyone else is doing than be a herd of sheep.

When it comes to Turkish coffee...

A value of ours. If we can sell Turkish coffee to the world as a culture, I will open up to new markets on the machine side, the coffee shop on the coffee side, and the porcelain cup side. If you want to market the Turkish coffee cup with high added value, when you say a cup designed by Özlem Tuna, the user who drinks Turkish coffee will not drink it in an espresso cup. You evaluate this culture as a whole and put the cup next to it, and say this is our mint liqueur. If you put Turkish delight, Turkish delight-sized baklava next to it and introduce it together, you will win together. If I bring you raw fish, you won't eat it, when it comes with sushi culture, it becomes preferred. Or the desire to have a knife bearing the signature of a sushi master from the Far East emerges.

Turkish coffee is actually no different from the tea ceremony in the Far East...

We tried to explain this Turkish coffee ceremony at the Four Seasons. It also has a history. The head coffee maker and coffee maker from the sultans' period come. Since there was no ventilation in the old environment, coffee was drunk in the dining area to remove the smell. The incense burner comes, then coffee is served. The richness of the cover on the tray gives information about the characteristics of the person to whom the coffee is served. All of these take place in those coffee shops. If we can protect these values, I foresee that they can spread to the world. I see the Turkish Coffee Association as important for communication in this regard. If we can introduce and spread the enveloped cup to the world, if we emphasize the enveloped cup of this coffee, you will have created a separate category, and thus the Turkish coffee drinker in New York will not prefer the espresso cup. If we protect this, I believe that we will win as Turkey.

From the first electric coffee pot to Okka...

There were 4-5 families together at a dinner that ended early. We asked for coffee. The waiter said there was no Turkish coffee. Somehow, I had friends at the table who definitely wanted to drink it. The chef came to our table and invited me to the kitchen. At that time, Turkish coffee was not served in many 5-star restaurants and hotels. However, I think no one had ever questioned why it was not served until then. There are 10-12 stoves in the kitchen. 4 chefs manage those stoves. Everyone sitting at a table orders in their own pan. It comes to everyone at the table at the same time. Each stove becomes important for the chef in the kitchen. When Turkish coffee is requested, it is not productive to occupy the stoves that can be used to make the main course according to the order. If the person making it overlooks it and overflows it, the stove is blocked. It becomes unusable for a period of 5-15 minutes.

The chef pointed out the espresso machine in the kitchen and said that he could prepare the orders without distracting my kitchen. They also do not allow exploding plastic electric coffee pots, which were once said not to use metal spoons, into the kitchen for safety reasons. Then, I asked the chef; if there was a Turkish coffee machine here, would you use it? He said why not. For him, there was no difference between espresso and Turkish coffee. We received the design specifications at dinner.

Then, our priority was to transform exploding devices into reliable, qualified products that could be used in kitchens. We sold three times more than we had anticipated.

Turkish coffee drinkers around the world prefer to have their coffee filled into the cup by pressing a button. Therefore, Okka has become a solution to this. It does the rest as soon as you put the coffee in. Also, capsule Turkish coffee is not 100% formed. We have taken a step, it will be possible to offer it to the user with plain and different flavors. In this way, you solve the Turkish coffee problem. We were able to include the capsule in the market for the first time.