OUR GOAL AND MISSION
Pınarbaşı Coffeehouse, Bursa
Giovanni Brindesi, 19th CenturyA Cup of Coffee - A Special Memory of 40 Years
Yapı Kredi Publications

The Turkish Coffee Culture and Research Association was founded and officially opened in 2008 for the purpose of bringing together those who believe that Turkish coffee is a cultural asset that holds a place in our traditions and heritage and those who desire to enhance national and international awareness about our culture.

Our mission is described in the by-laws of our association as follows: “To establish Turkish coffee as a living cultural asset. To participate in solving problems in the sector, to gain international accreditation status, and to secure coordination between Turkish coffee producers and sales enterprises. To work to increase the number of Turkish coffee consumers. To boost efforts to reverse the decline of our coffee asset and strive to elicit public support in this regard. To create awareness and prominence, nationally at first, then internationally. To stand together with individuals and organizations that support preservation of the values in the Turkish coffee tradition as part of our cultural heritage and to assist them by contributing to the spread of information. To generate scientific standards and written materials in order to bequeath this asset to future generations.”

In a short time, hopeful progress ensued as a result of our work in pursuing these goals. People in the four corners of the world who knew nothing about Türk or even Türkiye were brought into our axis. Turkish coffee was presented as a candidate for the UNESCO World Cultural Treasures Inventory. As a result of intensive research over a two-year period, the most comprehensive academic work in its field, Türk Kahve Kitabı (The Turkish Coffee Book), compiled and edited by Professor Dr. Emine Gürsoy Naskali, was deemed worthy to receive the 2011 Best Gastronomy Book Award by Dünya newspaper. Also among our projects during this time was the Kahve Kırk Yıllık Hatırın Kitabı (A Cup of Coffee - A Special Memory of 40 Years), presenting predominantly visual materials, which was published by the Yapı Kredi Culture and Art Publishers and appeared on the shelves in the early months of 2012.

We are working towards publishing a leisure and lifestyle magazine covering such subjects as coffee, wine, gastronomy and travel. The most comprehensive and exciting project for our Association in 2013 is the Virtual Turkish Coffee Museum, which we see as the catalyst for the start of an educational, dynamic and international coffee platform. The virtual museum will take up the subject of Turkish coffee in all of its facets and, under a common roof, exhibit works on this subject of cultural and historical value, as well as various activities, competitions, exhibition rooms, galleries, library and documentation center.

Indeed, we have a long road yet to cover. Along with our representing this precious and indispensible non-material legacy and culture, which is taking its rightful place on this international platform, we believe it is the responsibility of all of us before it is lost to protect and bequeath it to future generations.