Coffee Drink

Armenian Coffee: Jazzve Recipe, Foam and Serving

Name: Plain Armenian Coffee in a Jazve
Prep time: 2 min
Cook time: 4 min
Total time: 6 min
Yield: 1 small coffee
Cuisine: Armenian
Ingredients: 7 g coffee, ground to a fine powder; 70 g (2.4 US fl oz) cold drinking water

By Ali Can DoralarReviewed by Online Coffee Guide editorial teamPublished June 24, 2026Updated September 25, 20264 min read

Armenian coffee is unfiltered coffee made in a small pot called a jazve or jazzve. For this plain home version, combine powder-fine coffee with cold water, heat gently to the first foam rise, then pour slowly. Let the grounds settle before sipping; sugar and spices are optional.

Armenian family coffee setting with a copper jazve, small cups and optional sweets

Drink Snapshot

Caffeine: Not measured7 g coffee and 70 g (2.4 US fl oz) cold water inputA separate Turkish producer lists 60 mg per 65 ml (2.2 US fl oz). That different product and serving is context, not an estimate for this recipe.
Calories: About 1 kcal proxySeparate 60 g (2.1 oz) ordinary black-coffee comparisonBased on ordinary black coffee; the comparison portion is separate from this pot and its yield.

Serving, sugar and sources

Serving: 1 plain home cup; 7 g coffee and 70 g (2.4 US fl oz) cold water input
Made with: 7 g powder-fine coffee + 70 g (2.4 US fl oz) cold water
Sugar: 0 g added; negligible total proxy. The black-coffee reference has 0 g total sugar. Count optional sugar, milk and sweets separately.
Preparation: About 6 minutes

The calorie comparison and producer caffeine reference describe separate defined coffees. The brewing-water input and cup capacity appear in the recipe. See the full calculation or label comparison.

Key Takeaways

1Start with cold water and stir once. This home version stops at the first foam rise; Armenian family recipes vary.
2Use a powder-fine grind and wait about one minute after pouring. Sip above the sediment rather than stirring the cup.
3The plain recipe has no added sugar. A separate black-coffee comparison provides the calorie estimate; caffeine details are below.

On This Page10 Sections

What Does Armenian Coffee Taste Like?

Armenian coffee, often called soorj or surch, is finely ground coffee heated with water in a small long-handled pot, commonly spelled jazve or jazzve. It is poured without a filter.

My cup stays small, and I give the grounds time to settle. I don't try to finish that dense layer at the bottom. Leaving it behind is part of what makes this style comfortable to drink for me.

Expect a concentrated cup with more suspended particles than paper-filtered coffee. The beans, roast, coffee-to-water ratio and sugar determine its flavor; you may notice chocolate or dried-fruit notes. Its modest surface foam is coffee foam, not pressure-made espresso crema.

How to Make Armenian Coffee

Cup: 90 ml (3 US fl oz) capacity, with headroom. The 70 g (2.4 US fl oz) water is a brewing input; absorption, evaporation and grounds left behind change the amount you drink.

Recipe

Plain Armenian Coffee in a Jazve

Makes:: 1 small coffee
Time:: About 6 minutes

Ingredients

7 g coffee, ground to a fine powder
70 g (2.4 US fl oz) cold drinking water

Equipment

150–200 ml (5.1–6.8 US fl oz) jazve, scale, spoon, 90 ml (3 US fl oz) cup

Method

Measure. Prepare a 150–200 ml (5.1–6.8 US fl oz) jazve, a spoon and a 90 ml (3 US fl oz) cup. Weigh 7 g powder-fine coffee and 70 g (2.4 US fl oz) cold water.
Mix. Combine the coffee and water in the jazve. Stir once to wet the grounds evenly.
Heat. Set over gentle heat and watch continuously. Allow roughly 2–4 minutes, depending on the stove and pot.
Lift. Remove the jazve when the foam rises, before a rolling boil or overflow. This version uses one rise.
Pour. Pour slowly into the cup, leaving headroom. Do not strain or stir the poured coffee.
Settle. Wait about one minute. Sip gently and leave the dense sediment at the bottom.

Recipe notes

Measure the water before brewing and leave the sediment behind. Plain recipe: no added sugar.

This is a measured home adaptation of the cold-start approach described by Heghineh. It stops at the first rise. The Armenian Museum of America publishes a different family recipe with repeated rises, showing another household approach.

Armenian coffee home method: 7 g powder-fine coffee and 70 g cold water, stirred once, heated to the first foam rise and poured slowly — Weigh 70 g (2.4 US fl oz) water before brewing; the 90 ml (3 US fl oz) cup leaves room for foam.

Choosing Coffee and a Jazve

Ask for a powder-fine Turkish or Armenian coffee grind, rather than ordinary espresso or filter grounds. Either label can describe a suitable grind.

A small pot gives you better control over this single serving. Leave room for rising foam, and use a burner or support that holds the pot securely. A small saucepan can make an unfiltered coffee, but its wider surface makes the foam and pour harder to manage. Follow the pot manufacturer's instructions for your stovetop.

Sweetness and Optional Spices

For a sweet version, stir 2 g (½ US tsp) or 4 g (1 US tsp) granulated sugar into the cold mixture before heating. Choose the smaller amount for a less sweet cup.

Cardamom is an optional addition to the plain recipe. If you use a spice blend, check whether it also contains sugar. Sweets served alongside count separately from sugar in the cup.

Armenian Coffee Caffeine, Calories and Sugar

The caffeine in this home recipe has not been measured.

For separate context, Mehmet Efendi lists 60 mg caffeine for a 65 ml (2.2 US fl oz) Turkish-coffee reference. That is a different producer's product and serving style, not an estimate or test of this Armenian recipe. Do not scale that number from our 70 g (2.4 US fl oz) water input.

About 1 kcal is a rough proxy for a separate 60 g (2.1 oz) portion of ordinary black coffee.

The plain recipe contains 0 g added sugar. The black-coffee proxy has negligible total sugar; optional sweetener is the main amount you can control:

Extra calories and sugar from sweetening

Extra calories and sugar from sweetening
Granulated sugar added	Extra calories	Extra total sugar, all added
0 g	0 kcal	0 g
2 g (½ US tsp)	About 8 kcal	About 2 g
4 g (1 US tsp)	About 15 kcal	About 4 g

The table is sweetener only; it excludes coffee, milk, cardamom blends and accompanying sweets.

Serving calculation and source assumptions

USDA black-coffee record 171890 lists 1 kcal and 0 g total sugar per 100 g. A separate 60 g portion gives 0.6 kcal, rounded to about 1 kcal.

The sweetener calculation uses USDA granulated sugar, record 169655: 387 kcal and 99.8 g sugar per 100 g.

Armenian Coffee Troubleshooting

Armenian Coffee Troubleshooting
What happens	What to change next time
Foam rises suddenly or spills	Lower the heat, watch continuously and leave more space in the pot. Lift it promptly.
Very little foam	Check that the grind is powder-fine; try fresher coffee and a smaller pot.
Harsh or burnt flavor	Avoid prolonged boiling. Try a different roast or slightly less coffee, keeping the water amount fixed.
Too much grit in each sip	Pour and sip more slowly, wait longer and stop before the sediment. Do not stir the cup.
Coffee tastes weak	Keep the 70 g (2.4 US fl oz) water fixed and adjust coffee in small weighed increments; do not extend boiling just to make it darker.

Armenian Coffee History and Culture

Coffee is part of everyday Armenian hospitality, not only a special ceremonial drink. Armenia's tourism site includes jazve coffee in its account of a traditional breakfast, while Heghineh describes serving it to guests at home.

Reading patterns in the remaining grounds is another social tradition described by the Armenian-American roaster Henry's House of Coffee.

Practical Detail

Armenian Coffee vs. Turkish, Greek and Bosnian Coffee

These are related unfiltered small-pot traditions. Local names and serving habits matter, but their techniques overlap.

Armenian Coffee vs Turkish, Greek and Bosnian Coffee

Armenian Coffee vs Turkish, Greek and Bosnian Coffee
Page	Useful point of comparison
Turkish coffee	A cezve preparation with sweetness chosen before brewing.
Greek coffee	Briki preparation and Greek sweetness vocabulary.
Bosnian coffee	Our linked home method heats water separately and keeps optional sweets beside the cup.

Common Questions

Do you drink the grounds in Armenian coffee?

No. Fine particles enter the cup because there is no filter, but let the dense grounds settle and leave the final sediment behind.

Can I make Armenian coffee without a jazzve?

A small saucepan can work, but a narrow small pot makes the foam easier to watch and the coffee easier to pour. Use safe, stable stovetop equipment.

Does Armenian coffee need sugar or cardamom?

Neither is required in this plain home recipe. If adding sugar, mix it into the cold ingredients before heating; cardamom is a separate flavor choice.

How many times should the coffee rise?

This version stops at the first rise. Published Armenian family recipes also use repeated rises, so there is no single reheating count shared by every household.

Is Armenian coffee stronger than espresso?

Strong flavor and caffeine are different questions. The serving, beans and extraction would need to be defined before making a reliable caffeine comparison.