Turkish Coffee Lady Brings Turkish Traditions To Alexandria
ALEXANDRIA, VA — Turkish coffee will be the latest addition to King Street in Alexandria as the Turkish Coffee Lady opens this weekend.
The coffee and culture house will open Saturday at 1001 King Street, the former location of Blüprint Chocolatiers. The grand opening will be held from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m., and Mayor Justin Wilson will join for a ribbon cutting at 4 p.m.
"Turkish coffee is the world’s first coffee brewing method invented by Turks in the 16th century, and is the genesis of nearly all coffee types around the world," said Gizem White, a Turkish American entrepreneur who founded Turkish Coffee Lady. "Our coffee & culture house is a new take on the specialty coffee experience combined with a timeless journey to Istanbul where East meets West."
Turkish Coffee Lady is a start-up business celebrating the coffee culture that dates back to 1554 in Istanbul, Turkey. White, a Virginia resident since 2008, started her Turkish Coffee Truck project in 2012. With a goal of sharing her heritage and building friendships between cultures, she traveled with volunteers across America, Turkey, Netherlands, Belgium, France and Canada over the past 10 years. The business also launched the Turkish Coffee Lady Foundation to share Turkish coffee culture, build friendships across cultures and support women entrepreneurs in the U.S. and Turkey.
This will be Turkish Coffee Lady's only brick-and-mortar location. There was a brick-and-mortar location in Tysons opened in 2017, but it closed it in 2020 due to COVID-19. The coffee house will provide traditional Turkish coffee, Turkish salty and sweet treats, baklava selections, Colombian filtered coffee, traditional Turkish tea, herbal teas, chocolate assortments, and ice cream products. Coffee and tea sets by premium brands from Istanbul will also be available to buy.
"Turkish coffee culture is recognized by UNESCO’s World Heritage list as a cultural inheritance that should be protected," said White in a statement. "That’s why I am so excited to share this five-centuries old ritual and cultural delights with my adopted country. I am thrilled to share Turkey’s culinary traditions and our coffee blends featuring Turkey’s national treasures."
On the culture house side, Turkish Coffee Lady will welcome world-renowned micro art master Hasan Kale to showcase his masterpieces and coffee art shows. Turkish Coffee Lady will also have a mini bazaar and vintage goods from Istanbul, Turkey.
Another offering for customers will be coffee fortune reading sessions, which is a tradition of Turkish coffee drinking. The service is complimentary for customers who order the "Cup of Delight" combo with Turkish Coffee Lady's four blends. In addition, 5 percent of sales from this combo are donated to the Turkish Coffee Lady Foundation's women mentorship programs.
Turkish Coffee Lady received consultation services from the Alexandria Small Business Development Center to open the brick-and-mortar location. For the grand opening, free Turkish coffee and traditional sweets will be offered throughout the day on Saturday.
For more information, visit www.turkishcoffeelady.com.
This article originally appeared on the Old Town Alexandria Patch
