We discover Ukraine’s cezve traditions and the way regional espresso rituals stand as symbols of quiet resilience.

BY ISABELLE MANI
BARISTA MAGAZINE ONLINE

Featured photograph courtesy of Esma Adzhiieva

This text is a part of our ongoing exploration of Ukrainian espresso tradition, following our print characteristic on the nation’s resilient specialty scene. This time, we flip to the cezve, often known as the ibrik: a brewing technique woven by means of Ukraine’s shifting borders and layered cultures. Espresso, and particularly the cezve custom, is greater than cultural satisfaction: It’s a day by day affirmation of belonging, distinction, and endurance.

For Ukraine, the present warfare isn’t solely about territory or sovereignty, however a battle for its personal language, reminiscence, and tradition, the core of what the nation’s invaders declare doesn’t exist. Russia’s narrative argues that Ukraine isn’t an actual nation and has by no means been. So for each Ukrainian, each gesture of cultural continuity—like each embroidery, each tune, each ritual, and each cezve brew—is political resistance.

That’s why, throughout the 2025 World Espresso Championships, which befell in Milan, Italy, this previous October, watching Ukraine’s Anzhelika Rybak and Ivan Bilousov, 2024 Nationwide Cezve/Ibrik Champion and bronze medalist on the 2024 WCC, take over the brew bar at Cafézal Milano in conventional costume, brewing cezve with copper pots they introduced from residence, felt deeply vital.

There was satisfaction of their faces: a pleasure in sharing not simply their method, however in making human connections by means of what, for them, issues most: respect for his or her mastery, their craft—not pity, however assist and admiration.

For this text—produced and researched with the help of Iryna Makukha, Communications Coordinator at SCA Ukraine and writer at Kascara Journal—we dive deep into the cezve’s distinctive historical past in Ukraine, guided by the data of three specialists from distinct areas in several however complementary topics about cezve, espresso, and cultural legacy and satisfaction.

A Transient Historical past: Espresso’s Journey to Ukraine

Ibrik, or cezve, is likely one of the oldest brewing strategies on this planet, rooted within the cultures formed by the Ottoman Empire. In Ukraine, it has lengthy held a spot much like Italy’s moka pot: a day by day ritual, executed at residence, wealthy in heat and reminiscence. However not like in lots of international locations, Ukraine’s cezve custom isn’t one unified story. It shifts in type, taste, and symbolism relying on the place you’re—and whom you ask.

Espresso first arrived within the lands that may grow to be Ukraine by means of Ottoman merchants and troopers within the sixteenth century, notably in Crimea and the Black Sea area. Right here, the cezve shortly grew to become a logo of hospitality and custom. 

As Ottoman affect pushed west, espresso discovered new floor in Transcarpathia and Galicia (Notice: Galicia in Ukraine is a historic area in Japanese Europe, to not be confused with Galicia in Spain), areas that may later come underneath Habsburg/Austrian rule. In cities like Lviv, the Viennese Kaffeehaus custom flourished, bringing a brand new tradition of cafés as social, creative, and mental areas. Over time, these worlds overlapped: cezve brewing continued in houses, whereas grand cafés introduced collectively writers, revolutionaries, and metropolis dwellers.

All through wars, occupations, and the Soviet period, these traditions survived—generally underground, generally in plain sight. At present, Ukraine’s espresso tradition is a dwelling mosaic, the place every area’s historical past will be tasted within the cup, whether or not brewed in a cezve or poured in a grand café.

Cezve in Ukraine: Regional Tales + Residing Traditions

Crimea

We explored the historical past of cezve in Ukraine’s Crimea area with the steerage of Esma Adzhiieva, Head of the NGO Alem, which focuses on popularizing the tradition of the Crimean Tatars.

Esma explains that, within the historic coffeehouses of Ukraine’s Crimea area, folks of various ethnic backgrounds gathered in quiet, carpeted alcoves. The primary cup was at all times free, as a gesture of welcome from the proprietor. Very like Naples’ caffè sospeso, this apply blended generosity and dignity: One paid for their very own cup and left one other behind for a stranger.

The cezve recipe remained fixed: finely floor beans, chilly water, and endurance over sizzling coals, till the thick foam rose, saying the brew was prepared. “Espresso tradition started to take form in Crimea, influenced by the emergence of the primary coffeehouses in Istanbul, the capital of the Ottoman Empire,” Esma says. “(The) drink shortly grew to become integral to Crimean Tatar (indigenous Ukrainian) custom, symbolizing hospitality and homey consolation.”

Esma shares that coffee-drinking grew to become an integral a part of the Khan’s court docket as a component of palace and diplomatic etiquette, with strict pointers that educated officers and servants vigilantly adhered to. “Over time, the ritual of providing espresso acquired its personal cultural and social meanings, turning into an inseparable a part of on a regular basis life, with every preparation formed by the event and the context,” Esma explains.

She additionally shares that, in on a regular basis Crimean life, there are additionally “informal” variations of cezve brewing, akin to dembel qahvesi, or ‘lazy espresso,’ and guess üvmaz qahvesi, which interprets to ‘espresso earlier than washing one’s face.’”

“Regardless of the Soviet interval and upheaval, these rituals survived,” Esma says—and in 2024, the espresso custom of the Crimean Tatars was included within the Nationwide Stock of the Components of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Ukraine.

Transcarpathia

To higher perceive espresso tradition within the Transcarpathia area of Ukraine, we spoke to Yana Shershun: journalist, tour information, and co-founder of Espresso Excursions—a tour that guides guests by means of historic espresso monuments all through Ukraine.

Yana shares that espresso tradition within the area was shaped on the crossroads of European and Ottoman affect. “The primary mentions of espresso in our lands date again to the Ottoman Empire, however over time, significantly after the Habsburgs, Lviv adopted Vienna’s Kaffeehaus model,” Yana instructed Barista Journal. “Right here, espresso typically grew to become a ‘snack,’ consumed with butter, sugar, and spices.”

Yana additionally inform a well-known story from 1685, the place the Ottoman Pasha invited the Transylvanian prince Imre Tekeli to dinner. After the meal, Tekeli was instructed they need to nonetheless be served “black soup,” or Fekete leves. The dish was product of espresso, and after consuming it, Tekeli was arrested, as espresso was banned on the time. From there, the story of (and the style for) “black soup” unfold by means of the area.

As for cafés, Yana says they have been assembly factors for the elite—however the love of espresso finally grew to become a part of native life in any respect ranges. Even throughout Soviet occasions, conventional brewing with the cezve continued in lots of households. Grinding mechanisms have been made domestically, and regardless of the rise of geyser and espresso makers, the cezve endured.

The Tyvodar Legotsky Museum in Uzhhorod nonetheless preserves cast-iron grinders from native foundries—a tangible hyperlink to a time when espresso rituals formed home rhythms. Even throughout the Soviet period, the cezve continued in houses: a quiet type of resistance wearing routine.

A Fashionable Revival

Oleksii Yurkevskyi, the Ukrainian 2025 Cezve Champion, tells the story of his first expertise with the cezve. “I brewed my first cezve once I was about 5 or 6—my mom let me make her espresso. For my mom, it was morning peace and stability; for my grandmother, at all times sweets and dialog,” Oleksii says. “For me, cezve is a tribute to historical past: basic and private. It connects me with the previous—(my) childhood, my hometown, and the moments the place all the things started. It’s a tradition that dates again to historical occasions—and right this moment is being revived once more.”

Representing Zaporizhzhia, Oleksii guided the judges by means of his storytelling theme, “On a regular basis Which means and Revival,” the place the cezve was not a spectacle, however a quiet ritual of return. By means of attentive brewing and poetic restraint, he evoked the cezve as a day by day gesture of care, readability, and cultural continuity. Beneath the calm of his arms, nevertheless, lay the burden of proximity—Oleksii lives simply 30 kilometers from the frontline.

Oleksii says that when representing Ukraine on the world stage, he felt “each pressure and peace,” seeing the second as considered one of each honor and duty. “(I didn’t wish to simply) present method, but additionally deliver emotion to judges and the viewers,” Oleksii shared with Barista Journal. “Preparation is tough, particularly now, however that makes us stronger.”

“Espresso, in occasions of nationwide disaster, helps us protect ourselves. It unites us. It permits us to talk about our values and present that we don’t lose dignity, depth, or magnificence, even within the darkest days,” Oleksii provides. “Roasters ship espresso to the entrance—for troopers, medics, volunteers. It’s a logo of care and unity. Our baristas elevating the flag at world championships exhibits we exist, we’re robust, and we now have one thing to be pleased with. We’re Ukrainians.”

In Closing

These voices, from Crimea, Transcarpathia, and right this moment’s champions, reveal the cezve not simply as a brewing technique, however as a dwelling thread in Ukraine’s story—uniting generations, areas, and even a nation underneath strain. Right here, espresso is greater than a drink: it’s a ritual of reminiscence, care, and id.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Isabelle Mani (she/her) is a author, journalist, and communicator specializing within the worldwide espresso business. Since 2017, she has targeted on writing articles and options for numerous worldwide espresso information shops. Isabelle has traveled to coffee-producing international locations akin to Colombia, Kenya, Rwanda, China, and Brazil to review and analysis espresso. She holds coaching certifications from the Specialty Espresso Affiliation (SCA) and the Espresso High quality Institute (Arabica Q Grading).

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