Armenian coffee should be on your radar. Here’s how to brew it, according to System of a Down’s Serj Tankian

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It’s often said that coffee is a universal language, and it’s true — every country has its unique blend, bean or style, often with a special twist that tastes like home. For Armenia, a picturesque, mountainous nation in the Caucasus, coffee goes far beyond the pot; it’s a rich, steaming phenomenon steeped in history and tradition.

Armenian coffee has been prepared the same for generations: in a long-stemmed pot over a flame. It’s easy to make, affordable and, most importantly, a guaranteed caffeine kick unlike anything you’ve tasted before.

As two testing writers raised in Armenian households, we know a thing or two about Armenian coffee. It’s a staple in every Armenian home that always reminds us of family, food and a guaranteed good time, which is why we’re sharing this guide to Armenian coffee, or soorj. We brewed one too many cups and tested the best beans to get your fixation started.

We also spoke to System of a Down lead singer and Armenian coffee enthusiast Serj Tankian. Last year, the hard rock icon opened Kavat Coffee Café, a coffee shop and art gallery in sunny Los Angeles, California, serving delicious treats and beverages. We sat down with him to learn the secrets of making a great cup of Armenian coffee and to hear the history of soorj.

Along with Kavat Coffee, we tasted three other Armenian coffee brands: Kaffa, Henry’s House of Coffee and Edna’s Coffee. While the brewing process remained the same, each blend introduced a new flavor to the traditional drink we know and love. Whether you’ve tried soorj before or you’re craving something new, this roundup has the scoop on all things Armenian coffee.

What is soorj?

If there’s one thing Tankian is an expert on, it’s how to stay energized, and his fuel of choice is a good cup of coffee. He’s what you would call a Renaissance man. Although most recognized as a legendary hard rock lead singer, his accolades are diverse and varied. He’s an award-winning lyricist, the founder of an expansive record label, a human rights advocate and a visual artist. He’s done it all, from penning the bestselling memoir “Down With the System” to dropping “Foundations,” an EP of new music, on Gibson Records.

Now he owns Kavat Coffee Café in LA, the namesake of which translates to “cup” in the Western Armenian dialect. Before Kavat Coffee Café became a brick-and-mortar establishment, the brand sold what it dubs “Modern Armenian Coffee” online, along with other beans and blends.

Gareen Puglia/CNN Underscored

For Tankian, coffee is more than a ritual; it’s a passion he associates with his upbringing in an Armenian household — an identity marker crucial to his music, art and activism. “My grandmother and mom would make coffee while we were kids, and you could smell the coffee wafting in the house. It makes it feel like a home,” he said fondly. “With System of a Down and my music, awareness about the Armenian genocide was very important to us because all the guys in the band are Armenian and our grandparents were survivors, so in our way, we kind of spread Armenian culture and awareness.

“Coffee reminds me of peaceful and beautiful times of youth. And when I walk into any room, if I smell coffee, it always makes me feel better,” Tankian continued. Many Armenians can attest to this nostalgic and comforting connotation of coffee, family and culture. This was one of the motivating factors behind his decision to start an Armenian coffee line.

“It has these flavors of who we are, and it’s an organic way of spreading our culture, which, to me, is the most important thing anyone can do in this life. The beautiful part of humanity is our differences. Flags, nations, military, all of this stuff, they come and go, borders change — but it’s our diversity that makes us beautiful.”

What makes Armenian coffee so unique is that it’s ground to a powderlike consistency and brewed in an open pot, called a jazzve, over a flame. It’s then stirred until the mixture begins to bubble and rise. The result is a bold flavor and rich consistency, packed into a tiny demitasse cup. “The good thing about Armenian coffee is that it’s not as strong,” Tankian said, “especially if it’s not light roast. Generally, it’s medium to dark roast so that you can have it later in the afternoon.”

Tankian peeled back the layers behind the origins of this unique blend: “It’s the traditional way of making coffee, just like Greek coffee, Arabic coffee, Turkish coffee, etc.” Tankian’s own Kavat-brand coffee is made from certified organic Ethiopian beans, which have historical ties to Armenia due to their shared alphabet and religions. “There’s this incredible bond between Ethiopia and Armenia, and so the coffee, I’m sure, came with that bond and that relationship,” he said.

While the communal aspect of coffee culture is not unique to Armenia, in Tankian’s experience, connecting over a cup of soorj is deeply ingrained in the fabric of Armenian culture. “If you go to Armenia right now, for example, and you walk on the street in Yerevan, people will be having coffee and talking. It’s a place to gather; it’s a place to ruminate; it’s a place to share; it’s a place to laugh and talk and, you know, it’s an occasion,” he said.

The coffee-reading tradition, explained

With Kavat, Tankian is most excited to introduce a timeless tradition to a new audience. “This was another way of spreading our culture and showing people that this small group of people, these Indigenous people from the other part of the world, have this thing, [soorj], that you’ve never heard of.” And according to Tankian, it’s good — really good. So good, in fact, that a cup can even predict your fortune.

How does it work? Thick ground remnants sink to the bottom of a cup when it’s nearly finished. Too bitter and gritty to drink, most would discard the coffee grounds. However, in Armenian culture, these leftovers are considered clues to someone’s fortune in the ancient practice of coffee cup readings.

An expert coffee reader, usually a wise matriarch, will instruct you to flip your cup onto a saucer and leave it to dry for a few minutes until the muddy remnants leave behind intricate patterns. “It’s extrapolating and translating visual images from a cup of coffee left over by the sediments of the actual bean,” Tankian said. “It’s kind of like reading modern art. It’s a way of fortune-telling, and it’s the universe conspiring in the way that the universe generally does, which is more intuitively and through the arts in telling a story.” This “reading” is a skill passed down through generations, one cup of soorj at a time.

Tankian grew up listening to these readings from his grandmother and mother. “I would always know it was happening because I would hear, ‘There’s news coming’ and I’d be like, ‘Oh, someone’s reading a cup.’ And sometimes those stories would scarily come true.”

How to make soorj, step by step

“Each family has a different way of doing things,” Tankian said, but the basics remain the same. To brew, you’re going to need a jazzve — or cauldron, as Tankian refers to it — Armenian coffee, a spoon to scoop and stir, and heat to get the mixture to boil. “You’re going to be using the cauldron on a fire. You could also use the electric stove or a portable stove,” he added.

Tankian can testify to brewing Armenian coffee on the go using portable appliances. He’s brewed it everywhere from backstage venues to tours with fellow coffee-loving bandmates. “It’s actually easier to make Armenian coffee on the road than it is to make an espresso because with an espresso you need a machine.” He even showed us an electric jazzve available at Kavat Coffee that operates like an electric tea kettle.

“We do have a step-by-step process, and it’s actually on the packaging of our coffee,” Tankian said. “Naturally, we realize that most people are not going to know how to do it.” According to Kavat’s instructions:

As Tankian mentioned, each family has a different method of brewing soorj. For instance, his mother added a bit of sugar to the coffee, while others prefer it bitter and black. Some families measure water with the Armenian coffee cup itself, adding one scoop of coffee grounds per demi cup of water. These small cups are comparable to espresso cups, meant for savoring soorj. The flavor of the final product is undeniably strong, meaning you only need a petite portion in order to feel the caffeine kick.

Attention to detail will be your guiding force when making Armenian coffee. While stirring the mixture, the coffee will bubble and rise as if it’s about to boil over. This is when you’ll want to swiftly remove it from the heat source. It’s a delicate and fickle process; there’s a fine line between burning the batch and making a perfect, steaming cup of coffee. You’ll need the same instinct that kicks in when boiling pasta, ensuring the water doesn’t boil over in a flash.

Stir the coffee with intention and let it boil. However, once the bubbles build, it’s time to take the pot off the heat. Most jazzves are conveniently designed with a spout to pour coffee directly into traditional cups.

What not to do when making soorj

Molly Flores/CNN Underscored

According to Kavat’s instructions, patience is essential to brewing a good cup of soorj. “Do not forget to keep an eye on the pot! It will boil over and spill easily,” the instructions dictate.

We can, unfortunately, attest to this. A split second away from an unwatched jazzve can quickly turn disastrous. If not tended to, coffee will bubble up and erupt onto your countertop like a science experiment gone wrong. Don’t worry, no writers were harmed in the taste testing of these beans, although the occasional spill did happen.

So, while you might want to walk away to wash your hands or check your phone while making Armenian coffee, stay alert and prepared to whisk the pot off the heat.

Lastly, we beg you, do not add milk to your Armenian coffee. All you need is a bit of sugar to enjoy this unique flavor.

What you need to make Armenian coffee

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The beautiful thing about Armenian coffee is that it doesn’t require complex machinery, an extensive background in coffee or even expensive gadgets and gizmos. It all boils down to three tools: an Armenian coffee pot, Armenian coffee grounds and some form of heat.

In an ideal world, soorj should be brewed over a stovetop. However, we made coffee using an electric kettle in CNN’s New York office and discovered it worked just as well, though we had to keep the lid open while it boiled to keep an eye on the bubbling mixture.

Below is everything you’ll need to get started.

Armenian coffees we recommend

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We sourced our favorite Armenian coffees from all corners of the internet, including picks from Amazon and smaller, independent brands. Throughout our taste testing, we drank at least 20 cups, forced brave and willing colleagues to try a spoonful and survived one too many caffeine rushes.

We made the soorj at home and at the office, using both a traditional jazzve and an electric tea kettle, which, to our surprise, worked pretty well. After drinking excessive amounts of caffeine (and accidentally burning a batch in our office kitchen), we nailed the Armenian coffee process and successfully tried six different blends of Armenian coffee.

“Coffee’s a huge multibillion-dollar industry around the world, but it’s very old, and the first bean has always, we’ve known, come from Africa,” Tankian said. “When we started with our Armenian coffee line, we wanted to use the Ethiopian organic bean. It is a different kind of flavor than traditional Armenian coffee, which is a bit more sour. Ours is a little more rounded taste; we call it Modern Armenian Coffee.”

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Take it from our team: This coffee hits the spot. “This Armenian coffee is the best-smelling black coffee I’ve ever smelled,” CNN Underscored testing editor Suzanne Kattau said. “It’s the first coffee I could drink without any creamer or milk in it.”

The Kalebjian family behind Henry’s House of Coffee has been roasting coffee for three generations, so you could say coffee runs in their blood.

This coffee was rich, aromatic and, for lack of a better phrase, straight-up delicious. The flavor is more traditional and wasn’t overpowered by the one (or two) packets of sugar we added while brewing. We think it’s the perfect caffeine boost to kick-start your day or even a delicious companion to a late-night sweet treat.

Edna’s Coffee offers the traditional flavor of soorj we grew up on in three different blends. The company began in Iran in 1970, according to Tenny Kizirian, vice president of Edna’s Coffee and daughter of its founder and president, Edward Martikian.

Today, Edna’s caters to the different tastes and preferences of Armenians and the diaspora population, as well as communities across the globe. Its soorj provides versatility without compromising the key components that make Armenian coffee’s flavor almost bitter (but in a good way). It’s the same bold taste we shuddered at as children that we now crave as adults; if you like strong coffee, Edna’s is for you.

We first tried Edna’s Regular coffee, brewed in a traditional jazzve and poured into a demitasse cup. It had a delectable smell that transported us back to our grandmothers’ kitchens. It’s advertised as a lighter blend with mild flavor, and we found the Regular to lean into delightfully sour notes while maintaining a smooth finish. Although it may be on the lighter side of Armenian coffee, the Regular is still a powerful flavor for the uninitiated. We think this blend is a great entry point, best paired with a few tablespoons of sugar. The bag clarifies the coffee is Mediterranean style, commonly enjoyed by Persian Armenians and Iranians.

While Armenian coffee is known for its strong caffeine kick, Edna’s Coffee offers an alternative that is 97% decaffeinated. The smell of the Decaf blend is not as savory as the first two, and the traditional taste was slightly muted. That said, this is a great option for individuals who want to enjoy Armenian coffee but need to be mindful of their caffeine intake. Edna’s provides an option to partake in the tradition without aggravating caffeine insensitivities.

FAQs

The following FAQs were answered by System of a Down lead singer and Armenian coffee enthusiast Serj Tankian, who is also part owner of Kavat Coffee Café, a coffee shop and art gallery in LA, with additional reporting by associate testing writers Gareen Puglia and Carolina Gazal.

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CNN Underscored’s writers and editors thoroughly review all the products in our testing guides and provide full transparency about how we test them. We have a skilled team of writers and editors with extensive experience in product testing, ensuring each article is carefully edited and products are thoroughly vetted. We include subject matter experts where necessary and always speak about the pros and cons of all tested products.

Associate testing writers Carolina Gazal and Gareen Puglia are of Armenian heritage and have grown up with the sounds and smells of Armenian coffee brewing at home. They drew on their own experiences and also interviewed Armenian coffee connoisseur Serj Tankian to gain further insight into the history of the beloved beverage for this article.