Hafiz Mustafa 1864 Turkish Black Tea — Loose Leaf in Metal Tin

This is the black tea Hafiz Mustafa serves alongside its baklava — the Istanbul confectionery founded in 1864 in Bahçekapı by Hacı İsmail Hakkı Bey, whose son Hafız Mustafa gave the house its name. The lid carries the same oval fez-portrait emblem you see above the counter in their Istanbul shops, ringed by the words "Hacı İsmail Hakkızade Hafız Mustafa 1864."

Inside the black-and-gold metal tin: loose black tea leaves with bergamot flavouring, the ingredient list Hafiz Mustafa prints on the tin itself. The bergamot is what sets it apart from plain grocery-shelf Turkish tea — a citrus lift over the dark, brisk base, closer to what a tea house pours than what a supermarket sells. Brands like Çaykur define everyday Turkish tea; this tin is the gift-counter version of it.

Brew it the way the confectioner's own guide says: 20 grams of leaves to 500 ml of boiling water, steeped 15 minutes without stirring, for four glasses. Strain into the glass, then top with hot water until the colour suits you — dark (demli) or light (açık). That two-step dilution is how tea is served across Turkey, in the small tulip-shaped ince belli glass shown in the photo.

The tea arrives in an airtight inner pouch sealed inside the tin. Hafiz Mustafa recommends folding the pouch shut after opening, keeping the lid tight, never dipping a wet spoon, and finishing the tea within six months of opening — though a 100 g tin rarely lasts that long.

Two sizes: 100 g for trying it or tucking into a gift, 400 g for households that brew a pot every day. The tin itself usually outlives the tea — people keep it for sugar, coffee, or the next refill.