ABSTRACT
A dark roast of coffee, preferably freshly roasted, should be used. The beans are placed in a cylindrical brass coffee mill (mlin) and ground to a fine powder. Muscular non-Balkan males will be astounded by the effort required and the aplomb with which Balkan females grind up the required amount. Usually, one ordinary mlin filled to capacity will provide enough coffee for one standard coffee-pot and will serve 4-6 persons. When the coffee is ground, or while it is being ground, fill a standard coffee-pot with water. This pot {dzezva) is made of copper, in the shape of a truncated cone with flaring lip and a long brass handle. The standard one is about 9 cm high, 8 cm in diameter at the base, and holds about 225 ml. Pour off enough water from the dzezva to fill one small coffee-cup (fildzan, about 60 ml capacity). If sugar is to be used, add it to the cold water (to the pot), one teaspoon per fildzan (again the small cup); if this much is used, the coffee will be Bosnian coffee; if less, Serbian. Bring the water to a fast boil, preferably over an electric fire (charcoal was used formerly, but has gone out of fashion). When the water boils, remove the pot from the fire and add the contents of the mlin to the standard dzezva. (This works out to about 175 ml, 10 tsp powdered coffee.) Stir. Place the dzezva back on the fire and allow to come to a boil, removing quickly to prevent the froth from overflowing. Repeat this twice more. The grounds may be setded by pouring in the cup of cold water that has been kept aside, but this must be done so as not to disturb the froth (kajmak) on the coffee. When in doubt, do not pour in the cold water but wait for the grounds to settle; do not, however, wait too long or the kajmak will disappear. Pour a little kajmak in each fildzan. Then pour the coffee out into xhefildzani, floating the kajmak. Drink.
