Coffee Talk! Predict Your Future With A Cup Of Joe

 Have you ever heard of finding one’s fortune through a cup of coffee?

Palm readings, tarot cards, fortune cookies, and crystal balls. You’ve probably heard of one of these fortune telling mediums, but have you ever heard of finding one’s fortune through a cup of coffee? Coffee reading, known technically as tasseography, is an old Turkish tradition. During my trip to Istanbul, a friend’s native mother taught us the ways to find our fates through the small cups of thick, and I mean mud thick, Turkish coffee grounds. While there are actually Turkish coffee fortune reading businesses, most people do the readings for fun at gatherings and family events.

Getting my fortune told through cup of coffee was definitely one of the most bizarre, yet most interesting things I’ve experienced. First and foremost, you should enjoy your cup of joe, since the reading occurs after you’re done.

Next, turn your coffee cup over the saucer and let it sit, letting the leftover grounds fall as they please.

After a few minutes, you turn your cup back over, observing the shapes and patterns created. The images and patterns created by turning you’re the coffee residue represent things in your future.

Boxes, dots, lines, and spots dark and light all signify differences in meaning. My friend admittedly shared that the readings are often arbitrary, and open to different peoples’ interpretation. Regardless of the reading, Turkish coffee reading is a long standing tradition in Turkish families, just like the coffee itself. And there’s no doubt that Turkish coffee is a treasure in itself—why else would it have such great powers? What do you see in the coffee cups below?

Desiree Constance Choy

Desiree is from San Francisco, California. She is an actress, known for 13 Reasons Why (2017), I Won't Give Up (2014) and Dreality (2016).