Remarkable. I was under the impression they were more of a tea people than coffee.
Turks, or Bosnians?
Turkey is one of the few places I have ever visited where both the tea, and the coffee are superb - just, simply superb. Outstandingly good, both of them. Most countries get one of the two right.
Re Bosnia, and the Balkans, I observed a lot of elections there since the mid 1990s.
Most recently I was in Gorazde and Novi Gorazde (in Bosnia) in 2014 almost immediately after I had finished my stint in central Asia. I couldn't believe the excellent quality - and range - of the coffee in ordinary supermarkets - this is a world where coffee (good coffee) matters.
Anyway, the entire Balkans is coffee heaven - even the smallest village has lovely coffee shops, and people go from meeting to meeting fuelled by outstanding coffee.
My staff explained to me that during the siege of Gorazde, at night, sordid but necessary little deals would take place between besiegers and besieged; the city ran out of many things, but not coffee, or cigarettes. Or cooking oil.
Before a meeting, you meet with your staff, over coffee. Coffee is often served during the meeting, and it is most certainly a feature of the postmortem meeting to discuss the meeting that just took place.
Remember, the Balkans experienced the rule of - and were the meeting place of - two of the most advanced coffee cultures on the planet - that of the Ottoman (Turks) and that of the Habsburgs. Both Empires met and intersected (and occasionally fought) one another in the Balkans.
