As you walk around Istanbul (or anywhere in Turkey, for that matter) you can buy "chai" which is the local's tea. It is not to be confused with "tea" served to visitors on request. That is simply tea bags and hot water.
Chai is made in a two layer kettle system. The lower kettle is simply hot water kept hot on a (typically) wood or coke stove. The upper level is the tea, very strong tea, brewed for about 45 minutes before being ready to serve, at which time it is poured into one of the glasses shown and diluted about half-and-half with water from the lower section. The saucers shown are typical as are the sugar cubes. If you want some, ask for "chai sekker" - hot, sweet and cheap.
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