Turkish Coffee Fortune Telling in Salt Lake City: How Elif Ekin Transformed a Victorian Mansion Into Utah's Most Soulful Coffee Sanctuary

The first time you watch Turkish coffee being brewed in hot sand, you understand why people have been doing it this way for centuries. At Kahve Cafe in downtown Salt Lake City, the small copper pot moves through 350-degree sand like it's performing a ritual—which, in a way, it is. The foam rises gradually, creating a crema that owner Elif Ekin describes as the difference between thin coffee and something with real depth. "You're cooking it from all sides," she explains, guiding the pot through the sand with the kind of precision that comes from muscle memory. "A richness develops when you can control the heat and move it around so that it gradually lifts and rises."

This isn't the kind of place where you grab coffee and run. One customer put it perfectly: "Likely the coolest cafe in SLC with a uniquely and thoughtfully designed multi-level interior." And they're right—Kahve Cafe isn't just serving Turkish coffee in Salt Lake City. It's offering something Utah's food scene has been missing: a space where slowing down is the whole point.

From Rhode Island to a 115-Year-Old Victorian: Elif Ekin's Journey to Opening Utah's First Turkish Sand Coffee House

Elif Ekin's story starts in Adana, a small city in southeastern Turkey, though she's spent most of her life between worlds. Her parents left Turkey in the mid-70s when her father—a university professor—watched a military tank roll onto campus. Within six months of leaving, many of his colleagues were imprisoned. The family settled in Rhode Island and stayed for good, but Elif visited Turkey every three years, keeping her heritage alive in the way immigrant kids do: through food, language, and the rituals that make you feel like you belong to two places at once.

She remembers her father roasting coffee beans in a big cast iron skillet on the stovetop, the smell filling their Rhode Island home every morning. "He had a huge coffee grinder. It's almost the size of a baseball bat," she recalls. That sensory memory—of coffee as something you make with your hands, not something that comes from a drive-thru—planted the seed for what would eventually become Kahve Cafe.

As an adult, Elif would invite friends over for Turkish coffee and baklava, and people would stay for hours. There's a Turkish proverb she loves: "One cup of coffee creates a 40-year friendship." That's the philosophy behind everything at Kahve. When the pandemic decimated her wholesale baklava business in 2021, the 49-year-old life coach decided it was time to stop thinking outside the box and actually build one. She found a Victorian home at 57 S 600 East in downtown Salt Lake City—built in 1905, full of creaky stairs and cozy nooks—and created something that feels less like a coffee shop and more like walking into the home of that favorite aunt who always makes you feel welcome.

It hasn't all been smooth. In her first two years, Elif lost $42,000 to an embezzling manager. "I'm too stubborn to quit," she says, and that stubbornness is probably what's made Kahve Cafe one of the most distinctive spots in Utah's capital. The cafe has won Best Coffee SLC 2024 and Best Turkish Coffee in 2023 and 2024—awards that recognize not just the quality of the brew, but the entire experience Elif has built.

The Turkish Coffee Fortune Telling Experience: Sand-Brewed Coffee and Tasseography in Downtown Salt Lake City

Here's what you need to know about Turkish coffee at Kahve Cafe: it's not espresso, it's not drip, and it's definitely not a latte. The grounds are finer than espresso—powder-fine—and they stay in the cup when you drink it. This produces what one customer called "a small but mighty" serving with a particularly high-octane brew. The coffee is cooked in a small copper pot called a cezve, swirled through hot sand until it creates that crucial foam on top.

"When you cook the coffee in the hot sand, it creates a more even flavor," Elif explains. "You're actually creating a richer cup of Turkish coffee. You get a real depth of flavor that you don't get from just cooking on the stovetop." The electric sand coffee maker she imported from Turkey replicates the traditional method of brewing over hot coals or ash—the way coffee has been made in Turkey for centuries.

Once your coffee is ready, you can customize it with flavored sugars and spices before it comes off the heat—cardamom sugar is particularly popular, adding a spicy nip to the sweetness. As one customer raved: "Highly recommend a single shot of Turkish coffee with cardamom sugar & cinnamon powder! Don't forget to dip your walnut & rose baklava too!"

And then there's the fortune reading. After you finish your coffee, you flip the cup upside down and let the grounds settle. Elif—or her friend Ishelle, a Turkish transplant who reads fortunes on weekends—will look at the patterns left in the cup and tell you what they see. This practice, called tasseography, has been part of Turkish coffee culture for generations. "It's not about predicting the future," Ishelle explains. "In this busy life, it's about sitting there and reflecting on choices and possibilities."

One visitor described their coffee fortune telling experience in Salt Lake City as leaving them "feeling hopeful, inspired, and connected to a new kind of energy." That's the thing about tasseography—it's less about what's written in the grounds and more about creating a moment to pause and think about where you're headed.

Beyond Turkish Coffee: Moon Milks, Baklava Custard, and Bohemian Baklava at Kahve Cafe

If Turkish coffee isn't your thing—or if you want a caffeine-free option—Kahve Cafe introduced something else to Salt Lake City that you won't find anywhere else: Moon Milk. Elif makes over 30 varieties of these warm, herbal tonics that are equal parts Ayurvedic wellness drink and Instagram-worthy art project.

Moon Milk is made with alternative milks (coconut, oat, soy, or almond) heated slowly in a Turkish coffee pot over the traditional sand warmer. Natural spices, plant extracts, flowers, or tea are added, then sweetened with honey, agave, or maple syrup. The bright colors come from freeze-dried plant extracts: butterfly flower creates a stunning bright blue, sweet potato flower makes a beautiful purple, matcha produces green, and turmeric creates a bright orange while adding a peppery kick. The drinks are topped with edible glitter, dried flowers, fresh spices, freeze-dried fruit, or a Turkish meringue called beze that sits on top of the foam.

Customer reviews consistently praise the Moon Milks. "The Turkish yogurt was to die for and the baklava was scrumptious," one visitor wrote. "Blue moon milk, Mexican hot chocolate, cider, and Turkish single are amazing drink choices." Another raved about "the blueberry lavender moon milk" and called their experience "incredible."

One of Elif's favorites is the Cardamom and Rose Honey Moon Milk, made by simmering fresh ground cardamom with rose petals and honey, then adding cinnamon and whipping it until foam appears. It's topped with pink rose petals, a dash of cardamom, and a pink heart meringue. The Mexican Chocolate Moon Milk uses Abuela chocolate mixed with cardamom, cinnamon, and almond milk, finished with hot red pepper flakes.

And then there's the baklava. Elif thinks of baklava as a creative palette, infusing traditional Turkish recipes with flavors from candy, dried fruit, and even beer. "We always have six to seven bite-sized pieces of different flavors in the case at a time," she says. The menu features classics like pistachio and walnut alongside creative options like Reese's Dark (made with unsalted roasted peanuts and dark chocolate) and pistachio with lemon curd.

But the real showstopper is the baklava custard. One customer whose husband reported: "He loved their baklava custard!" Another called it one of their "standout favorites"—the goat cheese and fig baked baklava custard with drizzled honey on top. Elif makes the baklava cheesecake by putting last week's baklava through a food processor to create the crust, then baking ultra-creamy, slightly tangy cheesecake on top. The finished product is "dressed up" with rose jam, crushed pistachios, and rose petals.

The savory options are equally impressive. The börek—Turkish savory pastries filled with feta and parsley—consistently get mentioned in reviews. "I recommend the Caramel Moon Milk with the parsley and feta meal. It was divine!!!" one customer wrote. The Ezo Gelin soup (Turkish red lentil soup) and baked eggplant also make regular appearances in customer praise.

The Wise Dragonfly: A Creative Collective Inside a Victorian Coffee House in Salt Lake City

Kahve Cafe is just one piece of what Elif calls The Wise Dragonfly. The 115-year-old Victorian mansion houses a collective of creative types and healing arts specialists across three floors. Artist Lyra Zoe Smith, who works at the cafe and rents studio space upstairs, describes it as "a magical place" that offers room to rid yourself of stress from the outside world. "The city has become really sterile in its building of new places and new businesses," Smith says. "Everything's kind of cold and hard when you go into a place to sit and enjoy, and it's really nice to be able to come into a place that's comfortable and cozy."

Meander up the wooden steps to the second floor and you'll find doors that open to artist studios, a Thai massage specialist, a crystal healer, and a jewelry store. Startups can rent meeting space by the hour or through monthly memberships. The whole building operates as a low-cost incubator for creative businesses—which makes sense for a woman who describes the house as having its own energy, one that asks people to "level up."

"The house kicks people out if they don't fit," Elif laughs, talking about how tenants and workers often self-select when they're no longer a match for the space. It's a weird thing to say about a building, but anyone who's spent time at Kahve Cafe knows exactly what she means. There's something about the place that demands you slow down and actually be present.

The walls are covered with photographs—family, friends, a visual memory lane that includes Turkish Kütahya ceramic plates and brass candle holders with stories attached. Vintage Turkish rugs, oversized cushions, and antique furniture fill the nooks and crannies. As one customer noted: "I could literally spend the entire day exploring this place and wouldn't get bored. The Turkish dishes and atmosphere really make it feel like you stepped outside of Salt Lake."

There's also The Giving Table—a free community pantry where donations from patrons and neighbors help fill a fridge with nourishing, homemade meals and fresh ingredients. It's a reminder, Elif says, that "we all deserve warmth, dignity, and a seat at the table."

Salt Lake City Council member Victoria Petro-Eschler says Elif has an internal calling to nurture those around her and possesses a gift for welcoming people to her culture. "She's evidence that [by] valuing other people and staying true to your calling, it is possible to build a life that way."

Why Kahve Cafe Matters to Salt Lake City's Food Scene

In a city increasingly dominated by sterile modern coffee chains and industrial-chic cafes, Kahve Cafe stands out by going in the complete opposite direction. It's cozy where others are minimalist. It's slow where others are fast. It's about the ritual of coffee-making—the swirling pot in hot sand, the fortune reading in the grounds—where others are about efficiency and throughput.

"This is not an industrialized coffee shop made for the masses," one customer wrote, and they meant it as the highest compliment. Another visitor who drove up from southern Utah to try it ended up going back the next morning. "The owner even had my daughter help pick veggies from the garden. Seriously, this place will always be our go-to spot."

The awards validate what customers have been saying since Kahve opened in 2021: this is something special. Best Coffee SLC 2024. Best Turkish Coffee 2023 and 2024. But the real measure of Kahve's impact is in the way people talk about it—less like a coffee shop and more like a sanctuary. "When you come here, you're home," Elif says, and based on the reviews, that's exactly how it feels.

Planning Your Visit to Kahve Cafe

Kahve Cafe is located at 57 S 600 East in Salt Lake City's Historic South Temple neighborhood, housed in a Victorian mansion that's been standing since 1905. The cafe is open Tuesday through Saturday from 8 AM to 5 PM, and Sunday from 10 AM to 3 PM. They're closed Mondays.

Parking is available behind the cafe and the building next to it, plus street parking in front. There's also a front porch with seating for a handful of people when the weather's nice.

What to order: If you're new to Turkish coffee, go for a single shot with cardamom sugar and cinnamon powder. The grounds stay in the cup, so expect it to be "sludgy at the end" (as one customer noted), but that's part of the experience. If caffeine isn't your thing, try one of the Moon Milks—the Cardamom Rose or Blue Moon Milk are customer favorites.

For food, the baklava custard consistently gets rave reviews, as does the goat cheese and fig version. The börek (savory pastries) are perfect if you want something more substantial. And if you visit on a weekend, see if Ishelle is there to read your coffee fortune.

Fair warning: this is a small cafe with limited kitchen space, and they're popular enough that lines can form on weekends. Items sometimes run out. Service takes longer than Starbucks because they're actually crafting each drink by hand in hot sand. But as one customer noted, "That's ok. It went fast," and more importantly, "it was so worth it."

The cafe is good for studying if you need outlets and cozy corners to work for a few hours. There are three floors with multiple seating areas, from velvet chairs perfect for journaling to small tables tucked into quiet nooks. One customer's advice: "Explore all three floors and various secret nooks each time you go back!"

You can also find Kahve Cafe on Instagram and their website at kahvecafeslc.com for catering options and special events like Turkish breakfasts and coffee fortune reading sessions.

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Kahve Cafe is what happens when someone with deep cultural roots and a stubborn refusal to quit decides to create the space they wish existed. It's Turkish coffee brewed the way it's been done for centuries. It's coffee fortune telling in a Victorian mansion in downtown Salt Lake City. It's moon milks and baklava custard and börek and a community pantry and artist studios all under one roof. Most importantly, it's a reminder that sometimes the best experiences are the ones where you're forced to slow down, sit with a tiny cup of incredibly strong coffee, and actually be present for a minute. That Turkish proverb Elif loves—"One cup of coffee creates a 40-year friendship"—isn't just painted on the wall. It's the entire business model.