A glass half-full: What happens in a Turkish coffee fortune-telling reading

I join Highlights of Istanbul's coffee-making workshop in Istanbul's Beyoglu district to learn more about this ancient ritual. The cosy classroom is delightfully set; multi-coloured mosaic orb lamps dangle over our heads, classical Turkish oud music softly plays, and on the table are the means - various beans and ancient appliances - to make coffee the traditional way.

My guide - and soon-to-be fortune teller - divulges the revered bean's importance in Turkish culture. Coffee was introduced to the Ottoman Empire via Yemen during Sultan Suleiman's reign nearly 500 years ago. With its arrival, it hatched traditional brewing techniques. Beans are roasted, then ground to a fine powder, boiled with water and sugar in a cezve - a copper pot with a long handle - and placed on a pan filled over a hot sand bed until the coffee foams. Not hoarding sand piles in your kitchen cupboard? Easy; use a small burner. Regardless of heating methods - ancient or modern - coffee is served in a small mug slightly larger than an espresso hit. After being guided to brew our own cups the old-fashioned way, I take a sip. It tastes bittersweet. Despite its size, coffee isn't brewed for fast consumption; it is about savouring a moment; a vibe.

Coffee lovers, we can all thank Turkey for inventing coffee culture as we know it today. Istanbul's first coffee house opened in the mid-16th century, and coffee houses have remained a part of the city's rich urban tapestry ever since. Coffee consumption is steeped in social interactions; the shared experience symbolises friendship, hospitality, and deep conversations. And that's before destinies are decoded.

Turkish tasseography - known as kahve fali - dates back centuries. The nuanced art of interpreting symbols - letters, animals, numbers, images - found in coffee grounds to read past, present and future signs has been passed through generations and now on to curious tourists. Soon after we finish our coffee, we rotate the cup, make a wish, and place it upside down onto the saucer to cool down. Sealing fates takes a few minutes, allowing the muddy residue to sluggishly form shapes. We place a ring or a coin on top of the cup, depending on whether our focus is on relationships or wealth.

Read more on Explore:

The time has come to turn over the cup, and I pass it to my guide. I'm told not to take my reading seriously; coffee fortune telling is to help guide us. Still, my eyes are as big as saucers, gripped by the imminent reveal.

My guide grins as she rotates my cup, analysing the granules. She tells me I'm powerful and sees a bird, signifying that life-changing news is headed my way.

Quick! Time for another cuppa ...

WHAT: Highlights of Istanbul's Turkish Coffee Making on Sand and Fortune Telling Workshop.

HOW MUCH: 30 euros ($49) per person.

EXPLORE MORE: highlightsinistanbul.com