What to know about zarfs, the fanciest way to drink coffee

James Doubek

September 17, 2025 / 2:00 am

Does your favorite coffee mug have a funny pun or cool art? Or maybe an intricate ceramic design?

How about stepping things up and having some jewelry with your java?

Enter the zarf, a Turkish word meaning "envelope." It refers to decorative devices used especially during the Ottoman era to hold hot cups of coffee.

And more recently it could be a term for those ubiquitous cardboard sleeves that keep your hands from overheating. In this edition of Word of the Week , we delve into coffee's past to understand the role of the zarf.

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