Sarajevo people drink coffee from world's largest pot

People in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) on Saturday enjoyed the traditional ritual of drinking coffee from the world's biggest coffee pot in the capital Sarajevo.

The copper coffee pot entered the Guinness world record in June 2004, when 660 liters were made of 65 kilograms of coffee and drank out by residents of BiH, organizers explained to Xinhua.

Rusmir Hrvic, director of AS Group which owns the company making the largest coffee pot, told Xinhua that traditional coffee is part of the identity of BiH residents and as such an indispensable segment of their lives.

"In order to present the tradition of our people and the country in the best possible way, we organized a tasting of real Bosnian coffee from the biggest coffee pot in the world," Hrvic said.

Millions of people have tried the traditional coffee from the largest coffee pot, including Chinese visiting the World Expo back in 2010 in Shanghai where the largest coffee pot was exhibited, Hrvic said.

During the event, some 8,000 cups of coffee were distributed to all who decided to see the biggest coffee pot at Bascarsija square, confirming that coffee is the trademark of BiH's tradition and cultural heritage.

Organizers explained the importance of drinking coffee in the traditional way in BiH by saying that firstly, roasted coffee beans are made into a fine powder and cooked in a small copper-plated pot, after which the boiled water is added.

The copper coffee pot is put on the stove to boil for a few seconds, allowing the coffee to rise, but not go over the pot's lid.

For Enes Kljujic, a 70-year-old pensioner living in the Old Town in Sarajevo, drinking coffee is a ritual he has been doing with his wife almost every morning for the last forty years.

"Back in 1979, when I got married, my wife told me how much she likes coffee, her family was wealthy at that time, they could afford coffee every day," Kljujic recalled, adding that he made her promise he will buy her coffee every day to make her happy.

"This was my promise that I have been keeping for four decades. Today, we are here together, sitting in the old part of Sarajevo, drinking good coffee and remembering the old days," Kljujic told Xinhua.

Amina Aljovic is a young woman who said that she cannot imagine going out with her friends after work without drinking coffee.

"I am working every day, and twice a week, I am going out with my friends and we are drinking Bosnian coffee, I do not like modern coffees," Aljovic said, adding that she likes the ritual of preparing the coffee in a small copper pot and drinking it with traditional sweets.

"There are four of us, girls, who gathered after one month, and we want this meeting to be in our best memory, thus, we will spice it with coffee," Aljovic added.