Middle East

Turkish delight, Turkish coffee, and tea by the tin — the shelf that smells best when you open a box.

Galil lokum comes three ways: the traditional 16 oz box, a pistachio version, and a 100 g assortment for trying before committing. Real lokum is soft, faintly floral and dusted rather than sugared, and it is meant to be eaten slowly with coffee, which is the other half of this shelf. Elite Turkish coffee — plain, or ground with cardamom — is roasted fine enough for an ibrik, where the grounds stay in the cup and the foam matters more than the crema.

Ahmad Tea covers the everyday drinking: Kalami and Barooti Assam in 454 g bags, Darjeeling in tins, Ceylon OPA, and a Special Blend with Earl Grey in a 500 g tin that lasts a household most of a season.

Newer arrivals reflect what people are actually asking for: Bergen and Vanelli Dubai-style pistachio chocolate, with kadayif pastry through the filling, and filled croissants from Simsek and DORA3. Krinos brings the eastern Mediterranean in — PDO halloumi that squeaks and grills without melting, and taramosalata, the cured roe spread that belongs beside warm bread.

European Food Store has imported these since 2011. Tea, coffee and lokum ship anywhere in the United States; the pistachio chocolate bars travel to California, Oregon, Washington, Nevada and Arizona only.