Anatolian was once famous for its coffee culture, of course. We still in the West generally call Turkish coffee "Turkish coffee". "The coffeehouse" played not quite the same role in the Ottoman Empire as it did in Europe (where Habermas basically credits it with creating the public sphere) but it was perhaps the most important place for the middle class in both big cities and small towns. However, with the loss of much of the territory of the Ottoman Empire, coffee became a more expensive import.

Tea consumption had begun in the late Ottoman period, alongside coffee, but it was clearly a secondary drink. Figuring out the exact history of tea production seems to be difficult, but the first attempts were made in the 1910's and 1920's, and it seems to have been a well established industry in Rize (Turkey's only significant tea producing province) by the 1930's. By the 1950's and 1960's, tea gardens and tea salons had become common even in many provincial cities. Rize's production met domestic demand by 1965, and began exporting tea at around the same. So, in reality, Turkey's tea culture is fairly recent but it builds on the earlier coffee culture.

At this point, Turkey produces a tremendous amount of this tea--something like 6% of the world market is produced in Turkey, making it the fifth or sixth largest producer depending on the year. This makes it a very cheap local resource.

In much of the former modern Ottoman Empire, it's customary to offer tea or coffee to guests. Whenever you read ethnographies of the region, it comes up. In Turkey, this has now been almost completely taken over by tea. You also simply get tea everywhere. Every restaurant, from corner lokanta cafeteria to the luxurious meyhanes will offer you usually complementary tea after a meal. When I have set down to do interviews with people, they always offer me a cup of tea. In many businesses of all kinds, tea is kept on a stove or a hot plate for much of the day, but if it's not, then someone will send out for tea from a local shop. If my girlfriend and I visit her mother and it's not immediately before a meal time, we get tea. When I taught English at a private "cram school" (dershane), there was a "canteen" (kantin) in the building, and the most popular thing order was "tea". In a three hour class, there would be two ten minute breaks and these breaks were invariably known as "tea breaks". Social life is fueled by tea. At almost any setting where there's social activity, from business meetings to family visits, at least one glass of tea is served.

According to one survey, 90% of Turks drink at least one cup a day. I can tell you from experience, most drink much more. Some of my former students would drink 5 or 6 cups of tea at work, some even more. They also might have a cup of tea with breakfast, and maybe a cup of tea after dinner at home. When visiting, tea will often be offered until accepted as a sign of friendliness and hospitality.

In short, tea replaced coffee as the main social drink in Turkey. In the past several decades, it has become the main fuel for any social interaction (with Turkish coffee or Nescafe instant coffee as an alternatives), and also the primary drink that people will drink that people seem to drink in their work places. Large domestic production keeps it a very cheap product within reach of all classes.