Ehlikeyf: the Copper Raki Glass Cooler Used on Turkish Tables

An ehlikeyf is a small copper cooler made for one tall glass: ice goes into the vessel, the glass is set in the middle, and the ice surrounds its body so the drink stays cold on the table without being diluted. Turkish meyhanes traditionally place one in front of each guest for the raki glass.

What an ehlikeyf is, and where the name comes from

The ehlikeyf takes its name from an old Turkish expression for a person who knows how to enjoy an unhurried evening, and the word passed to the vessel that keeps a glass cold through one. The object itself is a small copper container, a little lower than the glass it holds, with room for ice around it.

In Turkish the word is written as one word, ehlikeyf, or as two, ehli keyf, and the dictionary spelling adds a vowel. The dictionary of the Turkish Language Association, published online at sozluk.gov.tr, lists the word under the spelling ehlikeyif, from the Arabic ehl and keyf, for a person fond of comfort and enjoyment. Over time the name moved from the guest to the object on the table in front of the guest, and today a Turkish buyer who asks for an ehlikeyf means the cooler, not the person. Product listings often add the phrase bardak soğutucu, literally “glass cooler”, so that the function is clear to anyone who does not know the older word.

The English searches that lead to this vessel are less settled. People look for a raki glass cooler, a raki glass holder or a raki ice cup, and all three describe the same thing. We use ehlikeyf and raki glass cooler side by side on this page, because a Turkish restaurant owner abroad will usually know the first and a distributor or interior buyer will usually search for the second. When you write to us, either word is understood.

The vessel is easy to confuse with three other pieces of copper tableware. An ice bucket is larger, holds ice or a bottle for the whole table, and is described on our wholesale copper ice buckets page. A goblet or a mug is something you drink from directly, while nobody drinks from an ehlikeyf; it only holds the glass. And a coffee cup holder, the metal sleeve that a Turkish coffee cup sometimes sits in, is a different object again, made to hold a small cup by its base rather than to surround a tall glass with ice. Keeping these apart in an order list saves a round of correspondence.

How the cooler is set up and used at the table

Setting up an ehlikeyf takes a few seconds: a handful of ice goes into the empty vessel, the glass is pressed down into the middle, and the ice settles around the body of the glass. The glass is lifted out to drink or to refill and returned to the ice, while the vessel itself stays in place.

The idea comes from the way a long Turkish table works. Meze arrive in waves, conversation runs for hours, and a drink poured at the start of the evening would otherwise warm up long before it is finished. Adding more ice to the glass solves the temperature but changes the drink; the ehlikeyf solves it from outside. The ice is in contact with the wall of the glass rather than with its contents, so whatever is in the glass is cooled without being watered down by the melt.

In service the routine is simple. Ice is added before the guest sits down, so the copper body has a few minutes to chill. The glass, poured at the table or at the bar, is seated in the centre. When the ice has mostly melted, the meltwater is poured off at the station and fresh ice goes in. On the lidded model, the top is a ring with an opening in the middle: the glass passes through the opening, and the ring closes over the ice around it, so the ice sits out of sight. A small plate or tray under each cooler catches condensation and keeps the tablecloth dry, a point that matters more in summer and on terraces than inside.

Because one cooler serves one glass, the vessel works as a place setting. Each guest has their own, so a restaurant thinks in covers: the number of ehlikeyf it needs follows the number of seats where the vessel will be used, plus a reserve for washing and breakage.

The ehlikeyf models in the BakırBul catalogue

The BakırBul ehlikeyf range has four bodies: a light classic model, a matt black version of the classic, a lidded model, and a heavier model listed as Jelli that is made from thicker sheet. The classic, lidded and Jelli models are machine-hammered, which keeps the pattern even from piece to piece; the matt black version is smooth.

The figures below come from the product records in our catalogue. They describe the cooler only; the glass is not included with any model. Where a record gives a string of figures without naming the axis each one measures, the figures are shown exactly as they are listed, and the measurement that matters for your glass is confirmed on the product page, on the quotation or on a sample. Availability changes with each stock update, so the quotation confirms which models and finishes can be supplied for your order and in what form.

The differences in weight follow directly from the sheet. The classic body is made from sheet of around four tenths of a millimetre and sits light in the hand, which suits a busy service where coolers are carried to and from the station many times an evening. The Jelli body starts from 0.60 mm sheet and weighs more than twice as much. A thicker wall holds the cold for longer once it has been chilled and is less likely to dent when coolers are stacked or knocked together in a washing rack, at the cost of a heavier tray for the waiter.

The lidded model has a ring-shaped top with an opening at its centre. The glass goes in through the opening, and the ring covers the ice around the glass, which gives a tidier look on a set table. When the glass is lifted out, the opening stays open. The classic and the matt black version share the same listed dimensions, so a venue can mix them along one table without the coolers standing at different heights. Jelli is the name used in the Turkish catalogue, and we keep it so that a model name on your list matches ours exactly.

Every order is built from single pieces. The count follows your covers, and pairs or larger groups for resale or gifting are made up from single pieces of the same model and finish. If you want them packed together in a presentation box, that box is custom packaging and is quoted as a separate line from the coolers.

Making sure your glasses fit the cooler

Fitting a glass to an ehlikeyf comes down to two measurements: the outside diameter of the glass at its widest point below the rim, and its height. The glass should stand upright in the ice with its rim well above the copper edge, and leave enough space around it for a layer of ice on every side.

Because we do not supply glasses, the glasses a venue already owns are the starting point. Raki glasses vary more than people expect: the classic tall, narrow tumbler is the most common, but some houses use a slightly wider glass, some a stemmed one, and many serve water in a second, different glass. A cooler that suits one may be too tight or too loose for another. Measuring takes a minute with a ruler: the outside diameter at the widest point that will sit inside the vessel, the diameter at the base, and the overall height.

A good fit has three signs. The glass stands upright without leaning once the ice is in; there is room for ice on all sides, so the cold reaches the whole circumference rather than one face; and the rim sits clearly above the copper edge, so the guest lifts the glass by its upper half without touching the ice. A glass that is too wide for the vessel leaves no room for ice and simply sits in cold copper. A glass that is too narrow tips as the ice melts and settles. Neither is a fault of the cooler; both are a mismatch that is easy to avoid before ordering.

The simplest way to settle the question is to put the glass on your list. Write its dimensions next to the model you are considering, or send a photograph of the glass beside a ruler, and we will tell you which body suits it. For a new venue, a charged sample of the cooler, tried with your own glasses and your own ice, answers the question more reliably than any table of figures. Ice matters too: large cubes leave gaps around a narrow glass, while crushed or small ice packs closely and chills faster but melts sooner.

Copper, ice and condensation: why the cooler works

Copper works well for a glass cooler because it conducts heat far better than glass, ceramic or stainless steel, so the whole copper body quickly takes on the temperature of the ice inside it. The vessel feels cold to the touch within minutes, and the chilled wall helps keep the ice around the glass.

The physics is not complicated. Ice absorbs heat as it melts, and it draws that heat from whatever it touches: the glass, the air trapped between the cubes and the wall of the vessel. In a copper vessel the wall spreads the cold evenly instead of leaving a cold spot at the bottom and a warmer rim, which is what you would find in a thick ceramic or wooden holder. Copper’s thermal and physical properties are summarised on the element page of the Royal Society of Chemistry, and the trade body Copper Development Association publishes background on the metal’s uses.

The same property explains the condensation that forms on the outside of a chilled ehlikeyf. Warm, humid air meets the cold copper and gives up its moisture as droplets, exactly as it does on a cold glass. On a terrace in summer this can be enough to mark a tablecloth or a wooden table, which is why venues set each cooler on a small plate, a coaster or a shared tray. Condensation is not a leak and not a defect; it is the visible sign that the body is doing its job.

What copper does not do is make ice last forever. A body that has been chilled beforehand slows the melt. More metal first takes more cold from the ice, so an unchilled heavy body melts ice faster at the start; once chilled, the heavier Jelli body holds the cold longer than the light classic one. Either way, on a warm evening the ice still needs replacing during a long meal. Putting the empty coolers in a refrigerator before service gives the ice a head start. They can also go in a freezer, since copper is not harmed by cold, but a frozen vessel loses its chill quickly once on the table and does not replace the ice.

Finishes: red copper, nickel, oxide and matt black

The finish of an ehlikeyf decides how it looks on the table and how much care it needs. Red copper shows the bare metal and darkens with use, oxide is deliberately darkened, nickel gives a silver-coloured exterior with a tin-lined interior, and the matt black version suits a dark, contemporary table setting.

Red copper is the classic look, the colour most people picture when they hear “Turkish copper”. It is also the finish that changes most. Handling, meltwater and the acids in fingerprints darken bare copper over weeks, and a venue that wants the bright colour every evening needs a polishing routine. Some houses prefer to let the colour mellow, and that is a legitimate choice for tableware that is not a cooking surface.

Oxide, sometimes sold as antique or darkened copper, starts where red copper ends up: a deep brown tone in which the hammered texture stands out. It hides fingerprints and water marks well and needs no bright polishing, which makes it popular in busy dining rooms. Matt black goes further in the same direction and reads as a modern piece rather than a traditional one; it is offered on the classic model.

Nickel gives a silver-coloured exterior that matches stainless cutlery and glass bar fittings, and the nickel-finish ehlikeyf models are tin-lined inside. For the other finishes, the interior of each model is confirmed in writing on the quotation, so you know exactly what surface the ice and meltwater will meet before the order is placed. If you are building a mixed table, our page on copper versus brass explains why a yellow metal in another supplier’s listing may not be copper at all.

Meltwater, spills and what the interior is for

The interior of an ehlikeyf meets ice and meltwater, not the drink, because the drink stays inside the glass. Meltwater is poured away, never drunk, and the vessel should not be used as a cup, a punch bowl or a container for fruit, citrus garnish or anything acidic left standing in it.

That division of roles is the reason the cooler is a simple object to run. Ice goes in, water comes out at the station, and nothing from the vessel ends up in a guest’s glass. Two habits keep it that way. First, the glass is filled at the table or the bar, not by tipping a bottle over the cooler, so drink does not run down into the ice. Second, staff do not use the ehlikeyf as a handy bowl for lemon wedges or cucumber slices at the end of a night, because acidic food left in contact with copper is exactly what food rules warn against.

The reference most buyers know is the FDA Food Code, a model code adopted by US states and local authorities, which restricts copper and copper alloys in contact with foods below pH 6. In the European Union the framework for anything intended to come into contact with food is Regulation (EC) No 1935/2004. Whether a glass cooler counts as a food contact article in your market is a question for your own authority or compliance adviser. We do not hold a food contact certificate for these pieces, and if your market or your group requires testing, tell us before the order so that it can be arranged, rather than finding out at the border.

When a spill does happen, rinse the vessel and dry it, as you would any other piece of copper tableware. On the nickel-finish models the interior is tin-lined; on the others, the quotation tells you in writing what the interior surface is. Our guide is copper cookware safe? covers the wider questions about copper and food, and food contact and compliance explains what documents exist and which ones do not.

Cleaning and storing coolers through a service

Cleaning an ehlikeyf is a hand job: empty the meltwater, rinse with warm water and a mild detergent, and dry the vessel inside and out straight away. The coolers do not go in a dishwasher, and they should be stored dry, upright and loosely stacked so that the rims and hammered surfaces are not scratched.

Water left standing in copper is the most common cause of marks. At the end of a service, every cooler should be emptied, rinsed and dried, not left on the station with the last of the ice melting in it. A soft cloth is enough; abrasive pads and wire wool scratch the exterior and any interior lining. Dishwasher detergents are strongly alkaline and combine with heat to dull copper and attack tin, so even venues that put everything else through the machine keep their copper by the sink.

The finish decides what polishing is needed. Red copper can be brought back to its bright colour with a copper polish or a paste of salt and lemon or of flour and vinegar applied to the outside only, then rinsed off and dried. Oxide, nickel and matt black are not polished bright: abrasive cleaning removes the darkened layer on oxide and dulls nickel and matt black, so a damp cloth and a dry one are all those finishes need. Our page on copper care describes each method in more detail.

For storage, coolers are best kept upright in a dry cupboard or on an open shelf, with a cloth or paper between them if they are stacked. Hammered copper is resilient, but thin sheet dents if a stack falls, and a dented rim no longer seats a glass properly. Where a piece has a tin lining and the lining wears through in years of use, it can be renewed; how long copper lasts and when to re-tin explains the signs.

Beyond raki: water, ayran and soft drinks

The ehlikeyf is linked with the raki table, but the cooler holds any tall glass. Restaurants use the same vessel for chilled water, ayran, şalgam, lemonade and soft drinks, and for a venue that serves no alcohol at all it works as a distinctive way to keep a glass cold on a hot terrace.

The association with raki is real and goes back a long way. Raki, the anise-flavoured Turkish spirit, is traditionally served in a tall glass and mixed with cold water at the table, and a meyhane evening is slow by design. A cooler that keeps the glass cold without more ice suits that rhythm, and many guests will recognise the ehlikeyf instantly from Istanbul and Izmir tables. For a Turkish restaurant abroad, that recognition is part of the point.

The vessel is not limited to it, though. Water is the other constant on a Turkish table, and a cold glass of water in a copper cooler beside each plate reads as hospitality rather than as a drinks list. Ayran, the salted yoghurt drink, and şalgam, the fermented turnip and carrot juice, are both served chilled in tall glasses and both stay pleasant longer in a vessel that keeps them cold. In hotels and venues that do not serve alcohol, the same cooler is used for lemonade, iced tea and mocktails, and a nickel or matt black finish gives it a look that has nothing to do with a meyhane.

This page describes tableware and does not offer advice on drinking. Venues that serve alcohol do so under their own licence and local rules, and the cooler changes nothing about those. What it changes is the table: one copper piece per guest, the same height and finish along the cloth, and a glass that stays cold for as long as the conversation lasts.

Setting a meyhane or Turkish restaurant table in copper

A Turkish restaurant table built around the ehlikeyf usually adds three more copper pieces: an ice bucket at the station or the centre of the table, a water pitcher, and a tray or small plates under the coolers to catch condensation. Ordering them together keeps the finish and the surface texture consistent across the whole setting.

The ice bucket is the natural partner. Coolers need refilling during a long meal, and a bucket on the table or at the waiter’s station saves trips to the bar. Our copper ice buckets page covers table and bottle sizes. Where a piece carries handles, as most ice buckets do, the handles are soldered to the body rather than riveted, so there are no rivet heads inside for ice to catch on. Water arrives in a pitcher, and the shapes used on Turkish tables are described on copper pitchers and water jugs.

Under the coolers, a small plate or a shared tray protects the table. A long, narrow tray down the centre of a meyhane table can carry several coolers at once and makes clearing faster; our hammered copper trays page shows the shapes and edge styles. If the menu also includes cocktails or wine served in copper, the copper goblets page covers stemmed pieces, and Moscow Mule mugs covers the handled mug.

Matching matters more than it seems. Red copper next to oxide looks deliberate when the contrast is planned, and accidental when it is not. Nickel next to bare copper reads as two different suppliers. When everything on the table is quoted together, in the same finish and the same surface, hammered or smooth, the table looks like one setting rather than a collection of purchases. For the wider picture of equipping a dining room, bar and terrace, see our guide to copper for restaurants and hotels.

Engraving, stamping and custom packaging

Personalising an ehlikeyf for a restaurant or a corporate gift is done by engraving, stamping or laser marking a name or logo on the copper body, agreed from an approved sample. Custom packaging, such as printed gift boxes holding two or more coolers, is quoted as a separate line from the coolers themselves.

A small vessel has limited room for a mark, and on the machine-hammered models the texture affects how a fine logo reads. Engraving cuts the design into the surface and suits short names and simple marks. Stamping presses a mark into the metal and works best for a compact logo near the base or rim. Laser marking gives the finest detail. Which method suits your mark depends on its size and detail and on the finish you have chosen, and the sample shows the result before the order goes ahead.

Packaging is a separate decision. Coolers for a restaurant need transport packing that keeps the rims from denting, and nothing more. Coolers sold on, or given as gifts, need a box that presents them, often holding a pair or a larger group of single pieces, with your branding. That box is produced to your specification and quoted as its own line, so you can see what the coolers cost and what the presentation costs. For larger private label programmes, our page on custom copper manufacturing describes how specification, sample and production fit together.

Ordering ehlikeyf for a restaurant, hotel or distributor

Ordering ehlikeyf from BakırBul starts with a list: model, finish and quantity per line, the dimensions of the glasses you use, any engraving or packaging, and the destination country. Our partner workshop in Türkiye produces the piece and we carry it under our own name, checking pieces before they ship.

We do not publish a minimum order quantity, because no single figure would be true across models, finishes and personalisation. A Turkish restaurant replacing a few coolers and a distributor stocking several finishes for resale are different orders, and the quotation answers the one you send. Write one line per model and finish, for example ehlikeyf, lidded, nickel, quantity, add your glass dimensions and say whether you need a mark or boxes. A sample is charged and is the sensible first step for a new venue, because fit, weight and finish are easier to judge with your own glass in it than from a photograph.

An export shipment of coolers travels with a commercial invoice, a packing list and proof of origin. Preparing the Turkish export documents is a separate paid service and covers the Türkiye side of the shipment only; customs entry, duties and import taxes in your country stay with you or your customs broker. Copper tableware is generally classified under HS heading 7418, with table and household articles at subheading 7418.10 in the nomenclature maintained by the World Customs Organization. Classification is the importer’s responsibility, and rates are confirmed at the date of shipment. The documents and Incoterms are explained in our guide to importing copper cookware.

Related reading — what makes Turkish copper distinctive on Turkish copper, drinking vessels you drink from directly on copper mugs and drinkware in bulk, the full wholesale range by product on wholesale by product, and our terms on wholesale and export. Every English guide we publish is listed on the resources page.

Questions about the ehlikeyf raki glass cooler

What is an ehlikeyf?

The word ehlikeyf comes from an old Turkish expression for a person who enjoys an unhurried evening, and it now names a copper vessel: one per guest, filled with ice, with a tall glass standing in it. Nobody drinks from the vessel itself; it only keeps the glass cold, and the glass is not part of the product.

Is a raki glass cooler the same thing as an ehlikeyf?

Yes. Raki glass cooler, raki glass holder and ehlikeyf all describe the same vessel. Ehlikeyf is the Turkish name, also written ehli keyf, and Turkish listings often add the phrase for glass cooler. When you write to us, either name is understood, and the model names on our quotation follow the Turkish catalogue.

Is the glass included with the cooler?

No. None of the ehlikeyf models includes a glass, and we do not supply glasses. Send us the diameter and height of the glasses you already use, or a photograph of a glass beside a ruler, and we will tell you which body fits. A charged sample lets you test the fit with your own glass and ice.

Which ehlikeyf models are available?

The range has a light classic model, a matt black version of the classic, a lidded model and a heavier body listed as Jelli, made from thicker sheet. Availability changes with stock updates, so the quotation confirms which models and finishes can be supplied for your order.

Is the inside of the cooler tin-lined?

On the nickel-finish models the interior is tin-lined. For red copper, oxide and matt black, the interior of each model is confirmed in writing on the quotation. In use the drink stays in the glass; the interior meets ice and meltwater, which is poured away and never drunk.

Can the cooler be used for drinks other than raki?

Yes. The ehlikeyf holds any tall glass, and restaurants use it for chilled water, ayran, şalgam, lemonade, iced tea and soft drinks. In venues that serve no alcohol it works simply as a distinctive way to keep a glass cold on the table, and a nickel or matt black finish gives it a contemporary look.

Can an ehlikeyf go in the dishwasher?

No. Dishwasher detergent and heat dull copper and attack tin. Empty the meltwater, rinse the cooler with warm water and a mild detergent, and dry it inside and out straight away. Red copper can be polished on the outside; oxide, nickel and matt black only need a damp and a dry cloth.

Can you engrave our logo on the coolers?

Yes. A name or logo can be engraved, stamped or laser marked on the copper body. The right method depends on the size and detail of the mark and on the finish, and the result is agreed on a sample before the order proceeds. Custom packaging, such as printed gift boxes, is quoted as a separate line.

Is there a minimum order quantity?

There is no published minimum, because no single figure would be true across models, finishes and personalisation. Send one line per model and finish with the quantity, your glass dimensions and the destination country, and the quotation answers your list as written. A sample is charged and is the usual first step for a new venue.

Do you ship ehlikeyf outside Türkiye?

We supply buyers abroad on quotation. Preparing the Turkish export documents is a separate paid service covering the Türkiye side only; customs entry, duties and import taxes in your country stay with you or your broker. Copper table articles generally fall under HS 7418.10, and classification is the importer’s responsibility, with rates confirmed at shipment.

Last updated: 20 October 2026