The Greek frappé is one of the few drinks in the world that genuinely requires instant coffee, and it was invented by accident at a trade fair in Thessaloniki in 1957 when a Nestlé representative could not find hot water.
Why instant
Spray-dried instant coffee contains compounds that foam vigorously when agitated with a small amount of water. Brewed coffee does not — it produces bubbles that collapse within seconds.
The thick, persistent, pale foam that defines a frappé is only achievable with instant. Substituting espresso gives you iced coffee, which is a different and less interesting drink.
Making one
Two teaspoons of instant coffee, sugar to taste, and just a splash of cold water — a tablespoon or two — in a shaker or a tall glass.
Shake hard, or use a small electric frother, for thirty seconds until you have a thick pale foam that fills the vessel.
Add ice, top up with cold water, and add evaporated milk if you want it.
How to order
- Sketos — no sugar
- Metrios — medium
- Glykos — sweet
And me gala if you want milk.
The Cypriot version
Made with more milk and sometimes with a different coffee, and disputed vigorously between the two countries.
Which instant
In Greece, Nescafé Classic is so closely tied to the drink that a frappé is often simply called a Nescafé. Any spray-dried instant works; freeze-dried granules foam less well. Avoid instant espresso powders, which are finer and make a looser foam.
Greek cafés use a frappé mixer, a spindle that whips the coffee in seconds. At home, a cocktail shaker or a jar with a tight lid works, and a handheld milk frother is the closest thing to the café result. Serve it in a tall glass with a straw.
What replaced it
In Greek cafés today the frappé shares the menu with the freddo espresso, a double espresso shaken or blended with ice and served over fresh ice, and the freddo cappuccino, the same topped with cold, frothed milk. The frappé remains the cheap, beach and home version.
