The Greek-Style Frappé
Frothy Iced Coffee Refreshment for the Summer Heatwave
According to popular legend, the Greek-style frappé was invented in September 1957 at the annual Thessaloniki International Trade Fair. Working at an exhibit for Andreas Dritsas, then the Greek distributor of Nestlé products, sales rep Dimitrios Vakondios grabbed a shaker meant for Nesquik chocolate powder, filled it instead with Nescafé instant coffee and a little cold water, and shook it vigorously. Not anticipating the burst of foam this action would generate, Vakondios achieved two results:
The staining of his business suit.
The invention of the foamy concoction that would become the national soft drink of Greece.
The hallmark of the iced coffee Greeks call frappé is the thick head of microfoam. Its frothiness is not produced by ice cream, blended ice, or thickening agents, as it is with Starbucks Frappuccino, French-style frappé, or other frothy cold coffees. Even when prepared black without a splash of milk, typically evaporated milk, the Greek frappé holds its micro-bubbled head high.
Many in Athens have suspected that Lentzos, a 1970s café in the city’s Pangrati district, added beaten egg whites to make the foam meringue-like. It’s a myth: Coffee foams, such as espresso crema, are created by proteins that act as surfactants (surface active agents), forming a think elastic membrane on the liquid’s surface area and entrapping air. The main advantage instant coffee has over brewed fresh coffee for the purpose of foaming is that it can be prepared in a highly concentrated solution. When that solution is shaken, there are lots of proteins to line the bubbles that form and help to produce a thick, durable foam.
Frappé foam can last for hours, and due to the modern Greek’s drawn-out drinking habits, often does. The liquid level in the Greek’s frappé glass seems to set more slowly than the Aegean sun. As the foam eventually recedes, puffy peaks hover fuzzily about the liquid like mountains over the sea. Below the ethereal cloud is a rich refreshment that looks like a coffee milkshake yet glides easily through the narrowest of straws.
Greek Frappé Recipe
from Frappe Nation by Vivian Constantinopoulos and Daniel Young
A frappé is nothing more complicated than instant coffee granules, sugar, and a small quantity of cold water shaken vigorously together to produce a thick foam, then poured over ice in a tall glass, and finally topped off with water and possibly milk.
That basic formula gets muddled not only by personal habits but also by the homespun guidelines passed on by its practitioners. Coffee and sugar are mixed by the heaping spoonful, without specifying the size of the spoon, or the heap. Water is dosed by finger width, without specifying whose finger, as in “pour two fingers of water into the shaker.”
It may therefore be best to describe the frappé formula in terms of volume proportions. A gliko (“sweet”) frappé, for example, is typically made with between 1 1/2 and 2 measures of sugar per 1 measure of coffee. To prepare a metrio (“medium sweet”), up to 1 measure of sugar should be mixed with 1 measure of coffee. To create a thick, creamy foam, the ideal coffee-to-water ratio is about 1 part instant coffee per 4 parts water.
2 teaspoons instant coffee granules
2 teaspoons granulated sugar
cold water
ice cubes
2 tablespoons evaporated milk or regular milk, optional
1) Place the coffee, sugar and 2 tablespoons cold water in a shaker, jar, blender or drink mixer. Cover and shake well for 30 seconds, or, if using a blender, drink mixer, or handheld frother, mix for 15 seconds to produce a thick, light-brown foam.
2) Place a few ice cubes in a tall glass. Slowly pour the coffee foam into the glass. Fill the glass with water, adding milk if desired.
3) Serve immediately with a straw and a glass of cold water on the side. .
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