Frappé: the Local Favourite Summer Coffee
Coffee culture is huge in Greece and Cyprus and is a distinctive feature of the local lifestyle. With hundreds of coffee shops dotting Cyprus’s towns and villages, there’s little chance you visit the island without trying either the traditional Cypriot coffee or the summer favourite; the frappé.
A frappé in hand is a common sight to see – you literally can’t escape it – as everyone indulges into this cold coffee, from politicians to builders, as they go for a frequent break in true Cypriot fashion. Love it or hate it, frappé has become a way of life for us locals, enjoyed nearly all hours of the day, either during breakfast, after lunch and even in the evenings. It also holds a social significance as many friends catch up over a frappé and it can even be an excuse to meet up.
As a matter of fact, we love it so much, that it has found its way into high-class cafés, with baristas serving their own versions of frappé. Our favourite coffee can be found in every beach bar, or by street vendors in the middle of nowhere. Its ingredients are simple; instant coffee, water, ice cubes and the optional additions of milk and sugar.
Best place to enjoy this drink is by the beach
Where it comes from
Deriving from Greece, it is believed that this iced drink was invented in 1957 at the annual Thessaloniki International Fair by salesman Dimitrios Vakondios. While exhibiting a new chocolate beverage for children, produced instantly by mixing it with milk and shaking it in a shaker, Dimitrios put instant coffee in the shaker along with cold water and created a frothy beverage, accidentally. And so the much-loved frappé was created.
Since then it’s been embedded into Greek and Cypriot culture and the shaker has been replaced with either a hand mixer or a frappé mixer (milkshake maker). The iced coffee comes in three variations glyko, meaning sweet with a lot of sugar, metrio, meaning semi-sweet with usually one teaspoon of sugar and sketo, which has no sugar. If milk is added, the amount is referred to as olo gala meaning 3/4 milk, misó-misó, meaning half milk, half water, and mavro, which has no milk at all. So, if you want a frappé with a bit of sugar and a bit of milk you say, ena frappé metrio, misó-misó.
With frappe it’s all about the froth of the coffee
How to make it
The recipe is pretty straightforward. In a tall glass, put two teaspoons of instant coffee (depending on how strong you want it to be) and add sugar to your liking. Add a splash of water, just enough to cover the coffee and mix it with the machine until it forms a thick foam. Add a couple of ice cubes, water and milk depending on preference and your frappé is ready!
Taste this highly popular local coffee on your next outing and see what it’s all about. And if you really like it, there are hand-held mixers which you can buy and take home with you so you can make your own frappé wherever you are.
