Greek Frappe
Instant coffee and sugar shaken to a stiff foam, then built over ice and cold water.
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A tall glass of layered Greek frappé with dark foam over milky coffee, a straw, on a beachside table
Serving
Drink spec, per drink
Every figure above is per drink and does not move with the count, which is what makes the two service modes comparable. Sugar per litre, strength and standard drinks stay in the units their own authorities publish, because they are figures for comparing rather than for pouring. Dilution is modelled rather than measured, as a fraction of the poured volume before any ice; dotted figures descend from that estimate.
Diet and allergen labels are computed from the ingredients listed on this page and nothing else. They cannot account for cross-contamination or for the particular product you buy, and they are not medical or safety guidance.
Ingredients
2 g instant coffee
8 g granulated sugar
130 ml water
- 2 g instant coffee
- 8 g granulated sugar
- 130 ml water
Glass
Vessel
135 ml of liquid plus 200 ml of cubed ice occupies about 335 ml, inside the 350 ml the glass holds. The build fails if a recipe ever exceeds its stated vessel.
A batch needs a vessel that closes and fits a fridge shelf.
Method
2 steps · 40sCombine the 2 g instant coffee, 8 g granulated sugar and 30 ml water in a shaker and shake hard for 20s, until it turns to a thick, pale foam.
Only a small splash of water goes in for the shake, because the foam forms from air worked into a concentrated mix of powder and sugar; the same amount of coffee shaken into the full glass of water never thickens the same way.
Fill the glass with ice, pour the 100 ml water over it, then spoon the foam on top.
Common pitfallGround roasted coffee will not do this. Instant coffee dissolves completely and carries almost no oil, which is what lets a shaken foam form and hold; grounds shaken the same way just leave a gritty froth that collapses at once.
Keeping and make-ahead
Shaken and built to order; the foam is the point of the drink and it does not survive standing.
About
Instant coffee shaken to a thick foam and built over ice, said to have been invented by accident at a Thessaloniki trade fair in 1957.
The story both sources tell agrees on its shape, if not on every detail. At the 1957 International Trade Fair in Thessaloniki, Dimitris Vakondios, an employee of the Nestlé representative exhibiting a shaken chocolate drink for children, wanted his usual cup of Nescafé on a break and could not find hot water 1. He mixed the instant coffee with cold water and ice in the shaker that was on hand for the cocoa demonstration instead, and what came out (a thick, pale foam over a cold, sweet coffee) is the drink now served across Greece and Cyprus 2.
The accident depended on the product as much as the moment. Spray-dried instant coffee carries almost none of roasted coffee's natural oil, which is exactly what lets it foam and hold air the way ground coffee cannot 2. Vakondios's improvisation only worked because Nescafé, not brewed coffee, was what he had on hand.
Its spread from a fairground accident to a national habit took decades and a deliberate push. Nestlé ran sustained advertising for the drink through the 1970s and 1980s, and the campaign's jingle (Greek for "stop for a moment, make a Nescafé") is still recalled by Greeks who grew up with it 2. The result outgrew the brand that built it: frappé is now made with any instant coffee, shaken or blended into foam, poured over ice and cold water, and treated as a fixture of outdoor café culture rather than a product endorsement 1.
- 1Frappé coffeeen.wikipedia.org
- 2How the Instant-Coffee Frappé Became a Beloved Greek Institutionvice.com