You can feel summer in the air, and summer of course means Frappé Ice Coffee Heaven! On those long, hot, and incredibly sunny days, there’s nothing better than taking 10mins out to enjoy a refreshing cold drink.

Many holiday-makers, and tourists in general, enjoy a frappé when in Greece, but wouldn’t think of making one at home. This is a great shame, as frappé’s are super easy to make, and taste fantastic!

You don’t have to be sat in a corner cafe in Athens in the plaka to enjoy a frappé! This blog post is going to show you just how quick and easy it is to make one at home.

But first, a bit more information on the frappé itself, and then we’ll look at how to make a frappe. Whilst mega corps like Starbucks have traded on the name for quite some time now, their offerings pale in comparison to the original.

Frappé Origins

The original Greek frappé was first conceived by Dimitris Vcondios, in 1957, who was an employee of the international company, Nestle. During the world trade fair in Thessaloniki, the a minor technical issue occurred and the frappé was born.

Although the word ‘frappé’ is French, meaning shaken or stirred, it has little to do with the Greek frappé. The French frappé is what most people think of; a deliciously smooth cold drink made from juice, or milk, and ice all blitzed together.

However, the Greek frappé is much easier to make, and requires no expensive equipment, or does not require a vigorous workout to achieve it’s frothy head.

Hang on, Frappé or Freddo?

What you might also not know, or not have realised, is that there are two versions of the iced coffee drink in Greece, the frappé and the freddo. But which is which?

There are two defining characteristics of frappés and freddos, once you’ve mastered remembering them, then you’ll never order the wrong one by mistake again!

Frappé: iced coffee drink made with instant coffee and water, poured over ice cubes, sometimes with sugar (or sometimes even ice-cream), and has a frothy top.

Freddo: has two variations: cappuccino or espresso (that’s ehSS-presso, not EX-presso!)

• Freddo Cappuccino: is just like your hot cappuccino, but over ice. Its usually made with a little cold frothed milk (afrogala in Greek) on top of it.
• Freddo Espresso: will really get your heart racing with a double shot of espresso coffee, blended with ice cubes.

Now, just to confuse matters a little, you can also vary the amount of sugar in your frappé. So, when you’re ordering your next frappé, try one of these options:

• “sketo” (no sugar)
• “metrio” (1-2 teaspoons of sugar)
• “glyko” (3+ teaspoons of sugar)
• “me gala”  for ‘with milk’ 

I’m a sucker for ‘Ena frappé metrio me gala‘, which is a semi-sweet frappé with milk. You can read a great article on frappé here: at the Greek Reporter.

Frappé Ice Coffee Heaven Ingredients:

Espresso coffee powder: Whilst Nestle are the original instant coffee makers of the frappé, this instant powder is a great option for that authentic flavour!

Frappé Ice Coffee Heaven Equipment:

Hand-whisk: I love this thing. It’s small, fast, and easy to clean. It runs on batteries, and can be taken with you wherever you go – I take mine in the car, or suitcase, when on the road so I can have coffee wherever I am!

Tall glasses: Presentation is key to the mindset – we can’t always be beside the seaside, let alone on a Greek island. But, with the right look, your mind can remember those long sunny days.

Metal straw: because a frappé should be sipped, not chugged! And, let’s be honest, an environmentally friendly reusable straw isn’t hard to take with you these days!

So, on to the best bit: How to Make a Frappe!

Thanks for checking out this post on Frappé: Ice Coffee Heaven, and I do hope you enjoy one soon. If you do, please come back and post a comment, or share a photo with the tag: #LarderPantryandGarden. 

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