Greek Frappé (Whipped Iced Coffee)

Somewhere around the third heat wave of every summer, I stop making our usual pot of coffee and switch us all over to frappé instead, mostly to stop myself from complaining about the weather out loud in front of the children. It takes five minutes, needs no special equipment beyond a jar with a lid, and produces this thick golden foam that makes plain instant coffee feel like a small miracle.

Frappé is Greece’s answer to the iced coffee question, and it’s built on a technicality that trips up a lot of first-timers: it has to be instant coffee, not brewed. Instant coffee, sugar, and a splash of cold water get shaken or whipped until they triple in volume and turn into a stable foam, which then gets poured over ice and topped off with more cold water. You drink it slowly, through a straw, while the ice does the rest of the work.

It’s not a Portuguese drink, obviously, but it earns its place next to our Poncha (recipe on the site) and Porto Tónico (recipe on the site) in the drinks corner of the blog, the kind of thing worth keeping in your back pocket for a hot afternoon.

Greek Frappé Recipe

Prep time: 5 minutes · Cook time: 0 minutes · Total: 5 minutes · Servings: 1 (easily multiplied) · Calories: ~60 per serving

Ingredients

• 2 teaspoons instant coffee (traditionally Nescafé)
• 2 teaspoons sugar, or to taste
• 2 to 3 tablespoons cold water
• Ice cubes
• 1/2 to 3/4 cup cold water, to top off
• Splash of evaporated milk or regular milk (optional)

Instructions

1. Combine the instant coffee, sugar, and 2 to 3 tablespoons of cold water in a cocktail shaker, a tall glass with an immersion blender, or a jar with a tight lid.
2. Shake, blend, or whisk vigorously for 20 to 30 seconds, until the mixture transforms into a thick, pale golden foam that roughly triples in volume.
3. Fill a tall glass with ice cubes.
4. Pour the foam over the ice, then add cold water to fill the glass, leaving room for the foam to rise to the top.
5. Add a splash of milk if you like, stir gently once to keep the foam intact, and serve immediately with a straw.

Recipe Notes

• Instant coffee is non-negotiable here; brewed coffee won’t whip into the signature foam.
• Sketos means no sugar, metrios means one teaspoon (medium), and glykos means two teaspoons (sweet). Adjust to your taste.
• No shaker or blender? A milk frother, or even vigorous whisking in a small bowl, gets you most of the way there.
• This is best sipped slowly on a hot afternoon, letting the ice gradually dilute it as you go.