This is a story about how an accidental invention gave a new meaning to a country’s coffee culture. In the following article, we will talk about Frappé and Freddo, how they were invented and how to make them. If these drinks sound unfamiliar to you, don’t worry, you are not the only one. Frappé and Freddo are both cold coffee drinks and they are mainly popular in Greece and Cyprus. They are fairly easy to make, so don’t hesitate to follow the guide and try them yourself.
What Is A Frappe Coffee
So before we explain how they are made let’s learn a little about their story. Greece and Cyprus are both countries with very hot summer months but before the invention of frappé in 1957, people were mostly drinking Ibrik coffee. Then one day, during the International Trade Fair in Greece’s second-largest city, one of Nestlé’s exhibitors was looking for a way to drink his instant coffee but he could not find any hot water, so he decided to mix the instant grounds with sugar, cold water in a shaker, like a cocktail! It was a success and soon Nestlé’s coffee brand Nescafé developed and started selling its own Frappé. The word ‘Frappé’ is French and describes a drink served with ice.
Let’s see how you can make it yourself.
How to Make a Frappé
You will need
- 1 tall glass
- 1 tbsp of Instant coffee
- 30 ml of room temperature water
- A Milk mixer OR a milk frother OR a shaker
- Ice cubes (optional but recommended)
- Sugar (as much as you like)
- Milk (as much as you like)
- Additional cold water
Instructions
- Add the coffee, the sugar (if you are adding any) and the room temperature water in the glass.
- Mix using the milk mixer or the milk frother while being careful that the mixer doesn’t touch the bottom of the glass. Mix this for about 10 seconds.
- Add 3-4 ice cubes (recommended)
- If you would like to add milk, add about 2 tbsp condensed milk
- Fill with cold water until you reach the top of the glass
- Mix with a straw and enjoy!
- If you are using a shaker, follow the first two steps but use a shaker instead of a tall glass. Shake the mixture very well for about 10 seconds and then add into a tall glass.
- Follow the rest of the instructions by adding ice cubes, condensed milk and cold water. Grab a straw and enjoy!
The drink became a huge part of the population’s everyday coffee habits, especially during the hot summer months. However, that is until Freddo made its debut. Freddo is not exactly the whole name of the drink. The word ‘Freddo’ means ‘cold’ in Italian. The two most popular Freddo drinks in Greece and Cyprus are :
- Freddo Espresso
- Freddo Cappuccino
Although espresso was already popular in Greece since the 1960s, Freddo espresso wasn’t invented until the early 2000s. It was only a matter of time until a coffee company in Greece tried to make a cold coffee using an espresso shot instead of instant coffee.
A Little Introduction To Freddo
Even though Frappé was the first one to be invented, Freddo is now such a popular drink that you rarely hear someone ordering a Frappé instead. Greece and Cyprus are two countries with long summers that sometimes last from May until September and people love to enjoy the ritual of drinking a cold coffee in a coffee shop while chatting with friends for hours. Nevertheless, they are also perfect drinks to grab on the go and they can very refreshing during a hot day. So let’s have a look at how you can make a Freddo espresso and a Freddo cappuccino.
How to Make a Freddo Espresso
As the name suggests, in order to make a Freddo espresso or a cappuccino you will need an espresso shot. To do this you will need either an espresso machine or a Moka pot.
You will need
- An espresso shot (single or double, whichever you prefer)
- Ice cubes
- Water
- A teaspoon
- A tall glass
- Sugar (optional)
- A shaker (optional)
Instructions
- Pull an espresso shot using your espresso machine or a moka pot
- Add the shot in a tall glass
- Add sugar (optional) and mix well with a teaspoon.
- Add 3-4 ice cubes
- At this point your freddo espresso is ready but if you want you can mix this all in a shaker, your drink will be more frothy.
- Grab a straw and enjoy!
How to Make a Freddo Cappuccino
To make a Freddo Cappuccino you need to follow the same instructions and make a Freddo espresso, the only addition is the frothy milk on top. In order to do that you will need a milk frother.
Use about 50 ml of cold milk Make sure you are using a UHT or low-fat milk because it will create a smoother and creamier froth. Once your froth is ready just add it on top of your Freddo espresso and your Freddo cappuccino is ready to enjoy!
The Culture of Cold Coffee
The above drinks might sound unfamiliar to you but there are actually many variations of cold coffee drinks around the world. The first recorded cold coffee drink is the Algerian ‘Mazagran’, a mixture of coffee syrup and cold water. This drink made its appearance circa 1840 and from the 19th century until today, the list of cold coffee drinks keeps growing.
Some examples include the German Eiskaffe, a combination of brewed filter coffee, vanilla ice-cream, and whipped cream, the Vietnamese iced coffee, a combination of filter coffee and condensed milk over ice, and of course the world-famous cold brew, the process of soaking the coffee grounds for a few hours and then straining them over ice. These are of course only a few examples of other cold coffee beverages that you might discover in your travels.
One of the best parts about experimenting with coffee is that a lot of countries created a standard of what they like and adopt it as their own. So I encourage all of you when you travel to always explore the coffee scene of your destination. And if it so happens that your destination is somewhere hot then make sure to try a cold coffee drink.
