Greek Drinks
Frappe Recipe (Greek Iced Instant Coffee)
Φραπέ frah-PEH · Frape
Photo: Greek frappé.jpg by Wimmiden, CC BY-SA 4.0. Placeholder until original photography is shot.
In short
Frappe is Greece's national iced coffee, made by whipping instant coffee, sugar and a little water into a thick, foamy cream, then topping it with cold water, ice and optionally milk. It was invented by accident in Thessaloniki in 1957 and has been Greece's default cafe order ever since.
Frappe has a genuinely documented origin story, which is unusual for a drink this beloved: it was created in 1957 at the Thessaloniki International Fair, when an employee of the Nescafe company, unable to find hot water for his usual instant coffee break, shook it instead with cold water in a shaker meant for a children's chocolate drink, and the thick, foamy result caught on almost immediately.
Since then it has become the default coffee order across Greece through spring and summer, ordered in cafes with a specific vocabulary of its own: metrio for medium sweetness, sketo for no sugar, gliko for sweet, and me gala or horis gala for with or without milk.
The whole drink depends on getting real foam on the coffee itself before anything else is added, and that foam is entirely achievable at home with nothing more specialised than a shaker, a milk frother, or even a hand mixer.
Key preparation steps
- Whip instant coffee, sugar and a little cold water until thick and foamy.
- Pour the foam into a tall glass over ice.
- Top up with cold water.
- Add milk if you like, and serve with a straw.
Getting the foam right
Instant coffee is essential here, since it is what whips into a stable foam; ground coffee brewed conventionally will not do this. Combine instant coffee, sugar to taste, and a small splash of cold water, roughly two tablespoons, in a cocktail shaker, a jar with a tight lid, or a tall container if using a milk frother or hand mixer.
Shake or whip vigorously for a genuine thirty seconds to a minute, until the mixture has turned thick, pale and foamy, roughly tripling in volume. This is the step that makes or breaks a frappe, and a half-hearted ten-second shake will not produce proper foam.
Sweetness levels
Greek cafes order frappe by specific sweetness: sketos with no sugar at all, metrios with about a teaspoon, and glykos with two teaspoons or more. None is more correct than another, and it is entirely a matter of personal taste, though metrios is the most commonly ordered by a fair margin.
Assembling the drink
Fill a tall glass generously with ice, pour the whipped coffee foam over it, then top up with cold water to your preferred strength, leaving room at the top for the foam to rise. A splash of cold milk, evaporated milk in particular is traditional in many cafes, can be added on top for a creamier version, or the drink can be left black.
Serve immediately with a straw, since the foam is the whole point and it settles somewhat within minutes of standing.
Tips from my kitchen
Only instant coffee whips into foam
Conventionally brewed coffee will not produce the thick foam that defines a proper frappe. Instant is essential, not a compromise.
Shake properly, not half-heartedly
A genuine thirty seconds to a minute of vigorous shaking is what triples the volume into real foam. A quick stir will not do it.
Serve immediately
The foam settles within minutes. Frappe is meant to be made and drunk close together, not prepared far ahead.
Frappe Recipe (Greek Iced Instant Coffee)
Φραπέ · by Kalliopi Andreou · updated 2026-07-31
- Prep
- 5m
- Cook
- None
- Total
- 5m
- Serves
- 1
Ingredients
Ingredients
Method
- Combine the instant coffee, sugar and 2 tablespoons of cold water in a cocktail shaker or a jar with a tight lid.
- Shake vigorously for 30 seconds to 1 minute, until the mixture has turned thick, pale and foamy, tripling in volume.
- Fill a tall glass generously with ice.
- Pour the whipped coffee foam over the ice.
- Top up with the cold water, leaving room at the top.
- Add a splash of milk if using, and serve immediately with a straw.
Nutrition, per 1 glass, without milk
- Calories
- 38
- Protein
- 0 g
- Carbs
- 8 g
- Fat
- 0 g
- Sat fat
- 0 g
- Fibre
- 0 g
These figures are calculated estimates based on the ingredients listed, not laboratory analysis. Actual values vary with brands, cuts and portion size.
Frequently asked questions about Frape
Can you make frappe with ground coffee instead of instant?
No, not in the traditional sense. The whipped foam that defines frappe comes specifically from instant coffee's ability to aerate when shaken with a little water, which conventionally brewed coffee does not do.
What does sketos, metrios and glykos mean?
They describe sweetness level when ordering: sketos is no sugar, metrios is a moderate amount, roughly a teaspoon, and glykos is sweet, with two teaspoons or more.
Who invented frappe?
It was created by accident in 1957 at the Thessaloniki International Fair, when a Nescafe company representative shook instant coffee with cold water in place of hot, in a shaker meant for a children's drink, and the foamy result became popular almost immediately.
