Greek-Style Frappe

This summer refresher summons all of my superpowers as a Greek girl and a coffee lover and also beautifully solves the problem of the heat of summer.

Tip: Buy Greek Nescafé with the Greek writing on the can. Any good international or Greek market will have it. It’s the classic that virtually any Greek cafe will be using.

I tweaked it a little for my own taste (less sweet, adjusting the milk) and it reached perfection and resembled the drink I ordered from cafe to cafe lingering in the shade of an umbrella for over a sweltering month in Greece. Frappe became my safe word to avoid heatstroke.

I settled on a proportion of 1 teaspoon sugar to 3 teaspoons Nescafé, shook up in a jar (or better, the nifty shaker bottle you might find from Nescafé at the Greek store) for 30 to 40 seconds with 3 to 4 tablespoons cold water until a lush foam fills the bottle, then poured it over a tall (16-ounce) narrow tumbler with 5 to 6 ice cubes, added about 1/4 cup ice water, and then 3 tablespoons evaporated milk. Sit and sip while imagining the Aegean in front of you.

A self-proclaimed coffee snob, I couldn’t imagine liking something that includes instant coffee. I only had instant espresso on hand so I used it. And to my surprise, in less than 2 minutes, I was drinking something that was coffee flavored yet sweet and frothy and sort of refreshing on a summer day. I haven’t had this in any Greek restaurant nor have I been to Greece to I can’t speak to its authenticity but I can say that, based upon my efforts, I was pleased with the outcome.

I used a lidded jar as I couldn’t see dirtying my blender. In 30 seconds I had plenty of froth. I used a 16-ounce glass filled with ice cubes and ended up adding 4 ounces water and a drop of milk as that is how I prefer to drink coffee. No relationship to a root beer float but a nice drink nonetheless. This serves 1 adult. Next time I may actually dirty my blender!

I love iced coffee beverages and this one is terrific! The coffee flavor was rich but not bitter and had a very nice mocha-tasting finish. It reminded me of an affogato without the guilt of ice cream!

It couldn’t be quicker to make, as it took me a total of 7 minutes to round up the ingredient items, shake in a cocktail shaker, pour over ice in a tall glass, and add water and milk. The foamy froth held up well while I was drinking it.

I was a little hesitant about using instant coffee since I don’t like the taste (even in moments of desperation!), so I tried this recipe with Café Bustelo instant espresso. I used 1 1/4 (.09 oz) packets to equal 2 teaspoons instant coffee. Definitely not watered down as I would have expected from instant coffee, especially once ice is added.

This frothy iced coffee is a great no-fuss afternoon treat!!! Definitely just 1 serving. Not sharing!!!

This took me back to that time I was at a bar overlooking the beach on a Greek island. I honestly didn’t think it would work so well, especially since I shook it in a jar, but it was perfect and, better yet, it was so simple. This is going to be my new summer drink addiction!