It’s the Greeks who are to blame. Not only did they introduce democracy to the world and give rise to some of the world’s greatest thinkers in the forms of Plato and Aristotle, each challenging the world view with their respective versions of “The Republic,” but it seems that they are solely responsible for inventing and subsequently perfecting one of the most refreshing drinks known to mankind.
Being Greek, one could probably assume that the drink we are referring to is Ouzo, or even one of the world’s oldest wines, Retsina. You would, however, be mistaken, because the great Greeks are known as the inventors, consumers and very proud owners of that most refreshing of summer drinks, the Frappe.
You would think that being Greeks, their coffee of choice would be the traditional Greek (or Turkish, depending on which side of the border you’re on) mixed in the small copper pot known as the ‘embrike’ and often strong enough to stand a spoon in, if you take into account what the older generation say about their ancestors’ coffee.
Today’s Greeks though are very much of the Frappe generation, with almost the entire population sector claiming to be the biggest fans of this frothy beverage. One could even go so far as to say that over and above all things, Frappe is the one thing that transcends all socio-political, economic barriers.
In all seriousness though, anyone who has ever been fortunate enough to spend any amount of time in either Greece or Cyprus during the long, hot summers that make the two countries so attractive, especially with their outdoor lifestyles next to shimmering beaches should know that the drink of choice to quench any thirst has to be the fabulous Frappe.
As you sit, or lounge, in a cafe or bar, facing the glorious Mediterranean Sea, sipping on your “sketo, ligo gala, miso miso, glyko” Frappe – plain, a little milk, half-half or sweet - Frappe, you may be surprised as to how much thought and even history comes into the making of this quenching coffee.
First and foremost, perhaps like most great things, the invention of Frappe was through an act of desperate necessity and was actually born at the expense of a children’s chocolate drink. What happened was that two representatives of the Nestle Company in Greece were at the 1957 Trade Fair in Thessaloniki, Greece. One of the representatives was showing his audience how to make a new children’s chocolate beverage, using powder, water and a mixer (blender). His colleague, called Dimitris Vakondis, was desperate for a cup of coffee and in his anguish, not being able to find any hot water with which to make his coffee, resorted to putting his instant coffee with cold water and using the blender to mix it up; and so to his great surprise he had made a cold coffee with lovely soft froth which tasted good.
This new cold coffee ended up being more popular than the children’s chocolate drink and Nestle ended up taking this new product on board, perfecting the type of coffee used and the methodology and then successfully marketing Nestle (or Nescafe) Frappe as Greece’s national drink. They did their job so well that the Frappe became what we know it to be today – the most consumed drink in both Greece and Cyprus.
When you order your Frappe, you could even spare a thought into how the actual drink is made and why it is vital to use the right kind of coffee to get the foam just right. Research has shown that while the freeze-dried soluble coffee found in supermarkets can be used, the best coffee to make frappe is the spray-dried instant variety because apparently its low coffee-oil content aids in how the foam is made, what it looks like and how long it lasts. It really is hard to believe that something as simple as foam is a result of science, but then perfection is often a product of much practice.
Scientifically, when the spray-dried coffee is dissolved, it enables the creation of a thicker frothy layer at the top of the coffee where the tiny bubbles forming the froth are held together by the actual coffee solids, with the absence of oil making the mixture more stable, so the bubbles are supported and don’t collapse. Once the foam is created, a process of thickening takes place where water molecules are constantly pushed out of the froth so the bubbles then come closer together, resulting in an almost solid foam. While the foam itself has no real effect on the actual taste of the coffee and drinkers consume the drink from a straw to avoid actual contact with the foam, the foam in top of a Greek Frappe is universally considered to be an integral part of the entire process and in fact one of the best and often favourite part of the drink is the luxurious slurping of the foam once the actual liquid is finished as that is where the taste remains, especially if the Frappe is drunk with sugar.
The cold coffee beverage has become so popular in Greece that not only does the country import but does not export any of its soluble coffee as is the case with most European countries, but it even gave rise to a popular book devoted to the practise and consumption of the national drink called Frappe Nation. Described as a bilingual gift book, Frappe Nation is full of coffee facts and quotes from coffee professionals, social presences and entertainment icons of Greek society. One of the quotes used in the book even describes the power of the Frappe, “the distance between glum silence and spirited chattiness can sometimes be measured by the length of a straw.”
While the publishing of a book celebrating some of the best and most popular coffee haunts throughout the entire Greek nation, including all the islands may perhaps seem a bit extreme, it really is indicative of the fact that Frappe is absolutely the ultimate Greek drink and while it may not be on the same ideological level as Plato and Aristotle, as you lounge back, gazing at the sparkling blue Mediterranean Sea, sipping your Frappe, you should acknowledge that it may even be the ultimate nectar of the Greek Gods.
Weight for me tomorrow. Paul
Paul Lambis is the author of “Where is Home?” – A journey of hilarious contrasts.
For more information on Paul Lambis, and to order his book online,
visit www.paul-lambis.com
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