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Greek

Greek frappé

Vegetarian

Φραπέ · frapé

Instant coffee shaken with sugar and a little cold water into a thick foam, then topped with ice and water (and milk if you like) — Greece's summer café staple.

Greek frappé is a Greek cold drink from Greece, ready in about 3 minutes and made with instant coffee and sugar. It serves 1 and is rated beginner to cook.

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A serving of Greek frappé
Photo: MorningbirdPhoto / Pixabay · Pixabay Content License
Prep
3 min
Cook
0 min
Total
3 min
Serves
1
Level
Beginner
Calories
47

Ingredients

1 tall glass

Equipment

Method

  1. Step 1

    Put the instant coffee (opens in a new tab), sugar (opens in a new tab) and 2–3 tablespoons of cold water into a tall glass or shaker.

    • 1 min

  2. Step 2

    Froth with a handheld frother for 20–30 seconds (or shake hard in a closed shaker) until it becomes a thick, pale-brown foam that fills a third of the glass.

  3. Step 3

    Add the ice, then slowly top up with cold water (and milk, if using) — the foam rises to the top. Serve with a straw.

    • 1 min
    A finished dish being plated
    How it looks · Photo: Willians Huerta on Pexels

About this dish

Origin
Greece · Well documentedAlso popular in CyprusMore food from Greece
Dish
Breakfast · Snack · Cold drinks
Cooking method
Whipped
Taste
bitter, sweet, refreshing
Diet
Vegetarian (lacto-ovo) · No gluten ingredients · No nut ingredients · Low-carb
All labelsVegetarian (lacto-ovo) · Eggetarian · Lacto-vegetarian · Pescatarian · Flexitarian-friendly · No gluten ingredients · Egg-free · No nut ingredients · Alcohol-free · Pork-free · Beef-free · Low-carb · Low-fat · Low-sodium · DASH-style
Without the optional extras: Vegan, Plant-based, Ovo-vegetarian, Dairy-freeWorked out from the ingredients. How labels work
Good for
Everyday · Budget-friendly
Cook more with
Instant coffee · Sugar
Techniques
Emulsification

Allergens

  • Contains, can be adapted: Milkfrom evaporated milk

Based on typical versions of these ingredients and not verified allergen-free. Brands differ and cross-contact happens, so always check labels. For severe allergies, follow your clinician’s advice.

Nutrition

47 kcal per serving

Estimated

1 serving ≈ 242 g · recipe makes 1

Where the energy comes from

  • Protein 4%
  • Carbohydrate 96%
  • Fat 0%
Nutrition per serving and per 100 g
NutrientPer servingPer 100 g*
Energy47 kcal19 kcal
Protein0.5 g0.2 g
Carbohydrate11.4 g4.7 g
Net carbohydrate11.4 g4.7 g
Sugars8.4 g3.5 g
Added sugars8.4 g3.5 g
Fibre0 g0 g
Fat0 g0 g
Saturated fat0 g0 g
Trans fat0 g0 g
Cholesterol0 mg0 mg
Sodium6 mg3 mg
Salt equivalent0 g0 g
Vitamins & minerals per serving
Potassium
142 mg
Calcium
29 mg
Iron
0.2 mg
Magnesium
18 mg
Vitamin A (RAE)
0 µg
Vitamin C
0 mg
Vitamin D
0 µg
Vitamin B12
0 µg
Folate (DFE)
0 µg

How these numbers were made

  • Calculated from USDA FoodData Central (SR Legacy) per-100 g values and the listed quantities.
  • *Per 100 g of combined raw ingredients; the cooked dish may weigh more or less.
  • Optional ingredients are not included: evaporated milk.
  • Ice: Frozen water; same composition as water.
  • “—” means the value isn’t known for enough of the ingredients; it is never zero by default.
  • Values are estimates for guidance, not for medical dosing. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. fdc.nal.usda.gov.

Good to know

Tips

  • Only instant coffee foams this way; brewed coffee will not.

Common mistakes

  • Using freeze-dried granules, which barely foam — choose spray-dried instant powder.

Serve with

  • Sipped slowly over an hour or more at a café table.

Storage

  • Make to order; the foam lasts about an hour.

Variations

  • Freddo espresso (Greece): The later Greek favourite: double espresso shaken with ice and strained over fresh ice; freddo cappuccino adds cold milk foam.

History

The frappé is widely said to have been improvised with instant coffee and a shaker at the 1957 Thessaloniki International Fair.

Confidence: Commonly attributed

Original editorial recipe · FriendsPantry editorial · Not yet independently reviewed · Added · Updated

Recipe DNA

How this dish is built

Customise in Sip & Blend

Grouped by each ingredient’s role in the dish. Each band’s width is its share of the dish by weight. Choose a component to see what it does.

What the dish is built around

Main ingredient

Used in step 3

Less sweet, dairy-free, caffeine-free or for more people — the original stays as it is.

Customise in Sip & Blend

Reviews & corrections

Reviews come from signed-in cooks and appear after a moderator checks them. We never show made-up ratings.

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