Frappè Coffee

Όχι-όχι! Μπορεί να σας έδειξα πως φτιάχνουμε έναν Cappuccino Freddo αλλά δε θα πω σε κανέναν Έλληνα πως να φτιάξει τον φραπέ του! Η σημερινή ανάρτηση απευθύνεται στους φίλους εκτός συνόρων που μου λένε ότι πίνουν “φραπς” στα Starbucks, αλλά τι εννοούν; Η καταχώρηση για τον φραπέ στη Wikipedia (στα αγγλικά) είναι πολύ κατατοπιστική!

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I read posts from fellow-bloggers in Australia enjoying winter and I seriously envy them! We are currently having a heatwave in Greece so what better time to give you a little reminder on how to make a delectable, true Cappuccino Freddo and to also give you the basics on whipping up another Greek favourite iced coffee: the frappè 

[recipe title=”Frappè Coffee” servings=”for a tall glass” difficulty=”easy-peasy!”]

[recipe-notes]
Gadgets: a strong coffee mixer or a blender
[/recipe-notes]

[recipe-ingredients]
– 1-2 heaping teaspoonfuls of your favourite instant coffee –depending on how strong you want it
– sugar/sweetener (to taste)
– dairy or other type of milk milk (to taste)
– ice
[/recipe-ingredients]

[recipe-directions]
1. For a tall glass add 2 heaping teaspoonfuls in your coffee mixer cup and any sugar/sweetener you usually take.
2. Fill the cup at 1/6 with water (just enough for the whisk to be emerged) and “whisk away” for 1-1.5 mins. You will end up with a smooth, thick, creamy froth.
3. Fill a tall glass with ice, serve the coffee & fill up the rest with cold water.
4. Add a splash of any kind of milk you like or skip the milk and serve with a scoop of vanilla ice cream!
[/recipe-directions]
[/recipe]

While you sit back, relax & sip on your frappè make sure you check this really interesting Wikipedia insert on said coffee but, meanwhile, here are two amusing paragraphs quoted for you:

Although a Café Frappé today is mostly associated with the Greek instant coffee version, the rest of the world have during the last two decades embraced the espresso version, simply shaking a double espresso with 1/2 teaspoon white sugar (shaker 2/3 full of ice) and poured directly into a glass.
Greek Frappé is also consumed in Cyprus, where the Greek Cypriots adopted the frappé into their culture, in Albania, the Republic of Macedonia, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, parts of Turkey, Ukraine, Poland and Romania. In recent years foreign tourists in Greece have taken frappé to their homelands, where it has been adopted with some differences. In Bulgaria, Coca-cola is sometimes used instead of water (possibly the inspiration for Coca-Cola Blāk), in Denmark cold milk is often used instead of tap water. In Serbia, frappé (usually called hladan nes, ‘cold instant coffee’) is usually made with milk or ice-cream, and whipped cream is often added on top.

In the United States, ‘frappe’ has two meanings, only one related to coffee, and neither connected to the Greek coffee drink. In the northeastern region of New England, a frappe (pronounced ‘frap’ and spelled without the accent) is a thick milkshake. A coffee shop there, in Boston, Massachusetts, combined a milk shake with coffee and called it ‘frappuccino’. When Starbucks bought the shop, the Coffee Connection, it bought the trademarked name. Starbucks in Greece offer both Frappuccino and Greek-style ‘Frappe’ (written by Starbucks without the accent). Since then frappe has entered the American lexicon as an iced coffee drink, either sold chilled or frozen. Many of Starbucks’ competitors, in the United States, in the Philippines and elsewhere, have begun offering drinks similar to the popular and trademarked frappuccino and called them ‘frappe’ with or without the accent, some of which do not include any coffee.

*intro image & featured image credits to © Ivan Mateev @Dreamstime.com – Frappe Coffee/slider images by Athina D. Pantazatou for Kicking Back the Pebbles