Frappé (Greek Iced Coffee) Mocktail Recipe
Instant coffee whipped into a thick foam over ice — bittersweet, creamy on top and made to be sipped for hours.
- Category: Mocktail
- Glass: Highball glass
- ABV: 0%
- Difficulty: Easy
- Prep time: ~3 min
- Alcohol-free: ✓
Ingredients
- Instant coffee2 tsp
- Sugar2 tsp
- Cold water180 ml (6.1 oz)
- Evaporated milk30 ml (1 oz)
How to Make It
- Shake the instant coffee, sugar and 30 ml of cold water hard until a thick, pale foam forms.
- Fill a tall glass with ice and pour the foam over it.
- Top slowly with cold water so the foam stays on top.
- Add evaporated milk to taste and serve with a straw.
Garnish
Serve with a straw
What it tastes like
There is roasted coffee in it, it wears a foam cap and it drinks cool and easy.
The technique
Shaking. Anything with juice, syrup, egg white or cream gets shaken: the shaker chills the drink and adds roughly 20% water, and that water is what takes the edge off. Twelve to fifteen seconds, until the tin frosts over. Under-shaking leaves the drink harsh because it never got enough dilution.
Glass and ice
A tall, narrow highball. The narrowness does real work — less surface area means the carbonation lasts longer and the ice melts more slowly.
Ingredient notes and substitutes
- Sugar
- Granulated sugar. It dissolves badly in a cold drink, so either muddle it with a few drops of water first or turn it into syrup to begin with.
- Cold water
- Seeing it in a recipe is not a mistake: in spirit-forward drinks, measuring the dilution instead of leaving it to the ice is what makes the result repeatable.
- Evaporated milk
- Milk with half its water removed and no sugar added; lighter than cream, fuller than milk. With none, half milk and half cream gives the same body.
The Story
Said to have appeared at a trade fair in Thessaloniki in the late 1950s, when instant coffee was shaken with cold water for want of hot; it became Greece's summer coffee.
Frequently asked questions
- How is a Frappé (Greek Iced Coffee) mixed?
- It is shaken and served in a highball glass.
- Does a Frappé (Greek Iced Coffee) contain alcohol?
- No. It is safe to serve to children, to anyone pregnant, and to whoever is driving.
- Is a Frappé (Greek Iced Coffee) hard to make?
- Easy. No bar kit required — a measure, ice and a jar will do.
The main ingredient here is also a dream symbol: Coffee in a dream
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Alcoholic drink recipes are intended for those aged 18 and over. Please drink responsibly.