Greek Coffee Definition, Recipe and Main Brands
Greek coffee is not just another hot caffeine drink. It is a vivid part of Greece culture. Antiquities, islands, taverns, and Greek coffee are some of the distinguished properties of Greece. A coffee house (“kafenion”) is present in every village of Greece serving mostly Greek coffee among its other refreshments.
Greece is one of the countries that we examine in our Turkish coffee reviews. Greek coffee became very influential to a lot of people around the world. First to Greek populations immigrated in other countries. Second to people who admire Greek culture. The name though has changed to Greek coffee.
WHAT IS GREEK COFFEE?
Greek coffee (“Ellinikos kafes”) is the same characteristic type of powdered coffee. It is prepared almost like the traditional Turkish coffee recipe. Some minor differences may be observed but they do not affect the final presentation or the taste of the known coffee.
Its historical roots are traced back at the Ottoman Empire times since Greece was a part of it for almost 400 years (1453 – 1821). The word “Turkish” has changed though to “Greek” first for political reasons and second for touristic marketing purposes.
Check out our suggestions to buy Greek coffee online:
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| Loumidis Greek Coffee |
Bravo Greek Coffee |
Venizelos Greek Coffee |
Check our complete aStore GLOBAL TURKISH GROUND COFFEE for the most popular varieties of Turkish coffee from GREECE and other countries as well.
THE ORIGINAL GREEK COFFEE RECIPE
- Put the appropriate amount of water, ground coffee* and sugar (if used) in a Turkish coffee pot which is called “briki” in Greek.
- Place briki on low heat and stir well.
- Simmer until foam reaches the top of the pot.
- Pour half of the foam to the cups.
- Return briki to the heat. Stir again to create bubbles in the remaining foam.
- Simmer again until foam reaches the top of the pot.
- Fill up the cups by pouring coffee from a height of 10-12 cm to create more bubbles in the foam.
*1 heaping teaspoon of ground coffee for every cup.
Check also our complete aStore TURKISH COFFEE POTS (SINGLES & SETS) for the best globally available options of Turkish coffee pots.
EDUCATIONAL NOTES
- Greek households use electrical stoves which make difficult overall brewing. Instead, most of them have a small gas device (“gazaki”), the same appliance that is widely used in camping, as an alternative.
- Coffee is also stirred in the middle of the process because the Greeks like to create foam with lots of bubbles. It is considered as a sign of love!
- Greek coffee does not have any spices or other aromatics.
GREEK COFFEE SWEETNESS GUIDELINES
- Unsweetened coffee: “Sketos”.
- Medium-sweet coffee: “Metrios”. 1 teaspoon of sugar.
- Sweet coffee: “Glikos”. 2 teaspoons of sugar.
A few more variations exist though mostly in the coffee houses with domestic clientele. An example could be the extra-strong sweet coffee: “Vari Glikos” which is made with 3 teaspoons of sugar and 2 heaping teaspoons of coffee. Other types have particularities with foam raising and sometimes with the bubbles in the foam (“kaimaki”).
GREEK COFFEE SERVING
The Greek households traditionally serve the coffee to their guests on decorative trays, in small demitasse porcelain cups which carry floral or other domestic designs.
Coffee houses though use a special Greek coffee cup which is thick to hold coffee warm for longer time and of white color. It is especially made for them by manufacturers or is given free by coffee distributors with their logo-design on it.
There is also a habit among Greek coffee affossionatos of making double dosage (“diplos”) of Greek coffee. It may last longer but it carries the disadvantage of poor foam due to the fact that in regular coffee cups the froth cannot “stand” as in small cups. The traditional coffee houses though have the right cups for double dosage (thick, heavy, narrow top, wide bottom).
Check also our complete aStore COFFEE CUPS FOR TURKISH STYLE COFFEE for the best collection options of Turkish coffee cups.
THE COMPLIMENTS OF GREEK COFFEE
Greek coffee is always accompanied by a cold glass of water and small deserts. The most common of them are the Greek cookies (“koulourakia”) and the traditional spoon-sweets (“glyko koutaliou”) which is a chunk of preserved fruit or vegetable in heavy syrup. Greek baklava is also a considerable choice.
Check out our suggestions to buy any of the above Greek coffee accompanied items online:
| Greek Cookies | Greek Spoon Sweets | Baklava |
