Yes, it is. Frappe is often referred to as our national coffee. It was accidentally invented in 1957 at the Thessaloniki International Fair by Dimitris Vakondios, an employee of the Swiss company Nestlé, the maker of Nescafé instant coffee.

At the time Nestlé was introducing a new children’s drink based on chocolate.
During a break, Dimitris wanted to drink his usual Nescafe with hot water and sugar. He couldn’t find any hot water and having seen his manager many times presenting the chocolate drink with a shaker, he decided to do the same using instant coffee mixed with cold water in a shaker.

This is how this popular coffee drink was created and would later enter the Greeks’ daily lives. The company had indeed launched an iced instant coffee some years earlier, and Vakondios invented the rich foam of the frappe as we know it. Frappe consumption skyrocketed, and Nestle adopted this version of the story as the birth of the frappe.

Frappe coffee has accompanied many generations of Greeks in their most enjoyable moments and is identified with the summer months of relaxation and carelessness.

Here is what you need

There is no specific recipe for a frappe. Everyone can follow their own, depending on their tastes and preferences.

Basic recipe: Put two teaspoons of instant coffee, one teaspoon of sugar, and a little room-temperature water in a glass. The amount of water should not be much because a lot of foam will be created during blending. Use a milk frother and blend the coffee into a creamy foam. Add ice and fill the glass with cold water. Stir well and add some cream* if you like.

* Greeks often put evaporated milk in their coffee. I think it is in everyones memory drinking evaporated milk diluted with water instead of fresh -unless we were in Crete and I had to drink warmed fresh goat’s milk-I hated it. When I was growing up it was the only milk in the house, unless mom needed fresh for a recipe. Fresh milk took a while to become mainstream in Greece. I would say in the 80s the grocery shops started having lots of fresh milk on the shelves. It is interesting to note that evaporated milk has been around in Greece since 1929.

Our recipe pays homage to a famous cafe in Athens. The recipe was created by Christos Lentzos in his famous cafe in the Pagrati district in 1965. The Lentzos frappe is legendary, a recipe kept a top secret for years. It was unique and delicious. Their coffee became very popular in the 70s and an element of pleasure for decades. In the 90s I used to frequent the cafe and enjoy the thick creamy coffee before my night club escapades or on a lazy afternoon chatting for ages with a friend.

Here is how to make the Lentzos frappe

Lentzos frappe is strong, sweet, and thick. The foam is more like cream. It requires you to move your straw continuously, occasionally licking it. A chef once said the Lentzos frappe is reminiscent of tiramisu.