Cold Cappuccino | History, advice and recipes for home

In the late 1950s, instant coffee came to compete on a large scale with Greek coffee in Greece. Dimitris Vakondios at the 1957 Thessaloniki International Fair mixes instant coffee with cold water, ice cubes, sugar and milk and creates the Frappé that will soon conquer Greece.

Until the end of the 1980s the Frappé is considered a typical Greek drink, indicative of the Greek coffee culture, as it is consumed very slowly, making the long coffee ritual suitable for the pace of the Greeks, and the typical Mediterranean and sunny climate most of the time allows them to enjoy cold coffee all year round.

The introduction of espresso culture to Greece in the 1990s and the emergence of specialty coffee shops educated the tastes of locals, who began to turn to single-origin coffee beans and specialty coffees in general. Espresso became the new favorite Greek habit and, as a natural consequence, the replacement of instant coffee with a double espresso in the Frappé marked the arrival of Cold Coffee.

The Greek variants Freddo Espresso and Freddo Cappuccino combine the rich taste of espresso with the Greek need for iced, refreshing drinks.

While there are undoubtedly variations, far from pouring a shot of espresso over ice cubes as is done in other countries, the classic Greek Freddo espresso recipe involves mixing a hot shot of espresso with ice and sugar in a beverage mixer, creating the drink’s signature creamy texture and foam. The Freddo Cappuccino follows the same process, but is topped with a layer of cold, structured and frothy milk. Both are served in a glass, with ice.

For Cold Cappuccino, just add cold milk foam on top of Freddo Espresso.

All they have to do is not mix the milk with the coffee, but obtain two different consistencies, that of cold coffee and that of cold milk foam.

To prepare milk froth, place cold low-fat milk at 3–5°C in a shaker and shake until you obtain a rich, creamy consistency.

When the milk is ready, slowly pour it over the espresso so that it forms a separate layer. It does not need to be stirred as the frothed milk should be on top of the espresso layer. When the Freddo cappuccino is drunk slowly, the frothed milk will mix delicately with the espresso, creating a new textural experience.

For Cold, fruity coffees with low acidity and full body are suitable.

Blended with ice, the intensity of the coffee begins to diminish, so a coffee with personality will stand out even after blending. For Cold, you can choose between coffee beans from the Manufaktura Premium Beans range with low to medium acidity originating from India, Brazil, Indonesia or Costa Rica and Fruity Blend.

To prepare a cold coffee, add freshly brewed espresso and some ice cubes to a bowl. It’s important to add the right amount of ice: too much will dilute the drink, while too little will prevent it from getting cold.

The key to making iced coffee is to use a drink mixer to help you get the consistency you need. To make Freddo, a shaker is more suitable than a blender because it helps to quickly cool the coffee without crushing the ice.

The quality of the espresso also plays an important role.

It all starts with a perfect shot of double espresso. The quality of the espresso depends on the final taste of the shot, the aroma, the full and silky consistency and the pleasant aftertaste that is preserved after mixing with ice in the Freddo Espresso and milk foam in the Freddo Cappuccino.