138Freddo espresso

Method

Standard cafe preparation. Serve immediately with a drinking straw and cold water.

You will need

• espresso machine
• spindle drink mixer or cocktail shaker
• metal mixing pitcher
• tall highball glass
• straw

1. Extract a double shot of espresso directly into a metal pitcher or mixing cup. 1 min Ready when: fresh hot espresso with thick crema
2. Add the sugar immediately while the coffee is piping hot, stirring briskly until fully dissolved. 1 min Ready when: no undissolved sugar granules remaining
3. Add two to three ice cubes into the mixing vessel and blend using a spindle drink mixer for roughly ten seconds until chilled, creamy, and pale in colour. 1 min Ready when: thick, stable crema and thoroughly cooled liquid
4. Fill a tall glass with fresh solid ice cubes. 1 min Ready when: glass chilled and packed with ice
5. Strain and pour the aerated espresso over the fresh ice, scraping the thick foam layer on top to finish. 1 min Ready when: distinct layered appearance with rich coffee crema atop clear ice

Tap a step to tick it off.

Make ahead and storing

Cannot be stored; drink immediately before the ice dilutes the espresso.

Substitutions

• brown sugar or simple syrup for white sugar. Can be substituted, though plain white sugar dissolves cleanest in hot espresso.

Common mistakes

• Adding the sugar after cooling the espresso with ice. Sugar will not dissolve in cold liquid and settles at the bottom of the glass in gritty crystals.
• Over-blending on the spindle mixer. Melts too much ice into the coffee, turning the drink watery and weak rather than velvety.

Regional variants

• Freddo cappuccino: topped with an airy, dense layer of cold-frothed low-fat milk.

About the dish

Freddo espresso emerged in Greek cafes during the early 1990s as quality espresso machines became widespread. It quickly displaced the instant-coffee frappe among younger drinkers, adapting southern European espresso to the Greek climate and the prolonged, conversational pace of Greek cafe culture. It is now ubiquitous nationwide.

Found in all of Greece. Cooked for everyday, summer.

Cousins elsewhere

• Caffè shakerato (Italian). Italian espresso shaken with ice and strained into a glass; the Greek version is aerated with a drink mixer and poured over fresh ice.
• Freddo espresso (Cypriot). Adopted directly from Greek cafe culture and prepared identically in Cyprus.

Nutrition per serving (estimate)

1 kcal · protein 0.1 g · fat 0.1 g (saturated 0.1 g) · carbohydrate 0 g (sugars 0 g) · fibre 0 g · sodium 10 mg

An estimate (summed from ingredient estimates) that varies with the exact ingredients. It is not dietary advice.

Written fresh by Epikouria editors from general culinary tradition. Recipe by the Epikouria editors. Modern Greek cafe standard evolved in Athens during the late 1990s..