As far as they say, the ancestor of today’s ’frappe’ appeared in the mid-19th century coffee drinks with a slushy-like texture similar to iced coffee.
However, the time calculation of the frappe we know today originated from an accident Mr. Dimitris Vakondios, an employee of Nestlé company made during the Thessaloniki International Fair (TIF) in 1957 when he wanted to prepare his Nescafé Classic coffee during a break, but could not find any hot water, so he mixed his coffee with cold water in a shaker. The frappe has become the national drink of Greece and took over its official name Frappe around 1979 and its popularity has not faded since then, on the contrary, it has become one of the most popular cold drinks in the world.
The Greek Frappe is originally made by using instant coffee, sugar, cold water, and ice, mixed in a shaker or with a handy mixer and poured into a tall glass onto ice cubes, and served with a straw. Occasionally milk is added as well. But since it was ’born’, several recipes are known around the globe, even in Greece.
So, do not be surprised if they ask you in Greece – just to begin with – if with or without milk. To go further, closely to Greece, in Bulgaria, your frappe is served with soda water instead of water, or in Serbia your frappe is served with milk or ice cream and they put freshly whipped cream on top.
Further away, but still in Europe, in Denmark they simply substitute the icy water with cold milk, but on the American continent, in Boston, a really different type of frappe is served which is more like a milkshake than a frappe, made with ice-cream and they call it simply ’frap’.
And to add more to the colorfulness of frappe, while the traditional frappé is made with coffee, more and more new recipes were born and borns every day, just like with tea – like the cold chai latte prepared like a frappe, or with juice, like in France, or even with hot chocolate.
But no matter where you are in the world, you will definitely find your favorite frappe(s) you’ll remember for the rest of your life, and at Il Perfetto we provide you the best premixes of Frappé (with milk powder) and Iced Coffee (with no milk content) to can easily prepare your favorite style and flavor to enjoy it on hot days.
To be continued…