What do the Cretans drink?
Greek coffee and their alternatives
The Greek coffee, pronounced kaphès, is actually the same as Turkish coffee; of course you should never say this out loud. It is served in very small cups and it is prepared in a small saucepan on a gas burner. In the saucepan you put a scoop of Greek coffee, this is boiled three times and then poured into a coffee cup; you start drinking when the sludge goes down. It’s best to drink this coffee slowly and to have a glass of water with it. The Cretans do not like milk in their coffee; their opinion is that coffee should be black as the night, hot as hell and sweet like love.
Three forms of sweetness
You can order three types of coffee; the variglyko; which is strong with a lot of sugar (e.g. 2 teaspoons of coffee and 4 teaspoons of sugar), the metrio; which is strong with a little bit of sugar (e.g. 2 teaspoons of coffee and 2 teaspoons of sugar) and the sketo; which is without sugar (e.g. 2 teaspoons of coffee and no sugar). The story goes that with the help of the coffee sludge older women can read the future. The sludge is turned over on a saucer and looked at by wise women.
Of course there is also Nescafé for those people that don’t like the Greek coffee. A few scoops of instant Nescafé coffee in a cup, if needed with some sugar and milk, then hot bottled water or tap water is added. To form a layer of foam it is tradition to first stir the Nescafé with a small layer of water.
Alternatives for Greek coffee
But traditional Greek coffee is no longer drunk by the younger generation. The traditional brew was first undermined by the frapé; a blend of Nescafé coffee with cold water and ice cubes. It’s one of the easiest beverages to make, but you still have to know how to do it. Today it is available at virtually all Greek cafés and can be ordered with the three degrees of sweetness as mentioned before.
The success of frapé led to the birth of many variations e.g. with the addition of vanilla ice cream instead of milk.
See also: ‘Raki and the other spirits‘
In the ’90s, Greeks and Cretans started drinking espresso and cappuccino. Following the footsteps of frapé, came the espresso freddo (iced espresso) and cappuccino freddo (cappuccino with plenty of ice, topped with frothy cold milk) overtaking the frapé as the cold coffees of choice. The younger generation loves it. So if you like to order a coffee nowadays, you have to be very precise. Just asking for coffee won’t do. And to make it more complicated or diverse:
You can also order a Frappuccino; an espresso coffee with frothed milk or a Freddoccino; a frozen mix that looks like coffee flavored water-ice, usually consumed during the hot days of the summer. It is more like a coffee milkshake, usually ornate with syrup and/or whipped cream, which is more of a sweet beverage, rather than a stimulant.
Coffee can also be found in Greece as French press (mainly at hotels) and with modern filter technology. The latter is sometimes known as Gallikos (French) which can lead to some confusion with the press method. In case you want filter coffee, it is best to ask straight for it, saying Filtrou.
You can also order an Americano; an espresso topped up with warm water. If you like any milk with it, we advise to order this on the side and mention that you like to have it warm. Many different waiters make different Americanos, so in this we you can control how strong you like your coffee to be.
Enjoy your coffee.
Something AJ noticed over the years;
Non of the Greeks, read Cretans, around him make coffee themself. They all get in their car or on their bike to work, after skipping breakfast, (dubble) park this car or bike along the street and order their take away coffee in the form they like it the best.
Therefore the coffee houses, take away places and scooter services are an huge industry. More and more AJ notices the fact that people even call for their coffee and it’s brought to them by a delivery boy on a scooter. Everything is deliverd than in plastic cups, with straws, karton boxes and even an plastic bag to carry it in.
Available Routaki routes:
this topic is mentioned in….
Excerpt from the city walk through Heraklion: A Stroll through the layers of Heraklion’s Historical Treasures
“Turn right at the next corner and keep going.
So let me tell you something about Cretan coffee.
The old traditional Greek coffee is served in very small cups and it’s prepared in a small saucepan on a gas burner. In this pan the coffee is boiled three times and then poured into a coffee cup. It’s best to drink this coffee slowly after the sediment has settled and to have a glass of water nearby. Cretans don’t like milk in their coffee. Their opinion is that coffee should be black as the night, hot as hell and sweet like love.
In a minute more about coffee.
Continue walking straight.”
What may interest you:
City walk Heraklion – GPS audio tour.
You can experience this vibrant city with the interactive GPS app VoiceMap. Install the app for free and select ‘Heraklion’.
In the webshop on this site, you can purchase a code that provides access to all the information you need to enjoy a fantastic day in Iraklio.
Would you like to get an impression first? Then start by reading this page about Heraklion.
Or you can read one of the following articles:
Crete has gorges, few lakes or rivers and was formed by earthquakes
Read about Spinalonga and the nearby village of Elounda
Oxi Day is commemorated on October 28th by, among other things, parades through the streets