National Frappe Day

What the day is

National Frappe Day is observed on October 7. The name covers two rather different drinks, which is a recurring source of confusion.

The Greek frappe is instant coffee, cold water and sugar shaken or whipped until it develops a thick foam, then poured over ice and topped up, often with a little evaporated milk. The American coffee-shop frappe is a blended iced drink closer to a milkshake. New England adds a third meaning, where a frappe is simply a thick milkshake with ice cream.

Origin and background

The Greek version has an unusually well-documented origin. It was created at the 1957 International Trade Fair in Thessaloniki by a Nestle representative who wanted a coffee during a break, could not find hot water, and improvised by shaking instant coffee with cold water in a shaker intended for a children's chocolate drink. The result caught on locally and became, within a generation, the default summer drink of Greece.

Instant coffee is essential to it rather than a compromise. Freeze-dried granules dissolve completely in cold water and produce a stable foam when agitated, which ground coffee will not do. A frappe made with brewed espresso is a different drink and will not hold its head.

The word comes from French frappe, meaning chilled or struck with ice, and appeared in English well before the Greek drink existed, which is why it was already attached to several other cold preparations.

How to take part

• Make the Greek version properly: one or two teaspoons of instant coffee, sugar to taste and a small splash of cold water, shaken hard until thick and pale, then ice and water added.
• Order it by sweetness if you are in Greece. Sketos is unsweetened, metrios medium, glykos sweet.
• Use a cocktail shaker or a handheld frother; a jar with a tight lid works.
• Add evaporated milk rather than fresh if you want the traditional texture.
• Drink it slowly through a straw over an hour, which is the actual Greek practice and half the point.