Chef Dimitra
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Athens made espresso Greek by serving it cold: a double shot shaken with ice until the crema turns thick, then poured over cubes for the cafe standard.
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Ellinikos Kafes Thessalonikis (Ελληνικός καφές Θεσσαλονίκης)
Created by
Thessaloniki kafeneio coffee is finely ground coffee warmed slowly in a briki, sweetened before heat if you like it, and lifted from the flame the moment the kaimaki rises.
Beverages
Greek
Comfort Food
Quick Meal
2 min
Active Time
5 min cook•7 min total
Yield1 small cup
Ellinikos kafes of the Thessaloniki kafeneio is Greece's small morning cup: finely ground coffee, cold water, sugar only if you ask for it, and the kaimaki, the prized foam, held intact on top. It is not espresso. It is unfiltered, slow, and it leaves its grounds at the bottom like a little warning to impatient people.
The whole cup depends on the rise. Stir the coffee and sugar into cold water, set the briki over low heat, and then leave it alone. The kaimaki forms as the coffee warms and gathers at the surface; stir after that and you break it, boil hard and you lose it. Good olive oil, and patience, yes, but coffee asks for patience too.
In Thessaloniki, this is the cup that sits beside the morning newspaper, the short visit, the long silence, the plate with one spoon sweet if the house is feeling generous. My grandmother Despina drank hers metrio, never glykos. Too sweet, she said, was for people hiding bad coffee.
Greek coffee belongs to the Ottoman-era coffeehouse culture that reached Greek-speaking cities such as Thessaloniki and Constantinople by the seventeenth century. The drink was long called tourkikos kafes in everyday speech, but ellinikos kafes became the dominant public name in Greece during the twentieth century, especially after the Cyprus crisis of 1974. The method did not change: powdered coffee is warmed in a briki, served unfiltered, and judged first by its kaimaki.
The technique, the tradition, and the story behind every dish.
Discover Culinary ExplorerIngredients
cold water
Quantity
70ml
finely ground Greek coffee (kafes ellinikos)
Quantity
7g
granulated sugar (optional)
Quantity
0 to 8g
sketos with no sugar, metrios with 4g, or glykos with 8g
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| cold water | 70ml |
| finely ground Greek coffee (kafes ellinikos) | 7g |
| granulated sugar (optional)sketos with no sugar, metrios with 4g, or glykos with 8g | 0 to 8g |
Equipment Needed
- •small copper or stainless steel briki, about 150ml for one cup
- •60 to 70ml demitasse coffee cup
- •small coffee spoon
Instructions
- 1
Measure the cup
Pour the cold water into the small coffee cup you will drink from, then tip it into the briki. Greek coffee is measured by the cup, not by a large pot, because the foam has to fit the vessel and the vessel has to fit the hand.
- 2
Stir it cold
Add the coffee and the sugar, if using, to the cold water in the briki. Stir well now, until no dry coffee sits on the surface. Sugar goes in before the heat; adding it later breaks the kaimaki, and then you have punished yourself for no reason.
Order it by sweetness: sketos is unsweetened, metrios is medium, and glykos is sweet. - 3
Warm it slowly
Set the briki over low heat. Do not stir again. The one method that decides the cup is patience: slow heat lets the fine coffee rise into a stable kaimaki instead of breaking into a rough boil.
- 4
Catch the rise
Watch the surface. First it darkens at the edge, then the kaimaki thickens and begins to climb toward the lip of the briki. Pull it from the heat just before it boils over. If the foam collapses, the coffee is still drinkable, but it isn't the cup the kafeneio promised you.
- 5
Pour and wait
Pour slowly into the cup so the kaimaki settles on top. Let the coffee stand for 1 minute before drinking, so the grounds fall to the bottom. Serve with a glass of cold water, and stop before the last muddy sip.
Chef Tips
- •Buy coffee ground specifically for briki coffee, finer than espresso. If the grind is too coarse, the cup tastes thin and the grounds sit harshly on the tongue. Λίγα και καλά: one fresh packet from a busy Greek grocer beats a grand tin that has slept too long in a cupboard.
- •Use the smallest briki that fits the number of cups you're making. Too much empty space makes the kaimaki spread thin before it rises. For two cups, double everything and pour a little foam into each cup first, then divide the rest.
- •Drink it with cold water, not milk. A spoon sweet, a loukoumi, or one plain biscuit belongs beside it if you want something small. The coffee itself stays as it is.
Advance Preparation
- •Have the cup and cold water ready before heating; Greek coffee waits badly once the kaimaki rises.
- •Do not brew ahead. Make it fresh, let the grounds settle for 1 minute, and drink it while the surface is still glossy.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Information
1 serving (about 70g)
Calories
20 calories
Total Fat
0 g
Saturated Fat
0 g
Trans Fat
0 g
Unsaturated Fat
0 g
Cholesterol
0 mg
Sodium
5 mg
Total Carbohydrates
5 g
Dietary Fiber
0 g
Sugars
4 g
Protein
0 g
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