Traditional Greek Coffee Recipe and Its Variations

In this article, you will learn how to make Greek coffee with and without a briki, how to drink it, and its variations.
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Samanta Fryer
Samanta Fryer
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Samanta Fryer is our senior editor and content writer, at CoffeeVibe. Apart from writing and reading, she’s fond of the coffee brewing process and enjoys tasting new coffe read more
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Ryan Hendricks
Ryan Hendricks
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Ryan Hendricks is our tester, who puts products through their paces. He used to be a barista and is now a full-time coffee enthusiast. He’s always testing out new gadgets, read more
Last updated: August 28, 2023
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Over the years, several worldwide studies have revealed that Greek coffee has more benefits Trusted Source Greek Coffee Could Be Key To Long Life | MedicalNewsToday A cup of boiled Greek coffee every day could help improve cardiovascular health and increase your lifespan, scientists have revealed. www.medicalnewstoday.com than other kinds of coffee. Starting with the fact that other than other coffees, traditional Greek coffee is boiled, which provides a better endothelial function that helps to increase one’s lifespan. Also, the drinking process is different as it is sipped slowly and the consumption can last for several hours. Don’t fret! It will be explained in this write-up.

But before that, what is Greek coffee?

Greek coffee is a dark, powerful black coffee served with foam and ground beans. It is served in a cup containing three elements – the ground beans at the bottom, the coffee in the middle, and the foam at the top. The coffee is brewed using finely ground beans that are not filtered, and it is usually boiled in a pot, called briki.

How to Make a Perfect Greek Coffee

In making a great Greek coffee which is the healthiest way Trusted Source The healthiest way to brew your coffee | CNN Our study provides strong and convincing evidence of a link between coffee brewing methods, heart attacks and longevity. edition.cnn.com to brew your coffee and boost your mood, you will need the right equipment – they must be in accordance with the kind of flavor and quality you want.

Choosing the Right Coffee

Traditional Greek Coffee Recipe and Its Variations
Greek coffee is made from Arabica coffee beans, which are ground to a very fine powder.

To make a great coffee, you must have chosen the kind of coffee beans that best suit your needs. The type of bean you choose influences the outcome of your brew.

Many people believe that after grinding their favorite coffee beans into a fine powder, they can go ahead to make a tasty Greek coffee. But this isn’t the case. The Greek mix is made with specified bean kinds, roasted at specific temperatures, and utilized in specific ratios.

One of your best bets of getting the appropriate coffee beans for your Greek coffee recipe is from a coffee shop that grinds Greek or Turkish coffee. Also, you can review these 8 best ground coffees to choose the one that suits your needs more.

Choosing the Right Briki

Greek coffee briki is a traditional pot for preparing coffee on the stove. It’s the most important equipment for brewing Greek coffee since the amount of foam (a significant element of the brewing process) is determined by the briki you are using. Based on most reviews, the perfect briki is the DEMMEX coffee set which is made of copper and is easy to clean; it provides you the value for your money.

In making great coffee, you must choose a briki that is big enough to contain the number of cups to be served.

It’s not a one-size-fits-all approach. It should be able to contain as many cups as you want plus an additional cup because you will need some room for the coffee to foam, but not too much; else, you will have problems with the foam.

Choosing the Right Cups

Traditional Greek Coffee Recipe and Its Variations
If you don’t have special Greek cups, those for espresso are best suited.

Another thing that will determine your success in making a perfect Greek coffee is the certainty of the number of cups of coffee you are to make. An espresso look-alike cup called the demitasse cup will be used to fill the briki with water in preparation for brewing. So, the number of cups of water you fill the briki with determines the number of coffee cups you will have. Don’t forget to add an extra cup of room for the coffee to foam.

A Greek demitasse cup holds 2.5 to 3 ounces of coffee on average, which is quite many when you are sipping Greek coffee. If you are yet to have the right cup, you can get the commonly recommended Rufus Willis 2005, which is the favorite in brewing and serving Greek coffee.

Traditional Greek Coffee Recipe and Its Variations 3

Greek Coffee - Recipe

Mary Jankins
In order to have an easy-going process while making Greek coffee, we’ve put together a simple recipe for you on how to make it. Further details of this recipe are:
Prep Time 1 minute
Cook Time 5 minutes
Course Coffee
Servings 2 people
Calories 26 kcal

Equipment

  • Greek coffee briki
  • Cups

Ingredients
  

  • 2 tsp greek coffee ground
  • 2 cup tap water
  • 2 tsp white sugar

Instructions
 

  • Fill the briki with a demitasse cup of water which is about 2.5 to 3 ounces. Let your briki be big enough if you make a lot of coffee; you’ll need room for the coffee to bubble and foam.
    Traditional Greek Coffee Recipe and Its Variations 5
  • Add 2 teaspoons of coffee and 2 teaspoons of sugar to every one cup of water that you fill the briki with. This proportion is considered as a strong coffee.
    Traditional Greek Coffee Recipe and Its Variations 7
  • Put the briki coffee on the gas or stove and set fire to burn with less heat.
    Traditional Greek Coffee Recipe and Its Variations 9
  • Allow the coffee to warm up slowly. You should let the flame be very low; you wouldn’t want it to bubble and make a mess of your pot and environment.
    Traditional Greek Coffee Recipe and Its Variations 11
  • After setting the flame, stir the coffee and sugar until they are well dissolved. Then, allow the heat of the low flame to complete the cooking.
    Traditional Greek Coffee Recipe and Its Variations 13
  • The surface will begin to vibrate gradually. Then, it begins to foam. This foam is called ‘Kaee-MAH-kee.’ Remove the briki from the heat for a few seconds to let the foam settle before returning it to the fire and allowing it to bubble and puff up again. Then, take it off the fire again. Repeat this process until it is well boiled. This is a crucial step in making a decent cup of Greek coffee. You wouldn’t want it to over boil since it won’t have the foamy top, but you must also prevent it from under boiling so that you don’t get to taste the grounds in your coffee.
    Traditional Greek Coffee Recipe and Its Variations 15
  • You can now go ahead to serve in a demitasse cup. Allow it to cool for 4 to 5 minutes to allow the temperature to drop and the grounds to settle to the bottom. If you are serving more than one cup, share the foam evenly across each cup.
    Traditional Greek Coffee Recipe and Its Variations 17

Video

Notes

  • One cogent rule is to fill the briki with as many cups as you want to make while leaving space for an additional cup. This space is to give you enough room to maneuver the foam. Excess space can sabotage the foaming process.
  • Limit yourself to two cups of coffee at a time. It will be easier to ensure that each cup receives appropriate foam.
  • When the briki is on low heat, don’t take your gaze off it; this is not a time to be doing other things. Focus on it, or else you will be cleaning the mess from the coffee foam rather than drinking it.

Greek Coffee Recipe Variations

Greek coffee is made in relation to personal taste and choice. They can be made in four different styles. For these distinct styles, you will need varying amounts of sugar and coffee. The styles are explained below; you can try them out to see which suits your taste best.

  • Sketos (unsweetened coffee): In Greek, it is pronounced as SKEH-tohss. If you prefer to have your coffee without sugar, this is for you. All you need to add to your briki is 1 heaped teaspoon of coffee.
  • Metrios (medium-sweet coffee): In Greek, it is pronounced as MEHT-ree-ohss.’ The recipe needed is 1 heaped teaspoon of coffee and 1 teaspoon of sugar.
  • Glykos (sweet coffee): In Greek, it is pronounced as ‘ghlee-KOHSS.’ To make a cup of this type of coffee, you will need 1 teaspoon of coffee and 2 teaspoons of sugar.
  • Vary glykos (extra-strong sweet coffee): In Greek, it is pronounced as ‘vah-REE ghlee-KHOSS.’ To make this, you’ll need 3 teaspoons of sugar and 2 teaspoons of coffee.

How to Make Greek Coffee Without a Briki

Traditional Greek Coffee Recipe and Its Variations
If you don’t want to drink Greek coffee the traditional way, you can make it in a coffee maker.

The primary reason why a Greek coffee briki is used to make Greek coffee is because of the kaee-MAH-keee (the signature foam) that rises to the top. But if you don’t have a briki, don’t fidget; you will still make great coffee. You can make it in a saucepan.

The only thing you have to note is that you will need more water. Also, you have to keep in mind that it won’t produce as much foam as you’ll get when you use a briki.

You can as well make it in a coffee maker. The outcome is a cup of coffee that tastes just like Greek coffee. The only difference is that you’ll need a lot more coffee beans than you would for a conventional cup. If you generally use 2 teaspoons of coffee for each cup, use 4 teaspoons. The coffee beans must also be well finely ground with a manual coffee grinder to get the texture needed, and you must get one of the best coffee filters, which will help keep the grounds out of the finished brew.

How to Drink Greek Coffee

Traditional Greek Coffee Recipe and Its Variations
Stir the Greek coffee only at the beginning and then let it heat through.

The most important thing you need while drinking your coffee is patience. Agreed, the making process is fast, but you will need to be patient before and while you drink it. As previously said, Greek coffee is served with the grounds at the bottom, the coffee in the middle, and the foam at the top, so you have to be careful while drinking it so that you won’t consume the grinds that have accumulated at the bottom of the cup.

This coffee is consumed slowly; one cup in an ideal atmosphere can linger for several hours, which gives the grounds plenty of time to settle.

Final Thoughts

One cogent thing to always put in mind is the quantity that the briki can make. Always add space for an additional cup to give room for the coffee to foam very well. The foamer it is, the better the coffee.

Another thing to keep in mind is to be patient. Allow the grounds to settle before sipping your coffee slowly. It is well served in gatherings or meet-ups with friends and families as you will enjoy yourself and the company of others while sipping your coffee slowly.

To have a superb experience, you can serve your Greek coffee with cold water and some sweets like cookies.

References

1.
Greek Coffee Could Be Key To Long Life | MedicalNewsToday
A cup of boiled Greek coffee every day could help improve cardiovascular health and increase your lifespan, scientists have revealed.
2.
The healthiest way to brew your coffee | CNN
Our study provides strong and convincing evidence of a link between coffee brewing methods, heart attacks and longevity.
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