No Greek village is complete without a traditional coffee shop, the "kafenio" Its the most important place in the village, the central point of communication, a place to meet friends, to play "Tavli" the Greek version of Backgammon or just pass time by drinking a Greek coffee, tea, fresh juice or a home-made fruit squash. Greek coffee is ordered "sketo"- no sugar, "metrio" equal portions of coffee and sugar or "gliko" more sugar than coffee.

Each "kafenio" has its own individual way of making coffee, so be to be sure of what you will receive, it is best to state the number of sugars you want whilst ordering!

In case you are invited to someone's house to drink a coffee, don't be surprised if they turn their cups upside down onto the saucer after drinking the coffee. There are some people that say they can read your future from the coffee drains.

Don't be afraid to let them do it... it is not magic it is just culture. It's a nice way to start some small talk, and of course it depends on you how seriously you take the predictions!

History of Coffee

From the numerous legends about the discovery the best known is that of Kaldi, an Abyssinian (Ethiopia) goat-herder, who used to take his goats to some mountain foothills noticed one day that his goats were jumping and running like kids. Next morning he began to watch them more closely in order to find out the reason for their behavior. After observing them he noticed that the animals became excited after eating the red fruits of some bush. He tried them himself and soon became exited as the goats. He went as fast as he could to tell his discovery to some monks that lived in a monastery near the pastures and the Abbot amazed with the story related by the young goat-herder, decided to go with him and verify the strange prodigy.
The Abbot picked some fruits and leaves and took them to the kitchen of the monastery to cook them and to find out what the results were.

The monk tasted the beverage and it was horrible. He threw in the fire what was left in the cup, and as the grains began to burn they expelled a marvelous aroma that suggested to the Abbot the idea of roasting the grains to prepare the beverage. This time the result was good; even though the taste was bitter, it had a very pleasant fragrance and it produced an invigorating effect. Thus the monks adopt it to keep themselves awake and to be able to pray all night without falling asleep.

Although this legend is thousands of years old, it is believed that wandering tribesmen in Ethiopia were the first to noticed the stimulating properties of coffee. At first the berries were eaten whole or crushed and mixed with animal fat or food. Later the berries were boiled. Afterwards traders introduced it to the Arabs. Coffee was first roasted and boiled by Arabs making “qahwa”, a beverage made from plants.

In 1475, the worlds first coffee shop opened by Greeks soon after the occupation by the Turks in the ex-capital of the Byzantine Empire, Kiva Han Coffee shop. That followed by the establishment of more coffee houses in Constantinople.

So many coffee shops opened that the clergy began complaining that they had more customers than the churches. The Ottoman Sultan tried to outlaw coffee in Turkey in 1543 and by 1554 the coffee business was booming in Turkey. During this time Turkish homes employed full-time coffee stewards.

Seeds were smuggled to India, by Muslims returning from pilgrimage to Mecca. From there, Dutch traders took them to Ceylon and later the East Indies. It is believed that coffee plants made their way to the Americas through a single Indonesian plant that was raised by King Louis XIV.

In about 1600, coffee entered Central Europe through the port of Venice and was being cultivated in India and Java. The Arabs used so much coffee that the Christian church denounced coffee as “the hellish black brew.” But Pope Clement VIII found it so great tasting that he baptized it and made it a Christian beverage saying “coffee is so delicious it would be a pity to let the infidels have exclusive use of it.”

The most important moment in coffee’s history was that of its introduction to the New World. This happened in 1607. By this time until our days, coffee became the world’s most popular beverage. More than 400 billion cups are consumed each year. The largest producer of coffee is Brazil.

History of Greek Coffee

When we are talking about the Greek Coffee, it is evident that we do not refer to the product itself, which is imported mainly from Brazil, but for the way the coffee is prepared.

Greeks drink coffee in two ways. The first and more traditional comes from the early Constantinople times.

This first type is characterized by the way of squeezing the grains, and then the roasting of the coffee. This special squeezing which gives a special flavor to Greek Coffee it is a secret of the professionals. The rest of Greeks just enjoy the coffee! For all Greeks, the roasting of the coffee is a real ritual looks like the Tea ceremony or the Japanese culture.

The second and more recent type of “Greek coffee”, unique in the World, is served ice-cold in summertime and hot in winter. It is made by a special type of coffee, which comes as powder or as small grains. This type is served during the summer and has started to spread around Europe and the American continent carrying the name invented in Greece by French tourists: “Frappe” or “Frappedia”. The common name for the winter coffee is “Nes? and it is served with milk, chocolate and cinnamon.

The moment of drinking the coffee is without any exaggeration, a holy moment for all Greeks!