Recipe
🥤 DRINK
Ellinikós Kafés (Greek Coffee)
Finely ground coffee simmered slowly in a briki until it rises in a rich foam, served unfiltered with the grounds settling below.
Greek · easy · serves 1
prep 2 min · cook 5 min
~0 cal · 0g protein · 0g carbs · 0g fat · 0g fiber · 0g sugars · 0g sat fat (estimated, per serving)
↓ Jump to Recipe
AI-generated illustration
Ellinikos kafes is coffee reduced to its oldest, most ceremonial form: a pulverised, near-powder grind simmered with water and sugar in a small long-handled pot called a briki, then poured grounds and all into a tiny cup. It arrived with the Ottomans and is shared across the region, but in Greece it is wholly its own, argued over and defended fiercely.
The whole art is the kaïmaki, the fine tan foam that must crown every proper cup. It comes only from a slow rise over low heat, never a boil and never a stir once the coffee starts to climb the sides of the briki. It is ordered by its sweetness, sketo with no sugar, metrio with a little, glyko sweet, and the sugar goes in at the start so it dissolves as it heats.
You drink it slowly, letting the grounds settle to the bottom, always with a glass of cold water alongside and often a spoon sweet or a biscuit. In the villages the drained cup is turned over and read for fortunes. More than caffeine, it is an invitation to sit, and the rhythm of the whole Greek kafeneio is built around it.
Saved recipes and passport stamps are kept on this device. Sign in to keep them across your devices and leave reviews.
Make it yours
✓ Naturally vegetarian, vegan and gluten-, dairy-, egg-, nut- and pork-free. No swaps needed.
Toggle a diet and the ingredients rewrite themselves with regional substitutes.
🥕 Vegetarian
🌱 Vegan
🌾 Gluten-Free
🥛 Dairy-Free
🥜 Nut-Free
🥚 Egg-Free
🐖 Pork-Free
Dietary labels are a cooking guide, not allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we count coconut as a tree nut, following FDA labeling), fish, and shellfish; we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, read the label on every product you use, and note that a kitchen can cross-contaminate in ways a recipe cannot control.
Ingredients
US
Metric
Serves 1
1 heaping tsp very finely ground Greek coffee
Hard to find? Turkish coffee, or espresso beans ground to a flour-fine powder - the grind is what matters, far finer than espresso; Turkish coffee is the same grind with a near-identical roast
1 demitasse cup (about 60 ml) cold water
to taste sugar (omit for sketo, 1 tsp for metrio, 2 tsp for glyko)
Instructions
1
Measure the water using the demitasse cup you will serve in, and pour it into the briki (or a small saucepan).
2
Add the coffee and, if using, the sugar. Stir once while the water is still cold so the coffee is just wetted, then stop stirring.
✎ Chef’s note
Sugar goes in now, not later: stirring once the coffee heats will collapse the foam you are working to build.
3
Set the briki over low heat. Let it warm slowly, without stirring, for a few minutes.
4
Watch closely as a tan foam (the kaïmaki) forms and begins to rise up the sides of the pot.
5
The moment the foam climbs to the rim, just before it would boil over, take the briki off the heat.
6
Pour gently into the cup, spooning the foam in first so every cup is crowned with kaïmaki.
7
Let it stand a minute for the grounds to settle, then serve with a glass of cold water. Sip from the top and leave the grounds behind.
Athenian kafeneio tradition.
Ratings & reviews
Cooked it? Rate this dish:
No account needed. Sign in to leave a full review with a comment.
Cooked it?
Kept on this device, no account needed. Sign in to leave a review and keep your passport across your devices.
No reviews yet, be the first to cook it.
🌏 While it simmers, know your destination
📍
Attica (Athens). Attica is the region around Athens, where moussaka bakes golden with eggplant, spiced lamb, and bechamel. Olive oil, lemon, oregano, and feta run through everything, and the taverna table is built to be shared slowly across many small plates.
🗺️
Greece. Foraged wild greens, horta, are a genuine part of the diet rather than a garnish: blanched, then dressed with olive oil and lemon, or folded into a pie. They matter most during nistia, the long Orthodox fasting stretches when meat, dairy and often fish are set aside and the everyday cooking becomes, in effect, vegan.
🌍
Europe. European cooking is built on the land and the seasons, wheat, butter, and cured pork in the north; olive oil, tomatoes, and seafood around the Mediterranean; preserved vegetables and hearty stews through long winters. Centuries of peasant tradition, guild craft, and royal courts refined techniques from French mother sauces to Italian fresh pasta and Central European baking. Regional identity runs remarkably deep, with a single dish often changing from one valley to the next.
The story behind this dish is up top, worth a read while the pot works.
More from Greece
Gemista (Stuffed Summer Vegetables)Tomatoes and peppers baked slowly around an herbed rice filling, with potatoes roasting in the juices.
MoussakaLayers of eggplant and cinnamon-scented lamb under a deep duvet of béchamel, baked bronze.
SpanakopitaSpinach, herbs, and feta folded into shatteringly crisp phyllo, northern Greece’s classic greens pie.
Browse all Greece recipes →
Good to know
You’ll need: Pot or saucepan.
Storing it: Keep chilled and covered, and enjoy within 2 to 3 days.
Make it a Greece meal
MoussakaDinner
GalaktobourekoDessert
Similar dishes from around the world
Papua New Guinea Highland CoffeePapua New Guinea
Kafé TimorTimor-Leste
Egg Coffee (Cà Phê Trứng)Vietnam
Yerba MateArgentina
Azerbaijani ChayAzerbaijan
Api MoradoBolivia
Drinks
Frequently asked questions
What is Ellinikós Kafés (Greek Coffee)?
Finely ground coffee simmered slowly in a briki until it rises in a rich foam, served unfiltered with the grounds settling below.
Where does Ellinikós Kafés (Greek Coffee) come from?
Ellinikós Kafés (Greek Coffee) is a Greek dish from Attica (Athens), Greece.
Can Ellinikós Kafés (Greek Coffee) be made vegan, gluten-free, or dairy-free?
This Ellinikós Kafés (Greek Coffee) recipe includes substitution suggestions for vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free, egg-free, and pork-free versions, including several at once such as gluten-free and dairy-free together. Treat them as a starting guide rather than a guarantee, and see the allergen note below.
Is Ellinikós Kafés (Greek Coffee) safe for people with food allergies?
Our dietary labels and substitutions are a cooking guide, not medical or allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we count coconut as a tree nut, following FDA labeling), fish, and shellfish, but we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, always read the label on every product you use, and remember a home or commercial kitchen can cross-contaminate ingredients in ways a recipe cannot control.
How long does Ellinikós Kafés (Greek Coffee) take to make?
About 7 minutes total (2 minutes prep, 5 minutes cooking), serving 1.
Get the Sunday Spin
One dish from somewhere in the world, in your inbox every Sunday. No spam, just dinner inspiration you can cook that day.