Greek coffee 101

**Information and photos copied from: http://www.greekproducts.com/greekproducts/coffee.html and
http://www.ringsurf.com/info/Food/Coffee/Coffee_Makers/Greek_or_Turkish_Briki/ http://greekfood.about.com/od/glossary/g/gl_briki.htm

Coffee has its origins in the Arabian peninsula when, in 1100 AD, the first coffee trees were cultivated. Coffee was first roasted and boiled by Arabs making "qahwa", a beverage made from plants. In 1475, the world's first coffee shop was opened by Greeks soon after the Turkish occupation of Constantinople, the ex-capital of the Byzantine Empire. That was followed by the establishment of more coffee houses in Constantinople.

In about 1600, coffee entered Central Europe through the port of Venice.
The most important moment in coffee's history was that of its introduction to the New World. This happened in 1607. Since then, coffee has become the world's most popular beverage. More than 400 billion cups are consumed each year. The largest producer of coffee is Brazil. "Greek coffee" does not refer to the product itself, which is imported mainly from Brazil, but to the way the coffee is prepared.



Greeks drink coffee both hot and cold. The more recent type of "Greek coffee" is served ice-cold and 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".

While deluxe super-automatic espresso machines flood the market and more and more specialty coffees become the coffee drink of choice, the true coffee purist understands the appeal of the Briki, pronounced "bree-kee". Called the ibrik in Turkey, this coffee brewer is designed to make Turkish coffee. The ibrik was designed to brew coffee on the hot desert sands but can now be used with a stove burner. It is a long-handled pot that contains a brass, copper, or stainless steel container. It is slender at the top with a wider base.

It is highly recommended that very fine powdered coffee grinds are used when brewing with a briki. If the coffee grounds are too coarse, the water will not be properly sealed during boiling and will result in a poor tasting beverage. The briki can hold several cups of water and can produce a number of coffee drinks that are strong bodied and steaming hot when made.

To make a great cup of coffee, it is recommended that you add sugar and cardamon to the brewed coffee. If you are making Greek coffee with the briki, you can make it four different ways. For a strong and bitter taste that has no sugar, you will be making Greek sketos coffee. By adding one teaspoonful of sugar, you will be making a metrios style of Greek coffee that has a medium sweet taste. The glykys or vari glykos style of Greek coffee refers to a taste that can be described as honey-sweet. The glykys vrastos style of Greek coffee also contains a sweet taste but has less froth due to the fact that it is boiled more than once. Never put cream or milk in Greek coffee.

Using a briki (or ibrik):

1. Fill it with cold water until it's approximately 2/3 full.
2. For sweetened coffee, add a sweetener like sugar into the ibrik.
3. Add the appropriate amount of ground coffee. It is recommended that you use more coffee than needed, as it would add to the thickness of the foam. The coffee will then form a cap over the water.
4. Heat the ibrik and watch, as the boiling water will bubble up through the coffee grounds.
5. Remove the ibrik from heat when the water begins to foam up.
6. Allow the coffee to settle and bring it back to the heat source.
7. Repeat the last two steps until the coffee has foamed up three times.
8. Stir and serve the drink into either a demi-tasse (Greek for a half-cup) or an espresso cup.
9. Let the coffee grounds settle and then drink up.