Frappé coffee
Greek iced coffee drink
A frappé coffee, cold coffee, Greek frappé, or just frappé (Greek: φραπέ, frapé [fraˈpe]) is a Greek iced coffee drink generally made from spray-dried instant coffee, water, sugar, ice and milk. The word is often written frappe (without an accent). The frappé was invented in 1957 in Thessaloniki through experimentation by Dimitris Vakondios, a Nescafe representative. Greek Christos Lenzos (1930–2023), a coffeehouse (1964–2013) owner in Pangrati, has been recognized for his self-made version of Greek frappé coffee. Frappés are among the most popular forms of coffee in Greece and Cyprus and have become a hallmark of postwar outdoor Greek coffee culture.
History
The name frappé ('punched', figuratively 'shaken') comes from French, and describes drinks chilled with ice. Beginning in the 19th century, a variety of cold coffee drinks named café frappé (à la glace) are documented, some similar to slushies and others more like iced coffee.
It has been said that the Greek version of café frappé, using instant coffee, was invented in 1957 at the Thessaloniki International Fair. A representative of the Nestlé company, Giannis Dritsas, was exhibiting a new product for children. It was a chocolate beverage produced instantly by mixing it with milk and shaking it in a shaker.
Begin with the source’s own compact description: “Frappé coffee” is greek iced coffee drink. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Frappé, coffee and Greek, not as a finished interpretation.
Why this record matters
The phrase “greek iced coffee drink” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.
Named sources, stable identifiers and responsible institutions provide the strongest route from overview to verifiable evidence. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 6, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q750291. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 1957, 1930, 2023 and 1964.
Overview language is designed for orientation and should not be treated as a substitute for the evidence cited beneath it. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.
- Subject orientation
- Search vocabulary
- Locating named sources
The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Frappé coffee”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Frappé coffee primary sources, Frappé coffee archive and Frappé research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Frappé coffee”?
- What terminology or title could unlock a more precise catalogue search?
- Which cited source is closest to the event, object or claim?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Frappé coffee” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.