Greek Coffee

One of my concerns before the trip, albeit a minor one, was caffeine. Being a fairly hardcore coffee drinker I didn’t want to deal with coffee withdrawal during the trip. Thinking ahead I laid in a small supply of chocolate covered espresso beans in my bag in the event of a caffeine emergency. The delectable beans came in handy on a number of occasions. How marvelous they tasted to our weary band of pilgrims on the long trek to Karakallou Monastery . 

Finding a “real” American style (Gallicos Cafe as the Greeks call it) cup of coffee in Greece is difficult.  The common cup of black coffee is “Nescafe”, really, it is referred too as “Nescafe”.  Now that is good brand identity!  Unfortunately I had a number of Nescafes in desperation.  On the ferry to Mt Athos I had a Nescafe version of a “Frappacino”:  water, those magical Nescafe crystals, powered non-dairy whitener, and sugar all whipped like a milkshake… not bad really.

Greek-style coffee is ubiquitous.  We were served it at every monastery upon our arrival at the guesthouse.  The guest master (Arhondaris) would serve a glass of water, Greek coffee, and a sweet treat, usually it was Loukoumi (sort of like apples and cotlets but chewer and flavored with rose water) but on a few occasions it was a cookie or chocolate.  Greek coffee, for those who are unfamiliar, is made with a finely ground almost powered coffee that is boiled in a small pot (brikki) with sugar liberally added. Served in a small demitasse cup, it is only a few ounces of coffee-like liquid. The taste is very intense and sometimes just not very good. Of course a lot depends on the quality of the coffee as we all know. We did have on occasion what I consider a decent cup. By the end of the trip Patrick refused to drink it, he had had enough. Me, I was just in it for the caffeine and to be polite. Speaking of polite; Fr Peter told us Europeans regard Americans as too polite and “simple-minded”. I’ve never thought of myself as polite, simple-minded yes. From that point on I was on guard to avoid any unnecessary episodes of excessive politeness in order to not perpetuate this ugly stereotype of Americans. 

The danger of drinking Greek coffee is what lies unseen at the bottom of the cup. Since the coffee is poured unfiltered into the cup a thick sludge settles at the bottom. The problem comes for the neophyte not yet conditioned to stop before that fateful moment of no return when the unpleasant slurry invades every fissure of the unsuspecting mouth. Yuck! No amount of water easily at hand can flush the unpleasantness out, no antidote, a rookie mistake that not even the sticky sweet Loukoumi will annul. 

Drinking Greek coffee requires that one set aside a part of awareness to monitor the cup. An interesting conversation can pose certain disaster as it did me at Vatopedi . The polite American in me fortunately restrained the basic instinct to run from the room screaming! A few mistakes and one learns. By the end of the trip I was cocky enough to play a game with myself: how far down can I drink this without… life on the edge at 50.