Cypriot Coffee
Κυπριακός καφέςkee-pree-ah-KOS ka-FES
A small, thick, unfiltered coffee with a tan foam on top, served with a glass of cold water and usually a square of loukoumi. It is brewed the same way as Greek coffee, and drunk more slowly than almost anything else on the island.
At a glance
- Coffee : water
- 1:10
- Active time
- 1 min
- Total time
- 5 min
- Makes
- 1 small cup
- Serve
- Hot, with water
- Kit
- Briki
Ingredients
Note: Cypriot brands are sold pre-ground at this fineness. Any coffee labelled Greek or Turkish grind works the same way.
Method
-
Water, coffee, sugar, stir
Measure the water with the serving cup into the briki. Add the coffee and sugar and stir until smooth, while it is still cold.
After this the spoon stays out.
-
Bring it up slowly
Set it over a low flame. The foam forms at the edges first and spreads across. Give it three or four minutes and do not hurry it.
3 to 4 minutes -
Off as it rises
When the foam climbs and starts to dome, lift it off. If you want more foam, let it settle for a few seconds and bring it back to the heat once more, then lift again.
Never let it boil.
-
Pour and serve with water
Pour slowly so the foam goes in whole. Serve with a glass of cold water, and the loukoumi on the side.
Drink the water first, to clear the palate. Then the coffee, slowly, and stop at the grounds.
Why this works
The method is a suspension brew. Coffee ground to flour is heated gently in water and never filtered, so extraction happens fast across an enormous surface area and the grounds settle out in the cup once it stands. That is why the cup is strong, heavy-bodied and silty at the bottom, and why the grind matters more than in any other method. Too coarse and it tastes thin and gritty. As fine as flour and it feels smooth.
The foam, kaïmaki on the island too, is what you are protecting. Dissolved gas and fine particles rise as the water warms and the coffee's oils hold them in a tight foam. A low flame builds it gradually. A boil blows it apart and drives off the aroma. The second short lift some Cypriots use adds height to the foam without letting the coffee get hot enough to turn bitter.
The cold water before the coffee is functional. It rinses the palate so the first sip is tasted properly, and in a hot climate it is also simply welcome. The loukoumi is the sweet counterpoint for anyone who ordered their coffee sketto. The village of Geroskipou, near Paphos, is famous for it and its loukoumi has protected status in the EU.
Cyprus and Greece share this coffee and its vocabulary. What differs is mostly the setting: the village kafeneio, mostly men, mostly in the morning, a single cup stretched across an hour.
Variations
- Sketto: no sugar.
- Metrio: one teaspoon.
- Glykis: two teaspoons.
- Diplos: a double, brewed in a larger briki.
- On hot sand: some cafes heat the briki by pushing it into a tray of hot sand, which gives very even, gentle heat and a fine foam.
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Questions
What is the difference between Cypriot and Greek coffee?
Very little in the method. Both are fine-ground coffee brewed in a briki with the sugar in, served with its foam. The ordering words and the customs around it differ slightly, and Cypriots tend to serve it with loukoumi.
Why is Cypriot coffee served with water?
To rinse the palate before the first sip, and because it is usually drunk in a hot climate. Drink the water first, then the coffee.
What is loukoumi?
A soft gel sweet made from starch and sugar, flavoured with rose, mastic or bergamot and dusted with icing sugar. The loukoumi from Geroskipou in Cyprus has protected geographical status.
Can I make Cypriot coffee in a saucepan?
A small milk pan works in a pinch, but the foam spreads thin across a wide surface. The narrow briki concentrates it.