The traditional recipe for a cup of high-quality Greek coffee

When you find yourself in the center of Athens, at the very heart of the historical market district of the city, you would probably be carried away by the scent of freshly-roasted traditional Greek coffee. One of the oldest and most historical coffee roasting shops may be found in that area. The very concept of Greek coffee is interwoven with the history of the Rizopoulos coffee roasting company. It started in 1901 when Andreas Rizopoulos used to grind coffee beans using a small manual grinder in order to sell traditional Greek coffee to passers-by and the patrons of the long-established coffee houses of that era. Until today, our Greek coffee recipe remains unchanged. We currently use a much larger coffee roasting machine, in which freshly ground coffee is slowly roasted, releasing its unique flavors and aromas. The recipe is a family secret combining the wisdom of three generations of the Rizopoulos family. Let me share with you all there is to know about high quality traditional Greek coffee, its origins, and all factors to which its unique taste are enjoyed by our clientele for more than a century can be attributed.

Greek coffee blends

Our traditional Greek coffee blend acts as a proverbial meeting ground between two continents, a place in which the flavors and scents of India and Brazil are combined in the most curated manner. The most famous coffee varieties, Brazilian Arabica and Indian Robusta of which the latter contributes to that thick layer that forms at the top of a cup of high-quality Greek coffee. The quality of the fruit a coffee tree produces is greatly dependent on the altitude and the climate of the area of cultivation (e.g. humidity and precipitation). For instance, Arabica coffee is usually cultivated at a higher altitude, up to 2.800 meters, while requiring approximately 1 to 1.5 meters of rainfall throughout the year. Additionally, the coffee plant is highly vulnerable to fluctuations in weather conditions. It can withstand extreme circumstances but its yield is greatly reduced. By contrast, Robusta coffee is cultivated at a much lower altitude, is quite resistant to weather changes and diseases. For many decades, Arabica coffee has been considered the most refined coffee variety and is the one that gives your coffee its discreetly fruity and mildly sweet taste. On the other hand, it adds a more bitter flavor to our Greek coffee blend due to the higher concentration of caffeine. The end result does justice to our choice, as the combination of these two varieties produces a balanced taste in our traditional Greek coffee, allowing its rich flavors, strong aroma, and thick creamy layer in your cup.