# Freddo Cappuccino Source: https://dailyextraction.com/drinks/freddo-cappuccino/ Last updated: 2026-10-21 > A freddo cappuccino is a Greek iced coffee: a freddo espresso (a double espresso shaken with ice and poured over fresh ice) topped with a thick layer of cold milk foam. In Greece the foam is often whipped from evaporated milk in a drinks mixer, so it stays creamy for ages. It followed the freddo espresso in the early 1990s. ## At a glance - Chapter: Iced and blended - Served: Iced - Brewing method: https://dailyextraction.com/methods/espresso/ - Origin: Greece, Athens - Glass: Tall glass with ice ## Ingredients - 1 double shot espresso - for shaking, plus fresh ice to serve ice cubes - a splash, whipped into a thick layer cold milk or evaporated milk, for the foam - 0 to 2+ tsp sugar (optional) ## Steps 1. **Make a freddo espresso**: Pull a double espresso, add any sugar while it's hot, shake it hard with ice and pour it over fresh ice. 2. **Whip the milk cold**: Blend or shake cold milk (evaporated milk in Greek cafés), with an ice cube if you like, until it's thick, smooth and pourable. 3. **Top the coffee**: Pour the cold foam slowly over the iced espresso, so it sits on top like the cream on an Irish coffee. 4. **Serve**: Serve with a straw and drink it slowly; the foam holds. A **freddo cappuccino** is a [freddo espresso](https://dailyextraction.com/drinks/freddo-espresso/), a double espresso shaken hard with ice and poured over fresh ice, with a thick layer of **cold milk foam** on top. Tasting Table calls it two-toned, beautiful and rich. In Greece the foam is traditionally whipped from **evaporated milk**, which makes it unusually dense and long-lasting. Along with the freddo espresso, it dominates cold coffee in Greece. Here's how to make it the Greek way. ## The short version - **A freddo espresso**, topped with **cold milk foam**. - **Evaporated milk** makes the classic Greek foam: thick, smooth and stable. - **The foam sits on top**, like the cream on an Irish coffee. - **Sugar goes into the hot espresso**, before shaking. - **From Athens, early 1990s**, a couple of years after the freddo espresso. ## What's in a freddo cappuccino? Two layers: the shaken iced espresso below, and cold milk foam above. The foam is where the sources differ: | Milk foam | Source | | --- | --- | | Evaporated milk blitzed in a spindle drinks mixer into "a wonderfully smooth yet pourable cream" | Daniel Young | | Milk shaken until thick and frothy, poured over the freddo espresso | To Vima | | Milk whizzed in a blender with ice, or frothed with a steam wand and then chilled | Chronic. | | Cold-whipped milk on top of the chilled espresso | Tasting Table | Young, co-author of *Frappé Nation*, explains why evaporated milk matters. Greek cafés already had it behind the bar, a holdover from when canned milk was a safe substitute for fresh, along with the powerful mixer used for frappés. Blitzed, it thickens into a cream that won't split when you stir it with a straw; it dissolves slowly. In Greece the usual brand is **NOYNOY** ("Nou-Nou"), which now even makes a barista grade. ## How do you make one at home? 1. **Make a [freddo espresso](https://dailyextraction.com/drinks/freddo-espresso/)**: a short double espresso, sugar added while hot, shaken hard with ice, poured over fresh ice. 2. **Whip the milk cold.** Blend or shake cold milk until thick and pourable. Use evaporated milk for the Greek texture; Chronic. suggests adding ice to the blender. 3. **Pour the foam slowly** over the coffee, so it sits as a separate layer. 4. **Drink it slowly**, through a straw. As Young puts it, if you leave it for a quick swim, "the smooth foam won't desert you". ## Is it really a cappuccino? Not quite. Daniel Young says the freddo cappuccino is less like an iced [cappuccino](https://dailyextraction.com/drinks/cappuccino/) than the Italian dessert coffee **caffè freddo con panna**, "cold espresso coffee topped with whipped cream", with the frothed milk sitting on top "like the cream over an [Irish coffee](https://dailyextraction.com/drinks/irish-coffee/)". He calls it a Greek variation, and an upgrade of the [frappé](https://dailyextraction.com/drinks/greek-frappe/). ## Where did it come from? **Athens.** Chronic. dates the freddo espresso to **1991** and says the freddo cappuccino followed **two years later**. Who made the first is disputed: Young reports that some credit a café called **Freddo** in Athens' Bournazi area, while Yannis Apostolopoulos credits **Yannis Iosifidis** of Kafea Terra, Illy's Greek distributor. Today, Coffee Island's Panagiotis Konstantinopoulos told To Vima, the freddo espresso and freddo cappuccino are estimated to make up **70–80%** of the cold coffee drunk in Greece. ## Freddo cappuccino vs other iced coffees - **[Freddo espresso](https://dailyextraction.com/drinks/freddo-espresso/):** the same coffee without the milk. - **[Greek frappé](https://dailyextraction.com/drinks/greek-frappe/):** instant coffee shaken into a foam. - **[Iced latte](https://dailyextraction.com/drinks/iced-latte/):** espresso and cold milk mixed together over ice. - **[Caffè shakerato](https://dailyextraction.com/drinks/caffe-shakerato/):** Italy's espresso shaken with ice and sugar. Explore every drink in the [iced and blended chapter](https://dailyextraction.com/drinks/iced-coffees/). ## FAQs ### What is the difference between a freddo cappuccino and an iced cappuccino? The milk sits on top as a thick, cold foam rather than being mixed in. Daniel Young says the freddo cappuccino is less like an iced cappuccino than the Italian caffè freddo con panna, cold espresso topped with whipped cream. ### Why use evaporated milk? Because it foams into a very stable cream. Daniel Young explains that evaporated milk, already behind every Greek bar for frappés, thickens in the mixer into a smooth, pourable cream that won't split, even if you leave it for a swim. In Greece the popular brand is NOYNOY. ### How is the milk foam made? Sources describe it differently: To Vima says the milk is shaken until thick and frothy; Chronic. says milk whizzed in a blender with ice, or frothed with a steam wand and then chilled; Daniel Young describes evaporated milk blitzed in a spindle drinks mixer. ### When was the freddo cappuccino invented? In Athens, in the early 1990s. Chronic. says the freddo espresso appeared in 1991 and the freddo cappuccino followed two years later. Who first made it is disputed. ### How do you order one sweet or unsweetened? As with a freddo espresso, choose sketos (no sugar), metrios (about 1–2 teaspoons) or glykos (2 or more) before it's made, To Vima says, because sugar won't dissolve once the coffee is cold. ## Sources - [The freddo cappuccino is a modern Greek classic](https://youngandfoodish.substack.com/p/the-freddo-cappuccino-is-a-modern) - [The freddo espresso: a modern Greek cultural phenomenon](https://www.tovima.com/culture/the-freddo-espresso-a-modern-greek-cultural-phenomenon/) - [Freddo espresso: the real Greek summer recipe](https://chronic.ch/en/blogs/learn/freddo-espresso-recipe) - [Freddo vs frappé: the main difference between the Greek coffee styles](https://www.tastingtable.com/1733180/difference-greek-coffees-frappe-freddo)