Greek Coffee: Briki Recipe, Kaimaki and Sugar Levels

Key Takeaways

• 1For one cup, start with 7 g powder-fine coffee, 70 ml (2.4 US fl oz) room-temperature water and 4 g (1 tsp) sugar for métrios.
• 2Watch the kaimaki rise and lift the briki before a rolling boil. Allow time for the grounds to settle before sipping.
• 3The recipe estimates 17 kcal with 4 g sugar. Loumidis's 40 mg caffeine reference is for a different 50 ml (1.7 US fl oz) cup made with 5 g coffee.

Highlights

Recipe input

7 g coffee + 70 ml (2.4 US fl oz) water

Métrios sugar / calories

4 g / about 17 kcal

Time including settling

About 8 minutes

Named caffeine reference

40 mg per 50 ml (1.7 US fl oz), Loumidis

See how the calorie estimate and serving references work.

Before You Brew Greek Coffee

What Is Greek Coffee?

Greek coffee, or ellinikós kafés, heats powder-fine grounds and water together in a small long-handled briki. The foam is called kaimaki. There is no filtration before serving: let the grounds settle and sip the liquid above them. It belongs to the wider regional family of pot-brewed coffees, while its language and service are distinctly Greek.

It differs from espresso, where a machine pushes water through a compact coffee bed. Kaimaki is not pressure-produced espresso crema.

What Coffee and Pot Should You Use?

Choose fresh coffee labeled for Greek or Turkish-style preparation with a flour-like, powder-fine grind. Many ordinary espresso or filter pregrounds are too coarse. Coffee origin, roast and blend can vary; there is no requirement that every Greek coffee use one roast or only Arabica. The grind-size guide helps compare textures.

Use a briki suited to a single serving, with a narrow neck and enough headroom for rising foam. A large, almost empty pan is harder to manage. Check the base against your heat source: induction needs a compatible vessel. A suitably sized cezve also works; a wide saucepan is a compromise in foam control.

Greek Coffee Ratio

This recipe follows the 7 g coffee, 70 ml (2.4 US fl oz) room-temperature water and 4 g (1 tsp) sugar ingredient guidance on Loumidis Papagalos's Greek website. At water's approximate room-temperature density, the coffee-to-water input ratio is 1: 10 by mass. You can weigh 70 g (2.4 US fl oz) water for a practical kitchen equivalent.

That 70 ml (2.4 US fl oz) is water going into the pot, not a promise of 70 ml (2.4 US fl oz) drinkable coffee. Some evaporates, and some remains with the sediment. If you change cup size, weigh the coffee and measure the water rather than treating every teaspoon or demitasse as identical.

How to Make Greek Coffee in a Briki

Makes one small métrios, or medium-sweet, cup. Allow about 8 minutes: 2 for measuring and mixing, roughly 3 for heating and 3 for settling. Heat and rest times are our practical planning estimates; the actual rise determines when to remove the pot. Loumidis adds the coffee and sugar after putting the water on low heat; we mix before heating to make the first attempt easier to follow.

Recipe

Greek Coffee, One Métrios Cup

Makes:

1 small cup; brewed with 70 ml (2.4 US fl oz) water

Time:

About 8 minutes: 2 to prepare, 3 to heat and 3 to settle; follow the foam

Print recipe

Ingredients

• 70 ml (2.4 US fl oz) room-temperature water
• 7 g powder-fine Greek coffee
• 4 g (1 tsp) granulated sugar for métrios; omit for skétos

Equipment

• Small narrow-neck briki, controllable heat, scale, water measure, teaspoon and demitasse cup

Method

1. Pour 70 ml (2.4 US fl oz) room-temperature water into a small briki with space for the foam to rise. Add 7 g powder-fine coffee and 4 g (1 tsp) sugar for métrios. Stir until evenly mixed.
2. Set the briki securely over low heat. Stop stirring and watch continuously as a fine foam forms. Allow roughly 3 minutes, but follow the rise rather than the timer.
3. Lift the briki as the kaimaki rises toward the neck, before a rolling boil or overflow. This recipe uses one controlled rise.
4. Pour slowly into a small demitasse cup. Allow about 3 minutes for the grounds to settle and the drink to cool; 2–4 minutes is a practical starting range.
5. Sip gently without stirring and leave the dense sediment in the cup. Serve with water if desired.

Estimated nutrition per serving: 17 calories; total sugar 4 g.

Recipe notes

Adapted from Loumidis ingredient guidance; our initial mixing, one-rise approach and timing are practical home choices.

70 ml (2.4 US fl oz) is water input, not finished yield. Do not keep heating to meet a fixed time if the foam has risen.

Estimated 17 kcal and 4 g added sugar for métrios.

Keep the handle clear of the flame and the pot stable on the burner. Sand heating is optional, not necessary for the method.

For two cups, use 14 g coffee and 140 ml (4.7 US fl oz) water, and 8 g (2 tsp) sugar if both are métrios. Use a pot suited to two servings; the heating time will not necessarily double. Distribute a little foam among both cups before filling them. Make separate rounds if guests want different sugar levels.

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Adjusting and Troubleshooting Greek Coffee

One Rise or Two?

Start with one controlled rise, as in this recipe. Other household methods return the briki briefly to the heat. A set number of rises is not a reliable way to distinguish Greek from Turkish coffee. Avoid a sustained rolling boil or an overflow; repeating that action is not a dependable cure for weak coffee.

How to Build and Keep Kaimaki

Mix the coffee evenly at the start, use a correctly sized pot and give yourself time to see the surface lift. Stop stirring after the initial mix in this method. Lift the pot before the foam breaks into a rolling boil, then pour deliberately. Freshness, grind and coffee blend affect the foam too; a taller cap does not establish better taste or more caffeine.

Can You Make Greek Coffee Without a Briki?

A small cezve or suitable narrow saucepan can heat the ingredients, but a wide pan spreads the foam and changes heating. A drip machine, moka pot or espresso machine makes a different preparation. Correct powder-fine coffee matters even when improvising the pot.

Greek Coffee Sugar Levels and Calories

The grams below define this page's recipe variations; café and household spoon sizes differ. Sugar changes the sweetness and calories, not the caffeine already extracted.

I ask about sweetness while the briki is still off the heat. I prefer settling that small question before brewing, so nobody needs to stir sugar into a finished cup and lift the grounds again.

For varýglykos, ask how the café makes its stronger, sweeter version; do not assume the same coffee dose with an extra spoon of sugar. Loukoumi, biscuits and milk are outside these estimates.

Serving, sugar and sources

Loumidis gives approximately 1 kcal for an unsweetened coffee prepared with 5 g grounds. Scaling that rough preparation estimate to 7 g gives 1.4 kcal; it is an editorial calorie estimate. Archived USDA FoodData Central sugar record 169655 gives 387 kcal per 100 g. Our arithmetic is 1.4 +(4 × 3.87) = 16.88 kcal for métrios, rounded to 17; with 8 g sugar it is 32.36 kcal, rounded to 32. Plain coffee is shown as about 1–2 kcal. Added sugar is exactly 0, 4 or 8 g as weighed. Most grounds remain as sediment and are not counted as dry coffee eaten.

How to Serve and Drink Greek Coffee

Serve in a small cup, usually with water alongside. Let it cool and settle, then sip slowly without stirring. Leave the muddy final layer behind. Loukoumi or a biscuit can accompany it. SBS Greek's preparation guide describes sharing the foam and serving this small cup with water.

What Does Greek Coffee Taste Like?

Expect a concentrated, aromatic cup with more texture than paper-filtered coffee. Its roast, blend and sugar style determine whether it leans more bitter, sweet or fragrant. Skétos exposes the coffee's own flavor; métrios and glykós add measured sweetness. Choose the roast and sugar level to suit your taste.

How Much Caffeine Is in Greek Coffee?

Loumidis Papagalos publishes about 40 mg caffeine for a 50 ml (1.7 US fl oz) cup made with 5 g coffee. The 7 g/70 ml (2.4 US fl oz) home recipe on this page has not been measured for caffeine.

Coffee species and blend, dose, preparation and liquid consumed all matter. Do not estimate caffeine from foam, dark color or the apparent thickness of the drink. An espresso or a larger filter coffee can have more or less caffeine depending on its actual serving. Decaffeinated coffee can still contain some caffeine; leaving grounds behind does not make a normal cup caffeine-free.

Greek Coffee Comparisons

Greek Coffee vs. Turkish Coffee

The practical recipes overlap. The names and cultural settings are more reliable distinctions than a fixed roast, bean or number of rises. The pot is a briki in Greek and a cezve in Turkish; the foam is kaimaki or köpük. Greek skétos, métrios and glykós describe sweetness, while Turkish orders include sade, az şekerli, orta şekerli and şekerli.

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See the Turkish brewing guide for cezve-specific control points. UNESCO's 2013 inscription recognizes Turkish coffee culture and tradition.

Greek Coffee vs. Espresso and Filter Coffee

For an iced Greek café order, frappé is a separate instant-coffee preparation. It is not this briki recipe poured over ice.

History, Hospitality and the Coffee Cup

Greek coffee is part of the broader Eastern Mediterranean pot-brewing tradition and its own culture of the home and kafeneio. The slow service leaves time for conversation and for grounds to settle. Household and café routines both contribute to that tradition.

Related regional preparations deserve their own names: Arabic coffee and gahwa covers different preparation and service conventions. Grounds may also be used socially for reading patterns in an inverted cup; that custom is not a brewing requirement.

Is Greek Coffee Healthy?

Greek coffee should not be described as a longevity treatment. The Ikaria study reported an association with vascular function in an observational sample; it could not show that drinking Greek coffee caused the result. For everyday choices, count the caffeine and added sugar in your actual serving instead of treating a national coffee style as a health guarantee.

Common Questions Before You Brew

Do I Need a Thermometer?

Not for this home recipe. Begin with room-temperature water, use controllable low heat and watch the foam rise. Removing the briki at the right visual cue matters more than chasing one numerical temperature.

Can I Add Milk?

Yes, you can add milk to taste. Count it separately from the recipe's calorie figures, and expect stirring after serving to disturb the foam and grounds. The classic preparation described above uses water.

Is Greek Coffee Stronger Than Espresso?

It can taste intense, but flavor concentration and total caffeine are different questions. Compare the coffee dose, serving and a stated caffeine reference, rather than assuming the method name settles either question.

Editor's Take

Sources and Further Reading

6 references

External links open in a new tab

Recipe source

• Loumidis Papagalos, Nestlé GreeceGreek coffee preparation70 ml room-temperature water, 7 g coffee and about 4 g sugar; low heat, stirring and slow service(opens in a new tab)

Serving context

• Loumidis Papagalos, Nestlé GreeceFrequently asked questionsNamed 40 mg/50 ml/5 g reference and rough unsweetened calories; the page's zero-caffeine sediment claim is not adopted(opens in a new tab)

Preparation guide

• SBS GreekHow to make Greek coffeePreparation, sweetness vocabulary, foam distribution and serving context(opens in a new tab)

Nutrition arithmetic

• USDA Standard ReferenceGranulated sugar, NDB 19335Original USDA table, page 736: 387 kcal per 100 g; used with weighed sugar, not an unverified spoon conversion(opens in a new tab)

Cultural record

• UNESCOTurkish coffee culture and tradition2013 cultural inscription for the related Turkish tradition(opens in a new tab)

Research context

• Vascular MedicineBoiled Greek coffee and endothelial functionObservational Ikaria study; no claim of proven longevity benefits(opens in a new tab)