Greek Drinks

Greek cuisine is a typical Mediterranean cuisine and is the cuisine of Greece. The Greek cuisine has as main ingredients the olive oil and the olives, the vegetables and the herbs, the cheese and the yoghurt, the grains and bread, the wine, various fish species and various meats, including poultry, rabbit and pork and has strong influences of the Italian and Turkish cuisines. As per the Greek desserts, the most common are based on use of nuts and honey and pastry.

Meze or mezze is a selection of small dishes, typically served in the Mediterranean and Middle East with wines or anise-flavored liqueurs as ouzo or homemade tsipouro. It contains different salads using eggplants, letuce, tomatoes, cow cheese, sheep cheese, fried sausages, meatballs, garlic bread, fava beans, fried vegetables and seafood dishes.

Ouzo starts by distilling 96 percent alcohol by volume (ABV) pure ethyl alcohol of agricultural origin (or 96 percent pure ethyl alcohol in which 0.05 percent natural anethole has been added) in copper stills together with anise and coriander, cloves, and cinnamon.

The precursor of ouzo is tsipouro.
Tsipouro is a distilled alcoholic beverage, more precisely a pomace brandy, from Greece. Tsipouro is a strong distilled spirit containing approximately 45 percent alcohol by volume and is produced from the pomace (the remaining parts of the wine press). In other areas of Greece, the name raki is used.

Another specialty is the Greek coffee with its unique flavour and aroma.
Greek coffee is easy to make and it can be made in 4 different ways. First, measure the required cups of water into a pot named briki and it is recommendable to make 3-4cups of coffee one time. The measure should be one of the cups that the coffee is going to be served in.

The Greek Coffee can be strong and without sugar at all named sketos, or a medium coffee with one measure of sugar named metrios, or more sweet coffee named glykys and the last type is a coffee boiled for more minutes and named glykys vrastos. Any kind of coffee you prefer, you must add into the briki the coffee, a teaspoonful of coffee per cup, and the sugar.

For a medium coffee the best balance is to add the same amount of sugar as coffee. And, for the Greek traditional cuisine, the briki has to be put on a low heat and stir its contents a little, until the coffee is diluted in the water. Hold the briki by the handle all the time as it boils so quickly and spills everywhere. Watch it starting to rise with a bubbly foam. Let it rise until it reaches the lips of the briki and then immediately withdraw from the heat. Once the coffee has been made, let it stand for one minute to allow the coffee grounds to settle at the bottom of the briki. Pour a little in each cup, to distribute the froth in all the cups. Then proceed and just fill them up to the brim.

Greek coffee is never stirred once it has been made and served and is drunk slowly. Serve it together with a glass of cold water.