Coffee Fredo - what is it?
Fredo is a popular drink in Italy and Greece. It can be prepared even at home, without using a coffee machine or other devices. There are many variations of the recipe, but traditionally 4 main ingredients are used:
- Coffee, espresso mixture;
- Milk;
- Crushed ice;
- Syrup for coffee.
Fredo coffee is most similar to iced coffee, but without ice cubes and has a smaller volume. This is a drink with a rich taste, which is also an excellent digestif, that is, it has a positive effect on digestion, and is especially recommended to drink after a hearty lunch. Iced coffee is more invigorating than hot espresso.
Fredo's recipe
Fredo can be prepared at home without a coffee machine.
The main thing is that you have a composition of ingredients from:
- coffee - 60 ml;
- dairy products - from 50 to 70 ml;
- ice - 4 crushed cubes;
- topping - 15 ml.
Ice cubes and smaller drinks are not placed here. But the similarity with the ice product is great. These drinks have rich flavors. That's why they drink them after meals.
You can take Arabica with Robusta from 20 to 30%, then you will get more caffeine.
Fredo coffee recipe
Beans: Use any espresso blend. If it is 100% Arabica, let it be medium roasted; if the roast is strong, it is better to choose a blend with the addition of 20-30% Robusta, which will increase the caffeine content.
- Brazilian Arabica is sweetish and gives body to the drink.
- African Arabica – with a slight sourness, wine and berry flavor.
- Arabica from Central America is slightly sour, with notes of citrus.
- Indonesian Arabica is more piquant and makes the taste of coffee more interesting.
Water: it is better to take purified water, it better reveals the taste of coffee, makes it bright and full.
Milk: optimal fat content 1.5 – 1.8%;
Ice: It is advisable to crush it in a blender immediately before cooking, although if you don’t have a blender, ice cubes will do.
Syrup: caramel syrup is standard, chocolate or vanilla is acceptable, fruit syrup is undesirable, as the milk may curdle.
Brew double espresso in a Turk or any type of coffee machine. If you cook in a Turk, you will need to strain it so that you get 60 milliliters. Pour the espresso into a shaker or similar lidded container, add 50-70 ml milk, 15 ml syrup and 4 crushed ice cubes. Shake several times to create foam.
Tip: If you don’t have a blender, shake the coffee with ice cubes, or put the cubes in a glass and pour the shaken mixture of coffee, milk and syrup over it.
You can add sugar, cinnamon, chocolate chips, whipped cream or whipped milk on top. With whipped milk foam you get a Fredo cappuccino.
The cocktail can also be alcoholic if you add a teaspoon of liqueur.
Preparation technology for the main varieties
There are many variations of the drink, but they are all based on 2 main subtypes - espresso and cappuccino. In the first case, you get cold coffee with syrup, in the second, whipped milk is added. Basic recipes can be modified by adding additional ingredients.
Most often, a Fredo coffee recipe contains the following components:
- espresso;
- milk;
- syrup;
- ice crumbs.
Additionally, flavoring additives are used - cocoa powder, cinnamon, chocolate or coconut chips, vanilla, liqueur.
Basic recommendations for making Fredo coffee:
- Use freshly ground Arabica beans as a base. The content of espresso in the drink is at least half, which gives a strong, bitter taste. If you add robusta, the bitterness will become too pronounced.
- It is advisable to brew coffee in a coffee machine. It is permissible to make a Turk by taking the same amount of ingredients and also straining the resulting liquid before use.
- It is advisable to use milk with reduced fat content. The optimal option is 1.5-1.8%.
- The syrup can be vanilla, chocolate or caramel. Fruits are not added because organic acids will cause the milk to curdle.
- Beat the mixture in a shaker or using an immersion blender. It is also permissible to use a regular glass jar with a tight-fitting lid.
The drink is similar to iced coffee, but the serving is smaller in volume and does not contain ice cubes.
Fredo espresso
Ingredients:
- ground natural coffee – 7-9 g;
- cold soft water – 60 ml;
- syrup (any desired) – 10 ml;
- ice - 4-5 large cubes.
How to cook:
- Brew espresso in a Turk or coffee machine from freshly ground Arabica beans.
- Grind the ice to fine crumbs and fill the glass with the pieces.
- It is recommended to cool the coffee first, then shake it with syrup and ice in a shaker.
- Pour into a serving glass.
Fredo Espresso Shakerato is made from coffee, sugar and ice shaken in a shaker. Before transferring to a glass, the drink must be strained.
Fredo cappuccino
Ingredients:
- espresso – 50 ml;
- milk with fat content 1.5% – 50 ml;
- liqueur (optional) – 10-20 ml;
- sugar – 5-10 g;
- cinnamon or chocolate chips - optional;
- crushed ice
How to cook:
- Brew coffee in a coffee machine or coffee pot.
- Add granulated sugar, stir.
- Cool slightly.
- Fill the shaker with ice and add coffee.
- Shake for 20-40 seconds.
- Strain through a bar strainer into a glass.
- Pour in the liqueur.
- Whip cold milk until foamy and add to coffee mixture.
- Sprinkle with cinnamon or chocolate.
What and with what to serve Fredo coffee
- Traditional serving option: strain the mixture from a shaker into a glass; if there is a lot of foam, spoon it on top.
- Alternative: pour out of shaker along with crushed ice.
The Fredo coffee glass is a universal cocktail highball glass with thick walls and a capacity of 270 ml. Coffee is drunk from a thick straw.
Selection of ingredients
To prepare any coffee drinks in countries located near the Adriatic and Mediterranean Seas, only fresh beans are used, ground immediately before brewing. This is necessary to preserve the aroma of the coffee. If you add soluble granules, you need to buy expensive brands, otherwise the cocktail will turn out tasteless and without aroma.
Milk or cream should be full fat. First, to get foam, low-fat milk additives do not whip well.
A popular ingredient is caramel syrup, although it is often replaced with other toppings, such as fruit or berry liqueur. However, you need to know that milk curdles when exposed to acids, so it is cooled very much before mixing. Fruit sweet and sour syrups are also cooling.
To make delicious Fredo coffee you need a coffee machine, but at home a Turk or even a small saucepan will do. The main thing is that the tea leaves do not boil; it is necessary to bring it to a boil 2–3 times. After this, it is cooled and filtered - grounds are not needed in the drink.
Video: Greek iced coffee
Depending on the fat content of the milk, cream or topping, Freddo can be very high in calories, especially if you sprinkle it with chocolate - up to 150 kcal. At home, you can make a low-fat cocktail and use low-calorie additives.
Cooking features
Knowing a few tricks will allow the housewife to prepare Fredo coffee at home no worse than in cafes and bars in Greece and Italy.
- In order for the coffee cocktail to be tasty and invigorating, you must use natural coffee, preferably Arabica coffee, to prepare it. If you decide to replace it with instant, use only a quality product. Cheap powder will produce a drink that does not even remotely resemble real coffee, which the Greeks and Italians love and value so much.
- The coffee will be more aromatic if you grind the coffee beans immediately before brewing them.
- The basis of Fredo coffee is espresso. If you don't have a coffee maker or machine to make it, you can make regular black coffee according to your taste. If you cook it in a Turkish pot, do not let it boil, otherwise the esters will evaporate and the drink will not have a sufficiently rich taste and aroma. The drink will be stronger if you brew it in several stages, bringing it to a boil 2-3 times, even if the ratio of coffee and water remains unchanged.
- Coffee brewed in a Turk must be strained before combining with other ingredients.
- If you prefer coffee with milk, this time it is better to choose a product that has low fat content.
- Do not use fruit syrups to make fredo. Contact with them may cause milk to curdle. Among other syrups, it is better to give preference to those that are specially created for mixing with coffee.
- Before mixing the components, ice must be crushed using a blender to the state of ice crumbs.
- Fredo is shaken in a shaker, but if you don’t have one, you can use a jar with a tight-fitting lid. Place the cocktail components into it, close it and shake vigorously for 30 seconds. The drink is prepared in a shaker in the same way.
Freddo is served in tall thin glasses. When serving, you can sprinkle it with chocolate chips or ground cinnamon, and decorate with whipped cream. Don’t forget to insert a straw into the glass - drink a coffee cocktail with ice and caramel syrup through it.
The magic of Japanese coffee flavors AGF
Coffee lovers know that Japanese-made coffee is considered one of the best in the world. This is not surprising, because Japanese coffee lovers regard this drink as elite and place high demands on its quality. To be competitive, Japanese coffee producers purchase only the best, premium varieties of coffee beans from different parts of the Earth and use exclusively advanced technologies for processing them. Coffee produced in Japan will satisfy the taste requirements of even the most demanding gourmets.
Connoisseurs of Japanese coffee are probably familiar with the palette of flavors from the world-famous manufacturer AGF (AGF). Ajinomoto General Foods is a long-established company founded in 1954 in Itami City (Hyogo Prefecture). As one of the oldest Japanese coffee companies, AGF released its first coffee in 1960. It was Maxwell instant coffee. Further, the line of brands and flavors has expanded significantly over time, and the growth of production over time has made AGF one of the most powerful in the Japanese grocery market. Since the 70s, AGF has been committed to constantly choosing the latest technologies, choosing innovative ways to process coffee beans. This is how AGF coffee has taken a strong position in the market – outstanding quality and affordable price.
How does AGF coffee differ from drinks from other Japanese producers, and why does it have so many loyal connoisseurs around the world? The fact is that AGF has achieved the highest skill in coffee production thanks to its own patented “T 2 ACMI Roasting” technology. Its uniqueness lies in the fact that the beans are roasted at a variable, rather than constant, temperature. Control of the heating level and roasting time at each level is realized using special equipment, which automatically carries out precise control of the roasting process, guaranteeing consistency of product quality from batch to batch. Thermal treatment of beans at a controlled temperature allows you to achieve the purest taste and bright aroma of “living” coffee, with an optimal balance of bitterness and sourness, characteristic only of a premium drink. This production technology allows us to perfectly select the required taste characteristics of different types of coffee and 100% meet the expectations of coffee gourmets.
Coffee produced by AGF, as much as possible, retains its beneficial qualities inherent in coffee beans by nature itself. A natural drink made from ground grains is rich in vitamins, beneficial minerals, antioxidants, promotes digestion, improves immunity, and reduces the risk of developing a whole range of serious diseases.
In the AGF coffee assortment, connoisseurs will find a wide range of unique tastes. The manufacturer emphasizes the special status of its ground coffee with the names of the series - Luxury (“Luxury” - luxury, luxurious) and Rich (“Rich” - rich, expensive). For brewing coffee in a Turk, a coffee machine and in various types of presses, an excellent series of ground coffee is produced with a refined, invigorating, clean taste and rich aromatic aroma. This is Luxury Moka coffee with a divine aroma and a long pleasant aftertaste, Luxury Kilimanjaro with a soft but rich taste, Luxury Special with a special flavor range made from a mixture of Arabica and Robusta, and the “morning” awakening Luxury Morning with its bold taste and captivating aroma.
Natural ground coffee AGF is also available in portioned drip bags. Today, using such bags is perhaps the most convenient way to brew coffee. The drip bag has a special, thoughtful design that allows you to brew ground coffee with boiling water directly in the cup. Thanks to two holders, on the left and on the right, the drip pack is conveniently attached to the rim of the cup when open. Ground coffee beans in a drip bag are slowly poured with boiling water. Hot water is poured through the filter, the coffee is brewed, and the grounds remain in the drip bag. It is extremely convenient, fast and simple. Coffee brewed in this way tastes no different from a drink prepared in a Turkish coffee pot or coffee machine, but coffee enjoyment can be organized in any conditions, with only a mug and boiling water. On the road, on a business trip, at the dacha or on a picnic, in the morning at home or in a hotel, in the evening after a hard day, your favorite drink will be with you. The selection of AGF coffee flavors in drip packs will please even the most demanding connoisseur.
In addition to producing natural ground coffee, AGF is known as a producer of instant coffee with a delicate original pure taste without any extraneous notes and with a bright aroma characteristic of natural coffee.
Fans of instant coffee will be pleasantly surprised not only by the excellent branded quality from AGF, but also by the range. A strong latte is perfect to start your day with. Milk Latte – for connoisseurs of a softer taste. If you prefer an unsweetened Latte, opt for a sugar-free Milk Latte. Caramel Macchiato will give refined pleasure to gourmets who prefer sweet drinks with caramel notes. Fans of the classics will choose an invigorating strong coffee with milk Blendy Stick or a more delicate coffee with cream. In addition, the line includes the much-loved espresso, as well as Kilimanjaro and Moka instant coffee.
There is also something to please chocolate lovers. Instant milk cocoa with its great taste will bring delight and pleasure. Thanks to practical portion sticks in which instant coffee and cocoa from AGF are packaged, they can be brewed anywhere. By the way, your favorite drinks are also available in larger packages - in coffee cans that are easy to store.
Instant coffee from the AGF brand Maxim, made from beans collected on Colombian plantations, deserves special mention. It is presented in two types - Gold (with a rich, rich aroma and a special, deep taste) and Moka (with a more subtle, delicate taste, light sweet notes). A special mixture of coffee beans of different varieties is roasted on hot charcoal - this is the secret of the unique noble taste of this coffee.
Japanese AGF coffee is always a worthy choice and exceptional quality.