Frappé Nation

Product Description Frappe Nation is not just a detailed and colorful celebration of frappe, the fabulously frothy Greek iced coffee. It is also a thorough exploration of the frappé lifestyle and Greek cafe culture. Authors Vivian Constantinopoulos and Daniel Young investigate the bond between modern Greeks and their national drink. This special relationship is rooted in an ancestral thirst for public dialogue and interaction, hence the chapter they devote to The Ancient Art of Greek Conversation. Other chapter titles indicate the scope of Vivian and Daniel s cultural investigation: * The Story of Greek Coffee and Coffee in Greece * From Kafeneio to Cafe to Cafeteria * The Invention of Frappe * The Science of Frappe Foam * The Frappe Formula (how to make a frappé) * The Frappe Diaspora Published in a single, bilingual English-Greek edition, Frappe Nation is an illustrated travelogue of the Hellenic café landscape, crisscrossing the cities and islands of Greece, from Corfu to Rhodes, Thessaloniki to Chania. Profiles of distinctive coffeehouses are animated by snapshots and anecdotes of the characters who make these places so special. Review The paradox about frappe coffee is that it is both about speed and slowing down. Clients can't get too mad when taxi drivers must stop to order one, for they know it'll only take a couple of minutes. At the same time, when you add water to the brown foam, the coffee's lifespan can stretch out for hours. The frappe is an answer to modern life's demands and Greek cafe/agora social habits, Vivian Constantinopoulos and Daniel Young point out in their new bilingual gift book Frappe Nation. "Conceived at a time when Greece was looking ahead to a better life, the convenience and accessibility of frappe provided an instantaneous taste of the future," they write. Frappe Nation reveals that it was in the late 1950s that the coffee was born - by accident - out of instant Nescafe coffee that is predisposed to frothing and a need for something cool and potent. Leading up to the frappe's birth, the nicely laid-out book digs into the history of Ancient Greek conversation, and the tale of coffee's arrival in Greece. The book is vacuum-packed with coffee facts and quotes from coffee professionals as well as hipsters ranging from actor/director Renos Haralambides to our own funnyman Brian Church. The book not only explains why coffee is more expensive in Greece than elsewhere, how London's first cafe was Greek and when "Turkish" coffee became "Elliniko" (Greek), but it also radiates out to discuss actress/politician Melina Mercouri as a female role-model, the popularity of Asia Minor cuisine and student-dating practices. There are profiles of over 20 Greek cafes, including a few remaining old gems. It's a smooth read. For instance, in describing a pick-me-up, Frappe Nation asserts: "The distance between glum silence and spirited chattiness can sometimes be measured by the length of a straw." The coffee-table book avoids overfrothing though, grounding itself in personal stories, like that of one frappe rebel. "Yiota Potamiti, who grew up in Patras and now lives in Rhodes, re --Athens News From the Back Cover It stimulates ideas, heightens moods, brings people together. It announces your connection to a Greek way of life and connects you to it when you're away. Frappé is the coffee of Greece. About the Author Vivian Constantinopoulos is the commissioning editor at Reaktion Books, a London-based publisher specializing in arts and cultural history. Previously she was an editor at Phaidon Press, where she commissioned illustrated monographs in architecture and design. She has a Masters in literary theory from University College London, and is doing postgraduate research on Greek modernism and urban literature. Born in London of Greek parents from the Peloponnese and fluent in Greek, she is equally at home sipping Earl Grey tea, Greek coffee, and, from May to October, frappé. Dani