If you’d like to try an authentic iced coffee drink, try this recipe out. It was originally created in Greece in the 1950s. It’s nothing like the stuff you find in the chains.

The only hard part is finding the Instant Coffee. Yep, that’s right: you need instant coffee. But no Folgers here. You need Nespresso/Nescafe Classic Frappe Instant Coffee. Don’t be fooled: You may see some Nescafe that is made in Mexico–it’s not the same. Make sure that you get the one that is made in Greece (it is made differently and is critical to the recipe). The 200g can I bought has English on one side and Greek on the other. Says “Frappe” on the can and runs about $10. You should be able to find it in a decent “ethnic” grocery store.

Okay, got the special coffee? Then here we go:

In a cocktail shaker put in the following: 1/4 cup cold water, 2 tablespoons whole milk, 5 teaspoons instant coffee, 4 teaspoons sugar, 2 ice cubes.

Now shake away, for about 2 minutes or so. Then open up the shaker and be amazed. You’ll see that it has foamed up like crazy. Pour the contents into a tall glass (ice and all) and wait a minute or two for the foam to settle. Then sip away. Pure coffee heaven.

Note: Do NOT double up the recipe! The cocktail shaker can’t handle anything more than the above (it makes an 8 ounce serving). Trust me, I tried–and made a big coffee mess. You can also try batches in a blender, but make sure to leave plenty of room, as it foams up a lot.

Thanks to the Rosengarten Report for this tasty idea.

Update: My cocktail shaker is in storage, so I had to get a new one. Take a look at Target. They had a white OXO model on clearance for about $4–when most others were in the $15 range! It’s a really nice one, and is double-insulated. I’d buy it even at full price, but at $4 it’s a steal. Also, I have heard that you can tell how low the Target clearance is by the last digit. The lower the last digit, the more it’s been marked down. If you see a “4″ that is the lowest–from there is gets shipped off to places like Big Lots.