About Kafenio, Cyprus

No Cypriot village is complete without a traditional coffee shop, the ¡®kafenio¡¯ Its the most important place in the village, the central point of communication, a place to meet friends, to play ¡®Tavli¡¯, the Greek version of Backgammon or just pass time by drinking a Greek coffee, tea, fresh juice or a home-made fruit squash. Greek coffee is ordered ¡®sketo¡¯, ¡®metrio¡¯ or ¡®glyko¡¯. Here is how to make it.

Using a cup of coffee as measure pour water into a small coffee pan.

Bring the water to the boil.
For a ¡®sketo¡¯ put one to two teaspoons of coffee into the boiling water and stir well, until it froths up.
For a ¡®metrio¡¯ add one spoon of sugar.
For a ¡®glyko¡¯ add two spoons of sugar.

Coffee is always served with a glass of cold water.


Each ¡®kafenio¡¯ has its own individual way of making coffee, so be to be sure of what you will receive, it is best to state the number of sugars you want whilst ordering!


In case you are invited to someone¡¯s house to drink a coffee, don¡¯t be surprised if they turn their cups upside down onto the saucer after drinking the coffee. There are some people that say they can read your future from the coffee drains. Don¡¯t be afraid to let them do it... it¡¯s a nice way to start some small talk, and of course it depends on you how seriously you take the predictions!