Greek Coffee substitute

Best substitute

Turkish coffee

Use the same amount as the greek coffee you are replacing

Best for brewing in a briki or cezve

Close match

Turkish coffee is the same product under a different name and swaps in exactly 1:1, so buy that if you see it. Otherwise use vacuum-packed espresso-grind coffee, the brick-packed Latin American style, at 1:1, or grind whole beans in a blade or spice grinder for a full minute until the powder feels like cocoa. For baking or a spice rub, instant espresso powder at about two thirds the volume is often the better choice.

Other greek coffee substitutes

Ranked, with the exact amount to use

2Vacuum-packed espresso-grind coffee (the brick-packed Latin American style)
Taste and texture differ
Use the same amount
Very finely ground dark-roast coffee sold in flat vacuum bricks, widely stocked in ordinary supermarkets.
What changes
Best for
brewing in a briki, baking, coffee rubs, everyday substitution
The most practical answer if there is no Greek or Turkish grocer nearby. It is finer than drip grind but still slightly coarser than true Greek coffee, so the cup comes out a bit thinner and takes an extra minute to settle in the demitasse. Roast level is darker, so the cup tastes more bitter and less sweetly caramel than a light Greek roast.
3Whole beans ground in a blade or spice grinder
Different texture
Use the same amount
Any medium-roast bean pulverised for a full forty-five to sixty seconds until the powder is as fine as cocoa.
What changes
Best for
brewing at home, when only whole beans are available, baking
This works, but only if you take the grind seriously. A burr grinder set to its finest espresso setting is still far too coarse, and the result is gritty on the tongue and weak in the cup. A cheap blade grinder or a clean spice grinder run in long bursts is genuinely better here. Let it cool between bursts so the coffee does not scorch.
4Instant espresso powder or instant coffee
Taste and texture differ
About ⅔ the volume of Greek coffee, and taste
Freeze-dried or spray-dried soluble coffee, which dissolves completely with no grounds left behind.
What changes
Best for
cakes, cookies, custards, ice cream, spice rubs, frostings
For anything baked, this is often the better ingredient rather than a compromise, because it disperses evenly and leaves no grit in the crumb. The flavour is flatter and more roasty-bitter, without the bright fruit notes of a good Greek roast. It cannot make a cup of Greek coffee, since there is nothing to settle and no foam.
5Brewed espresso or moka pot coffee
Taste and texture differ
Use 1 espresso shot for every demitasse of Greek coffee
Strong concentrated coffee brewed by pressure rather than by boiling.
What changes
Best for
a strong small coffee, coffee syrups, desserts, affogato-style puddings
It gives you the strength and the small serving size, so as a drink it is a reasonable stand-in. What is lost is specific to the method: no kaimaki, the thin layer of foam on the surface, and none of the soft silty body from suspended grounds. It also tastes cleaner and sharper than the rounder Greek cup.
6Finely ground chicory coffee or decaf, ground fine (caffeine-free)
Different taste
Use the same amount
Roasted chicory root, or decaffeinated beans ground to powder, for a caffeine-free version.
What changes
Best for
evening coffee, caffeine-free cooking, baking
Decaf ground fine brews and behaves almost identically, just with slightly less body and a flatter finish. Chicory is a different plant altogether: it is darker, woodier and faintly sweet-bitter with no coffee acidity, so the cup tastes like a chicory drink rather than coffee, though it does foam and settle in the same way.

What is Greek Coffee?

Greek Coffee is coffee ground to a flour-fine powder and brewed unfiltered in a small long-handled pot called a briki, known in Greece as kafes ellinikos, so the grounds settle in the cup instead of being strained out and the cup carries a thick foam and a heavy body no drip coffee can match.

Cooking tips

The grind is the entire answer. Greek coffee must be powder-fine, like cocoa or flour, because the grounds are never filtered out and instead settle at the bottom of the cup. If the coffee is gritty in your mouth or thin in the cup, the grind was too coarse, whatever bean you used.
Measure roughly one heaped teaspoon of coffee per demitasse of cold water, and add the sugar at the same time as the water rather than later. Sketos is unsweetened, metrios takes about a teaspoon and glykos about two.
Bring the briki up slowly over medium-low heat and pull it off the moment the foam rises to the rim. Letting it boil kills the kaimaki, the layer of foam that is the whole point of a well-made cup, and it will not come back.
Pour the foam into the cups first, dividing it between them, then top up with the coffee underneath. Do not stir after pouring, and let the cup stand a minute or two so the grounds settle.
Never brew Greek coffee twice or reheat it. A second boil turns it bitter and muddy, and the foam is gone for good.
As an ingredient in desserts, rubs and marinades, use Greek coffee dry and undissolved. Its flour-fine texture means it disperses into a batter or a spice mix without any grit, which drip grind cannot do.
Greek coffee and Turkish coffee are the same style of coffee and the same brewing method, so a search for either one will find you the right product.

Frequently asked questions

Is Greek coffee the same as Turkish coffee?

The coffee and the method are the same: flour-fine grounds boiled with water in a small pot and served unfiltered. The names differ by country, and the pot is called a briki in Greece and a cezve in Turkey. Some Turkish versions include cardamom. For cooking and brewing they are fully interchangeable.

Can I use espresso grind for Greek coffee?

It is the closest supermarket option but not quite fine enough, so expect a slightly thinner cup and a longer wait for the grounds to settle. If you have a blade or spice grinder, running espresso-grind coffee through it for thirty seconds makes a real difference.

Can I use instant coffee instead of Greek coffee?

For baking, rubs and desserts, yes, and it often works better because it dissolves completely. Use about two thirds the volume. You cannot brew Greek coffee from instant, because there are no grounds to settle and no foam, so as a drink it is a different thing entirely.

Can I leave Greek coffee out of a recipe?

In a spice rub or a chocolate dessert, yes, and you will lose some bitter depth and roast complexity that made the chocolate taste darker. Replace it with a spoonful of cocoa powder if you want colour and bitterness without coffee flavour. In a coffee-flavoured dessert it obviously cannot be skipped.

How strong is Greek coffee compared with regular coffee?

It tastes very strong because it is served in a tiny cup with all of the grounds still in contact with the liquid, giving a heavy body and an intense flavour. Per serving it is a small volume, so the total caffeine in one demitasse is generally comparable to a small espresso rather than to a mug of drip coffee.

Related substitutes

More beverages substitutes

Greek Coffee substitute

Other greek coffee substitutes

2Vacuum-packed espresso-grind coffee (the brick-packed Latin American style)

3Whole beans ground in a blade or spice grinder

4Instant espresso powder or instant coffee

5Brewed espresso or moka pot coffee

6Finely ground chicory coffee or decaf, ground fine (caffeine-free)