Christos Lentzos, the master of the most famous frappe in the country, passed away at the age of 93marking the end of an era.

His pastry shop in Pagrati, which had become a song by Manolis Rasaoulis, was closed in 2013, but the legendary coffee of Lentzos continued to live in the memory and hearts of those who enjoyed its coffee.

Besides, his frappe recipe had taken on legendary proportions and the recipe that made his coffee so special was never known. Others said he put egg, others baking powder or cream to achieve the rich mixture.

He himself has narrated: “From 1965, when I opened, until 1971 I made the frappe in the shaker. That’s when I bought the most powerful Braun mixer and perfected the recipe for a good frappe. Other shops have the same mixer, but they skimp on the dose. In the wholesale package of nescafe of 2.5 kg that all coffee shops buy, the tax office calculates that there are 1,000 doses of coffee. I don’t even make 400! I prepare a sweet mixture and for the medium I add extra coffee on top. Customers ask for the extra coffee, which is why sometimes their stomachs get upset…”

As he had said in an old interview, the shop started as a luxury pastry shop in 1964. “We made very nice pastes and served them to the world together with their coffee.”

Lentzos, as it turned out, functioned as a forerunner of an era and a region.

Until 1971 there was no frappe coffee. As he had mentioned in an interview, “there were some who put coffee and sugar in a glass and then stirred vigorously with the straw”.

Frappe as a drink was accidentally discovered by Dimitris Vakondios in 1957 at TIF. Lentzos perfected it and already with a delightful story – as if he had a canvas in front of him and was putting his strokes. “One day I had gone behind the buffet because a girl on leave was missing. While I was sitting, I was experimenting and the idea came to me to mix the coffee in the mixer with a different dosage. That’s it! The first frappe a la Lenzos was served and since then it has become irresistible.”

His frappe was strong, sweet and thick. The foam… wasn’t moving. The “rite” required you to turn him continuously with the straw. Many ended up adding water, refilling the glass and seeming to have a satisfying dose of coffee again. A chef had said that this particular coffee is reminiscent of tiramisu”.