Drinks of Greece: Ozuo, Tsipouro, Metaxa, Coffee

We have arrived in Greece-land of gods (both Greek and Roman), ancient scientists, astronomers and mathematicians and the adventures of Alexander The Great. Greece is in southeastern Europe on the tip of the Balkan Peninsula, dipping into the Aegean and Ionian Seas dotted with islands. Once again, as with many European countries, a long series of wars and movements have touched Greece with influence from invaders, conquers and its own expansion efforts.

Wine is and has been a common drink in Greece, evidenced by the fact that there are gods of wine, Dionysus (Greek) and Bacchus (Roman). Most noted local wine is Retsina, an unaged white wine with pine resin added, from the Athens region. Mavrodafni Sweet is a common red wine. Mavrodafni is a dark purple wine carrying the scents of caramel, chocolate, coffee, raisins and plums. It is excellent served with chocolate based desserts.

But the drink most people think about when they think Greek is Ouzo. In the 19^th century, Ouzo was created from pressed grapes, berries and herbs and spices. Herbs and spices such as: coriander, angelica root, wintergreen, mint, cloves, fennel, hazelnut, lime and cinnamon may be found in Ouzo. Oh, and of course anise. Ouzo is clear in the bottle, but turns white when mixed with water or ice. Anise is the overwhelming flavor of this drink. So, if you don't like licorice, you will probably pass on the Ouzo.

Tsipouro is a pomance brandy (pomance is the residue left from the grape pressing process). It is said that the monks, sometime in the 14^th century, devised the process to make Tsipouro from the leftovers of the winemaking process. They shared this process with the poor and thus it became a poor man's drink. It is a common home-brew.

If you like good brandy, try Metaxa brand, one of the most well known brands of brandy in Greece, formulated in 1888. It is a sweet brandy having four ranges of increasing aging:

Metaxa 5* Classic: dark honey color, aged fruity taste

Metaxa 7: fullbodied, raisiny sweet

Grand Olympian Reserve Celebration Edition: full-bodied, woody taste.

Private Reserve: mellow, full-bodied, mature

If you have to drive after your visit to the drinks of Greece. Remember to stop in time to let the alcohol dissipate and drink a cup or two of Greek coffee. Greek coffee is similar to espresso only in that it is served in a similar cup. To make Greek coffee, you will need finely gound Greek coffee and a briki. A briki is a metal pot with a long handle and a pouring spout. Measure water using the same size cup for serving, one cup of water for one cup of coffee, and pour into the briki. Add a heaping teaspoon full of Greek coffee and 1 ½ teaspoons of sugar per cup of coffee. Stir thoroughly and bring ingredients to a boil over a medium heat. Keep stirring until ingredients are dissolved and a foam forms on the top of the mixture. Remove from heat and allow to sit for not more than a minute. Pour into cups a little at a time, moving from cup to cup, back and forth, so that everyone gets some of the foam. Remember that this is sipping coffee, take it slow. Since we are one the subject of coffee, the next stop on our tour of world drinks will be Turkey.