Step into the heart of Greek culture with us as we explore the traditional Kafenion – a place where coffee is brewed slowly, conversations flow freely, and community thrives. Discover the customs, history and charm of these iconic coffeehouses. We’ll show you why you should never stir your coffee, what makes Greek hospitality so special, and how these spaces are evolving to welcome younger generations and tourists alike.
CHAPTERS
00:00 Intro
00:16 What people love about Kafenions
01:06 The coffee
02:02 The community
02:28 The historical roots
03:15 Food and drinks
04:17 What NOT to do as a tourist
CREDITS
Report: Jana Oertel, Sofia Kleftaki
Camera: Thanos Spiliopoulos
Edit: Holger Radeke
Supervising editors: Ruben Kalus/Hendrik Welling
THUMBNAIL
Rainer Hackenberg/picture alliance
calinstanx/Depositphotos/IMAGO
#dweuromaxx #dweurolifestyle #coffee
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A Turkish kahvehane.. In Greece, theft is a profession. They stole it.
Kafenion, kafana in serbian means kahvehane. The turks in the ottoman period introduced coffee and the coffee bar culture to the balkans and Austria. It's one of the biggest social cultural influences sinces 500 years and it still lives on ❤❤❤
This is literally turkish coffee !
They learn from Ottoman.
The best coffee tradition!
Everyone who came to the comments for the Turkish coffee vs Greek coffee fight, look here! 🤣Let's think about it thoroughly. Yes, the coffee is from Yemen and it came to the Ottoman Empire at a later date; that's 100% true. But the name "Turkish coffee" comes from the technique and the set of instruments used in the process, not solely from its beans. It is a mixture of components that makes it a Turkish coffee experience. Even the word "Briki" in Greek is derived from the word "İbrik," which is Arabic (and originally Persian), but Turkified and got its popular use in Europe thanks to Ottomans (because the Lingua Franca for the asia minor was Turkish language back in the day!), which was the bridge for many goods and techniques between the east and the west. I mean, you don't call Belgian chocolate Ghana chocolate or call a nice cup of espresso Brazilian coffee, right? It is always about the final product / experience and who popularized it worldwide. I see the Greek coffee as a nice variant of Turkish coffee and I see it as a wealth of culture for everyone who gets to enjoy it in Greece. And hey! Sometimes Turks lose their pride as well, e.g. everyone thinks Yoghurt (which is Turkish etymologically and historically) is Greek, ha! I think we are all lucky that our people (definitely not politicians and monarchs) were wise enough to know how to come together around a table and exchange their food and culture back in the day without the ridiculous fights of this age of brainwashing and tribalism. The fusion in the kitchen and anything worth eating today comes from such cultural interactions.
Greece next for me in 2026 😁✌️
I was in Crete in 1976 when the TV arrived. The true Kafenion died after centuries of popularity, almost overnight!
It’s a Byzantium culture …I do wonder how long will be allowed to continue. The northern protestants hate it with a vengeance. Merkel and her crippled finance minister almost destroyed it.
this is the turkish coffe. dont make peopel confused
Singular: Kafenio (or kafenion). And plural: kafenia. Not kafenions
Even children all around the world knows this is a Turkish cofee . Greeks love to steal everything😅😅
This is Turkish Coffee guys, c'mon!
Contrast that with the corporate Starbucks, where no one speaks to each other, just sit with sour looking faces at screens.
Türklere çok şey borçlusunuz 🙂
We have the very same cultural roots of coffeehouses in Türkiye, but unfortunately those places are still dominated by elderly men only and it's haaard to see young folks and women 🥲
So weird to see that both Greek and Turkish traditions are identical. If you’d sub the languages, nobody could tell the difference.
Good to see Turkish coffee culture still lives in Greece
Kaymak, tavla, kahve 🙂
TÜRK kahvesi 🙂
Germans will never understan. The eat bulshits in backarei
Yunan kahve 😂😂😂 büyük yalan
Η Σερβία αγαπά την Ελλάδα <3
its Turkish coffe lol
,
Turkish coffee 😂😂😂 Greeks stole it as they did for Turkish yogurt and baklava and many things 😂😂😂
They look delightful.
Throughout the Balkans there is around one billion cafes
Dünyanın neresine gidersem gideyim Türk kahvesi sipariş ederim. Mutlaka bavuluma çifte kavrulmuş şanfıstıklı Hacı Bekir Türk lokumumu koyarım gittiğim yerde kahvemin yanında yer kahve kokusu ile mutlu bir gün geçiririm. Türk kahvesini günde 3 kez tüketin sağlığa çok faydalı arkadaşlar. Özellikle beyin sağlığınız için çok yararlı antioksidana kim hayır diyebilir ki . Türk kahvesi için mutlu olun.
Greeks drink Turkish coffee
They have not evolved in life to enjoy coffee
Greek cafee❤
San to Kafenio den exi re, apla laika (Nothing like Traditional Kafenio re, simple, laika)
Very nice video!!!! I am from Greece, in my place that i live we have about 4-5 kafenions ,…before 15 years we had more ,but the modern life made them close , also tha fact that some older owners are not in life…
Is nice.
Ouzos and Cafes!
Not bad! Siesta all day long. No work. And if you work no taxes. What a life! When are they 🇬🇷 going to pay back our money? 😂
Show the real kafenio culture.. Most of these men should be home with their families, instead of hanging out at the "kafenio drinking coffee, eating meze" smoking like chimneys, getting drunk and gambling.
Kafenion is to Greece, what the pub is to the UK.
Retsina ?
everything i saw in this video is TURKISH in origin.
Coffee, Raki, Sarma, Meze. The custom of playing Tavla.
Did you know? Coffee’s journey is wild ☕✨ — discovered in Ethiopia, cultivated in Yemen, traded through Syria, and embraced by the Ottomans in Istanbul. From there it spread into Greece, the Balkans, and all over Europe. That’s why Turkish, Greek, and even Cypriot coffee are all branches of the same old tradition — just flavored with local culture
Looks like they drink more raki than coffee in kafenions😅
They are trying to steal Turkish coffee now:)
He made a mistake, you let the water boil, then add coffee, then put it back to boil a bit more (although this is more for if you are not paying attention to when it starts to boil, so it does not boil over).
Greek😂😂😂. Its arabic coffee from Yemen brought to the ottoman empire by ottomans.
THİS İS TURKİSH COFFEE WHİCH İS USED OF ALL BALKANS COUNTRIES AS DİFFERENT NAMES