📍Mokka Specialty Coffee, Athens

I was in Athens for a short time. I had a couple of things to cross off my list. Greek coffee was one of them. I looked for places near my hotel and this was one of the options. I realized I could stop here before my noon ticket to the Acropolis so it fit my criteria.

It's a pretty large coffee shop with a bunch of seating indoors and outdoors. When you enter, there's roasting equipment to the left, a register in front of you, and seating on the right. It wasn't very clear because I couldn't tell if I should order at the counter or grab a seat. I walked up to the counter and they directed me to sit anywhere.

Once I sat down, someone quickly handed me a menu. They had Greek coffee made from two different beans. I chose the Ethiopian ones. I also wanted a pastry. I first asked for a croissant but they were out. Then the cookie, but also out. Finally landed on the Koulouri.

Greek coffee is similar to Turkish coffee and brewed differently from other coffee methods. It's brewed by boiling water and very fine coffee grounds in a small vessel directly over heat, often hot sand. There's no filter so the coffee grounds swim around in the water as it brews. It starts to furiously bubble and become foamy. The coffee gets poured, grounds and all, into a small cup though most of the grounds stay at the bottom of the vessel thanks to the shape.

I got served my coffee in a copper-painted tray to match the copper vessel. Some of my coffee had come poured into the cup while half remained in the vessel. This is the first time I've had Greek coffee so I can only compare it to Turkish coffee. The big difference from Turkish coffee was the lack of spices. This coffee had an earthy but lighter taste than Turkish coffee I've had in the past. I enjoyed the delicate apricot-like flavor I got from the beans.

The Koulari was a crisp, cookie-like wreath dusted with cinnamon and sugar. Traditionally this is made with sesame seeds. It wasn't too sweet and offered a nice offset to the coffee I drank.

I suspect this place is touristy. The walking tour that came through while I was having my coffee was a giveaway. It's not a bad thing since I enjoyed my time here but next time I'll do better research.

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