Frappe Vs Frappuccino: What’s The Difference?

If you’ve heard of or have had a frappe and a Frappuccino before, it may have crossed your mind that both drinks are very similar. You may even be wondering, are they the same drink? Can you use both names interchangeably?

Though they are both cold drinks, they are two different drinks. So let’s uncover a frappe vs Frappuccino. We’ll go over what each drink is, a little history and how to make it to show you that there are various differences.

Some links found in this post are affiliate links, meaning we may receive a commission if you decide to make a purchase, at no additional cost to you.

What is a Frappe?

The history of the frappe began in Greece. Though there’s evidence of a frappe like drink beginning in the 19th century, more is known about the introduction of it at the 1957 International Trade Fair in Thessaloniki, Greece.

It was at this trade fair that Dimitris Vakondios, who worked at Nestle, apparently invented it by accident. He was at the trade fair to promote a chocolate beverage for children made with a shaker. At some point, he wanted to have a cup of coffee so he used the shaker that was meant for the chocolate beverage and created the frappe.

Around 25 years later, as it became more and more popular, it reached the status of the national coffee drink of Greece. There’s even a day dedicated to the frappe, National Frappe Day, which occurs annually in October.

As people have visited Greece and tried the drink, they’ve taken it back to their homes to create their own versions and the drink has evolved since. The original Greek frappe is made with instant coffee, water, ice and sugar. In the 90s, instant coffee was replaced with two shots of espresso to create an updated version of the Greek frappe, known as a freddo.

Apart from Greece, you might find a version of a frappe like in Bulgaria made with Coca Cola. Or at McDonald’s for a caramel or mocha frappe. These are made by blending ice, a hint of coffee, caramel or mocha flavoring and topped with whipped cream and a drizzle of caramel or chocolate sauce.

And then there’s an American version from New England that’s pronounced as frap rather than frap-pay. If you order a frappe in New England, you’ll get what most people know as a milkshake (ice cream blended with milk.) Meanwhile, a milkshake in New England would be literally shaken milk. It’s a thinner drink that’s just milk and sweet syrup mixed together. So if you’re in New England, a frappe would be a milkshake, and it doesn’t necessarily have coffee.

(As a side note, in Rhode Island, they have a version called a cabinet. This is a milkshake made with their coffee syrup called Autocrat, which has been around since the late 1800s.)

We can see that there are many variations of the drink known as a frappe. The word, frappe, comes from the French word frapper, which means to hit or to beat. So it seems like around the world, some shake the ingredients or blend the ingredients in a blender and some have coffee and others don’t, but still call it a frappe.

So a frappe is either a blended drink or instant coffee shaken and poured over ice (Greek frappe.)

We’ll call the Greek frappe the original frappe, and if you want to try ordering one for yourself in Greece, order it with milk (me gala) or without milk (horis gala) or with heavy cream (me crema.) And you can also change the level of sugar. Sketos (without sugar), metrios (teaspoon of sugar) glykos, (2 teaspoons of sugar) and variglykos (very sweet.)

How to Make a Greek Frappe

To make a Greek frappe at home, you’ll need 2 teaspoons of instant coffee (like Nescafe instant Greek coffee), 2 teaspoons of sugar and ⅓ cup of water. Mix these ingredients with a cocktail shaker, frother or Nescafe shaker (made specifically for frappes!) After shaking the ingredients, pour into a glass filled with ice, stir and enjoy.

See the full recipe here: How to Make a Greek Frappe

What is a Frappuccino?

The word Frappuccino comes from the words frappe and cappuccino, so it’s a cross between both drinks. A frappe, as mentioned above is a cold blended drink. A cappuccino is typically ⅓ coffee, ⅓ steamed milk and ⅓ frothed milk. So a Frappuccino is a cold blended coffee drink, typically with whipped cream (resembling the frothed milk) and since cappuccinos are frequently topped with cinnamon, it’s kind of like how Frappuccinos are topped with chocolate or caramel sauces.

A Frappuccino is also a trademark brand of Starbucks so technically you won’t be able to find a Frappuccino anywhere but at Starbucks.

But did you know that Starbucks did not invent the drink? The credit goes to a coffee shop called Coffee Connection in Cambridge, Massachusetts. In the 90s, they were selling Frappuccinos, which they had trademarked. When Starbucks bought the shop, they also got the rights to use the name Frappuccino. And now, Starbucks is synonymous with the Frappuccino and attracts non coffee drinkers too.

How is a Frappuccino made?

A Frappuccino is made with three base ingredients – ice, milk and Coffee Frappuccino Syrup. This syrup is made with sugar, water, natural flavor, salt, xanthan gum (which makes the drink thicker), potassium sorbate and citric acid. From there, other flavorings and coffee are added, like in the Espresso Frappuccino Blended Beverage, which has ice, milk and Coffee Frappuccino Syrup and shots of espresso. A lot of the Frappuccino flavors are topped with whipped cream and served with the classic domed cover and green straw.

From this explanation, it seems like frappes other than the Greek frappe are actually Frappuccinos (or really close to what it is), but they just can’t be called a Frappuccino because the name is trademarked and exclusive to Starbucks. For example, The Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf has their own trademarked beverage called Ice Blended, which contains similar ingredients as does Caffe Nero’s Frappe Creme drinks.

Here are types of Frappuccinos you can find at Starbucks:

Coffee based Frappuccinos – as described above.
Creme based Frappuccinos – these are flavors like S’mores, Strawberry and Matcha Green tea, basically all the flavors that do not contain coffee. You can see all the ingredients and nutritional facts for all Frappuccino flavors here.
Secret Menu – these are Frappuccinos that are not on the menu. Though it’s called a secret menu, it’s not really secret. It’s more like a way for people to get their drinks customized. Customers come up with combinations that taste good together, like Cotton Candy and they start sharing it with others. Sometimes it becomes so popular that baristas will know what you mean when you ask for a Cotton Candy Frappuccino, but most of the time you should be prepared with the recipe for them to make, like the type of syrup and how many pumps of each they should use.
Around the world – Starbucks has stores all over the world and each have unique offerings only available in that store. This extends to unique Frappuccino flavors only found in that country. For example, in Peru there’s an algarrobina Frappuccino, which is made with algarrobina syrup. Algarrobina is from the black carob tree and used in Peruvian cuisine.
Bottled – the Starbucks Bottled Frappuccino is not made of the same base as the Frappuccino drinks above, but has the same name. It’s prepackaged brewed Starbucks coffee with milk and sugar.

How to Make a Frappuccino at Home

A true Frappuccino is from Starbucks, but if you want to know exactly what you’re drinking, want to drink less sugar, prefer to customize it yourself and just don’t want to spend $7 on a coffee drink, you can make a version of it at home.

For a mocha version, you’ll need two shots of espresso, ¼ cup milk, 2 cups of coffee ice cubes, one pump of chocolate sauce and a blender. Blend all ingredients in a blender, pour into a glass and top with whipped cream and a drizzle of chocolate sauce.

See the full recipe here: How to Make a Frappuccino at Home