The most beloved coffee of Greeks will probably be the espresso, which is becoming more and more popular. During the last ten years its sales have increased with a double digit number and now the espresso is taking a bigger market share than the frappe and the French coffee.

Based on a survey done by Nielsen Market Track, last year the coffee market remained without sudden changes but the espresso sales jumped with 19.6% in comparison to 2007 and the Nescafe and Greek coffee sales fell. Right now, the espresso has 2.5% of the local coffee market but people who are familiar with the coffee market trends believe that in the next five years the espresso share will exceed 10%.

In this case, numbers speak for themselves. For one year, from March 2008 until March 2009, Greeks have spent ?9 million for espresso and for the same period a year earlier, they have spent ?7.5 million.

But for now, the Nescafe and the Greek coffee remain untouchable because they hold 81% of the local market and their total sales are ?199 million.

When it comes to the market as a whole for the last 12 months, Greeks have spent ?237 million in supermarkets, in order to consume 16.3 million kilos of coffee. Also it is noted that they have spent another ?800 million, in order to indulge in one of the 20 000 coffee shops in the country. In other words, every Greek spends about ?100 annually for coffee.

Espresso fredo or cappuccino, it seems that Greeks are following the habits of Italians. Lately, the market offers different tastes, which turns drinking coffee into a taste experience. Supermarkets and stores offer dozens of coffee brands for every taste.

Meanwhile, companies have understood that Greeks like high quality coffee and this is why they have started selling modern espresso machines. Those machines vary between ?100 for the regular ones and ?700 for the professional ones.