Spain: The Coffee

The coffee in Spain took me some getting used to. I am a big coffee lover, though I prefer the American style mug of coffee than the cappuccino like potency of Spanish coffee. However, though I prefer the American style, it doesn't mean I can't appreciate the delicious and abundant Spanish coffee.

Most coffee made in home is through a coffee percolator, much stronger than the more common American drip style. If you're out for coffee, it's important to know the different types of coffee. The most common coffee in the morning is café con leche. It's basically an espresso shot with milk, which if it's a nice place, you should be able to choose the temperature of the milk (templado o caliente) and the amount of milk added. It’s also apparently more common to drink it from a small glass cup (vaso) in the mornings, while later cafés con leche are taken from a ceramic mug (taza). Most people add sugar as well. 

 Café con leche in a cup. 

Café con leche in a mug.

In the afternoon, most typically after a large (and late) lunch, it's common to get a café solo or café cortado. Café solo is simply a shot of coffee and cortado is a bit of coffee with a splash of milk. Most people will get a café solo unless the establishment has coffee of questionable quality. For example, there is a Chinese restaurant I like to go to and they always burn the coffee so I'll always get a cortado. You can also get a café manchado, which is much closer to a café con leche, basically a cup of hot milk with a splash of coffee.

Café cortado

Café solo

If you’re looking for something closer to home, you can order a café Americano. This is the typical coffee with about a cup of water added. I’m not sure if most run of the mill bars and cafes in Spain will be able to prepare it, but I’ve seen it on menus in larger towns.

One interesting thing is the sugar. Though I will add a bit of sugar to my cafés cortado, I don’t add sugar to my cafés con leche. Most Spanish will add sugar to their coffee and it will always be presented in an individual packet on the side. Even the most upscale places won’t have a communal sugar dispenser, which is typical in America  and for whatever reason, is somewhat frowned upon here.

Coffee can be a great way to start the day, end a meal, or relax anytime in between. Like most food and beverage in Spain, it is an extremely social activity for the Spanish, which the caffeine certainly helps with!