Coffee in Spain

[SabsP]

I have done the Camino frances five times in two years. I am sorry to say this but the Coffee in Spain, on the French way, is a hughe disapointment. The coffee is terribly weak. I needed two-three cups in the morning to get the amount of coffein I would get in ONE normal American coffee at home. I have seen again and again how cafe owners re-use the coffee in the machine to make bad, weak coffee for pilgrimes. When the locals come to buy their coffee they use New coffee. I met this american lady drinking a double espresso last fall, and she said it perfectly; "this double espresso tastes like an ordinary American coffee to me, maybe this is why we need to stop for coffee all day long". I do not mean to be very negative, but this is one of the negative Things for me on the Camino. Pilgrimes as a rule (With some exceptions) never come back to buy more coffee, most pilgrimes are in "heaven" on the Camino and do not complain. I fear this leads to the People making a living on the Camino can do whatever they like. As a rule I now watch them while they make my coffee, I watch them emtpy the old coffe out of the espresso machine and fill up With New. And when they tell you to sit Down and wait while they make the coffee, I never do... I also tell them when my coffee is really bad or weak. They are not used to pilgrimes complaining.

Gosh we walked in parallel universes.

 

[Introibo]

Cafe con Baileys. An espresso with a shot of Baileys Irish Cream.
Rocket fuel at 08:00 in the morning.

 

[kayagee66]

As an American I require coffee to fuel my day. I've seen videos of tiny cups of coffee from pilgrims, that would border on deprivation for me. I realize there are no Starbucks or Duncans on the camino. Does Spain have the equivalent of a Cafe au lai?
Thanks

Cafe con leche is simply coffee with milk. The quality depends on the person making it, sometimes it's too milky for me.
If you want a decent size coffee try asking for an Americano with a little milk. Or a Cortado for an espresso with a little milk.
I have never seen staff reusing coffee instead of putting in new, as someone suggested.

 

[SabsP]

Cafe con Baileys. An espresso with a shot of Baileys Irish Cream.
Rocket fuel at 08:00 in the morning.

Bailey's is after all just cream with a dash of alcohol
Reminds me of my first Camino in 2011 : morning at a bar in el Burgo Ranero. Policeman finishing his shift, drinking his carajiillo before his wife picked him up by car...We talked about their son studying in my country at that moment.
Coffee and alcohol ( and food ) unites people...

 

[Craig Towers]

Sadly w

As an American I require coffee to fuel my day. I've seen videos of tiny cups of coffee from pilgrims, that would border on deprivation for me. I realize there are no Starbucks or Duncans on the camino. Does Spain have the equivalent of a Cafe au lai?
Thanks

Sadly what you drink in the US is not coffee

Wait until you get to Spain, drink espresso or if you are in real need a double. it will blow that watery imitation into the stratosphere. You will run the first 10km.

 

[Camino Chrissy]

Cafe con Baileys. An espresso with a shot of Baileys Irish Cream.
Rocket fuel at 08:00 in the morning.

I think drinking alcohol that early in the morning would send me back to bed! Lol.

 

[Camino Chrissy]

Gosh we walked in parallel universes.

I know! Couldn't believe what I was reading!

 

[Pheilhans]

@Pheilhans on this forum, to unfavourably compare Spanish coffee to American coffee is fighting words. I have never had a bad coffee in Spain, and never had a good coffee in the US! I think this debate is like boots v shoes v sandals - different strokes for different folks.

I am sorry. I think my post must have been unclear? I did absolutely not mean to compare Spanish coffee to American coffee. I have never tasted American coffee, never even been to America, but in Scandinavia we drink something Close to American coffee and in need of a Word for this filter coffee we use up here I called it American. My point was to say that even an espresso is more weak then a normal cup of filter coffee. As English is not my first Language I used "American coffee" as a Word for filter coffee. I have had wonderful coffee in Spain, truly wonderful. But along the Camino frances there are to many cafes which give you diluted coffee my opion. To often I have had re-used coffeebeans to press out another cup. This was my point. When you ask for a double espresso, they give you the double amount of water but make it from the same amount of coffee as a single espresso. I think I have a right to say this. I have met countless of pilgrimes saying the same.

 

[Pheilhans]

I disagree. The coffee is great! Most bar coffee is a blend of beans. A dark, oily French roast is rare. An espresso shot is only about an ounce. It is strong and caffeine-filled. There are three or four major distributors. They are reliably good, but the occasional bar with coffee from a small processor results in some truly great coffee. I roasted my own beans for a decade, so I have some experience in the process and chemistry.

I know the raw material they use is the best! And when they make it good, they make it very good! My post was to say that to often they use to little amount of the raw material to make it good, or they re-use coffee they have already made a cup from. I do not mean that the coffee is bad in the Whole of Spain. I am saying that the coffee often is bad in the many touristy-pilgrime cafees along the Camino.

 

[Deleted member 3000]

they re-use coffee they have already made a cup from

I have had thousands of cups of coffee in Spain, and I never have seen that. Where did you observe it? I have several espresso machines, and it is impossible to use old grounds. In Spain they grind the coffee in front of you, so I think the grinders would be jammed with old coffee grounds, making that impossible.

 

[Jacobus]

As an American I require coffee to fuel my day. I've seen videos of tiny cups of coffee from pilgrims, that would border on deprivation for me. I realize there are no Starbucks or Duncans on the camino. Does Spain have the equivalent of a Cafe au lai?
Thanks

Ask for an American coffee. You will get a cappucino and hot water. Its as close as you will come. Café con leché is made with hot milk and a cappucino. It also gets the foamy bits of the milk.
I found if you can ask for it you will most likely get it

 

[Avega]

Hi! I used to live in the US so I understand your concern. Ask for “café con leche grande” (large latte)... just keep in mind that a small coffee in the US is the large size everywhere else so you don’t get disappointed. If you have a coffee flask you could ask them to just fill it up and charge you for whatever the price would be (around 2 coffees)

The tiny cup is very tipical of Europe, italians love it! that’s like their standard coffee. It is a small but very strong coffee (double expresso sort of thing).

Buen camino!!!

 

[Nichola Scurry]

I just wish the leche wasn’t UHT

 

[GerN]

I am Irish and would drink a lot more Tea than coffee at home but I love the Café con leche in Spain. Their White Coffee is lovely.

 

[JillGat]

I'm just gonna state my opinion here, unpopular as it may be in this group. Although I love Spanish food, Spanish culture, etc., I don't like coffee in Spain. I like brewed coffee; boiling water poured over fine grounds into a pot or cup; no milk, no sugar; just black. Spanish coffee is more of a dense espresso. I'm pretty sure that "Cafe Americano" in Spain is just espresso with hot water added it to it to simulate American coffee. Not the same thing. I order cafe cortado in Spain, because I have to have milk added to it for it to be drinkable. I don't miss much else while on the Camino, but I do miss plain, brewed black coffee. (ps - I don't like Starbucks either, because I think they over-roast their beans and the coffee tastes burnt).

 

[Donnacarlson]

Not a single bad coffee on the Camino, cannot believe anyone would associate Starbucks and coffee,

 

[Isca-camigo]

Spanish coffee for me + more so in Galicia where they use a smoother richer milk. Definitely an alternative universe if you think Spanish Coffee is no good, I stick with this universe where I get to drink good coffee before I start walking and during.

 

[William Marques]

I am sorry. I think my post must have been unclear? I did absolutely not mean to compare Spanish coffee to American coffee. I have never tasted American coffee, never even been to America, but in Scandinavia we drink something Close to American coffee and in need of a Word for this filter coffee we use up here I called it American.

I do not know if Finnish coffee is similar to Swedish coffee but the filter stuff drunk by the gallon in Helsinki does not compare in my opinion to the coffee in Spain.

For me it is cafe con leche, which is very similar to the cafe au lait in the Strinberg cafe in Helsinki.

A really good hot chocolate with churros from a smart cafe in one of the towns is a temptation not to be missed.

 

[Donnacarlson]

@Pheilhans on this forum, to unfavourably compare Spanish coffee to American coffee is fighting words. I have never had a bad coffee in Spain, and never had a good coffee in the US! I think this debate is like boots v shoes v sandals - different strokes for different folks.

 

[Anamiri]

My sister who is a coffee fiend, and not fully human until her first coffee, loved the Spanish coffee. She's not particularly a morning person but as soon as she saw the first cafe she sped up...

 

[Patrice Reed]

Spanish coffee is more like Espresso that coffee, so you don't need as much. Tastes way better than anything I've had in USA...cheap, so if you need more, but a couple. You can get black "cafe", with cream, "cafe con lecha" or American style, "cafe Americano" (which has hot water added to it to mimic drip coffee).

 

[JillGat]

I may be alone here, but I miss brewed coffee while in Spain. Cafe Americano - basically espresso with hot water added - is a poor substitute for black brewed coffee. Cafe con leche is good sometimes, but it tastes like candy compared to what I drink at home. Every time I walk, I consider bringing the gear to make my own coffee, but it always gets left out at the last minute to save weight.

 

[Camino Chrissy]

I love cafe con leche. I only use a half teaspoon of sugar in mine, so although I love it as much as candy, it doesn't remind me of candy....on the flip side, I wish I preferred my coffee black as it's obviously healthier, but it just aint so! ☺

 

[Gareth Griffith]

Black coffee is "cafe solo". White coffee is "cafe con leche". Coffee with just a spot of milk is "cafe cortado"
coffee with a big splash of brandy is "cafe carajillo". Try and learn how to pronounce them properly before you set off.

 

[JillGat]

Black coffee is "cafe solo". White coffee is "cafe con leche". Coffee with just a spot of milk is "cafe cortado"
coffee with a big splash of brandy is "cafe carajillo". Try and learn how to pronounce them properly before you set off.

I generally order cafe cortado (without sugar), because cafe solo is espresso; not the same as brewed black coffee.

You can also order cafe con hielo, leche manchada, or cafe bombon probably among others!

 

[DebbieG64]

Cafe con leche - the drug of choice for this Pilgrim in Spain, it's a Cappuccino in Portugal.

 

[Camino Chrissy]

Cafe con leche - the drug of choice for this Pilgrim in Spain, it's a Cappuccino in Portugal.

Yep, and yep! ☺

 

[Deleted member 3000]

it's a Cappuccino in Portugal.

Or café com leite.

 

[Camino Chrissy]

Or café com leite.

And yep!
Oh, or how about ice cream.

 

[Deleted member 397]

Cups are smaller than those we have in the U. S. The Espresso is very small.

Espresso is supposed to be small. Apparently in the us you have stewed weak tasteless dishwater and call it coffee...cafe solo any day!

 

[Deleted member 397]

Starbucks? Never spend a centimo at their store, and I walk in front of one on my daily workout. Do not like their politics, do not like their coffee.

Are starbucks the peasants who serve their "coffee" in waxed paper cups?

 

[Camino Chrissy]

Espresso is supposed to be small. Apparently in the us you have stewed weak tasteless dishwater and call it coffee...cafe solo any day!

I thought cafe solo is like mud...at least in Turkey I know it is!
I always say "I'll take a little coffee with my cream"! ☺

 

[Deleted member 397]

I thought cafe solo is like mud...at least in Turkey I know it is!
I always say "I'll take a little coffee with my cream"! ☺

No!! Greek/Turkish coffee is quite different. Cafe solo is basically an espresso. Personally i find cafe con leche a bit cloying a sickly

 

[malingerer]

Coffee in Spain is the best - never had a bad cup in the past 6 years - cafe con leche - I started drooling at the mere thought - hahahaXXX

Moderator spelling Correction

shame on you! Leave the milk out and then coffee in Spain is the best!

The malingerer.

 

[Camino Chrissy]

No!! Greek/Turkish coffee is quite different. Cafe solo is basically an espresso. Personally i find cafe con leche a bit cloying a sickly

No, only sugar would make it cloying to me! (Had to look that word up, it's new to me!)

 

[Deleted member 397]

No, only sugar would make it cloying to me! (Had to look that word up, it's new to me!)

Sugar AND milk in coffee?!...what next?!

 

[Camino Chrissy]

Sugar AND milk in coffee?!...what next?!

No, it has to be cream, not milk, and only a smidgen of sugar...not cloying to me, but then I don't like coffee!

 

[Stroller]

As an American I require coffee to fuel my day. I've seen videos of tiny cups of coffee from pilgrims, that would border on deprivation for me. I realize there are no Starbucks or Duncans on the camino. Does Spain have the equivalent of a Cafe au lai?
Thanks

Coffee and Starbucks surely an oxymoron.

 

[Deleted member 397]

shame on you! Leave the milk out and then coffee in Spain is the best!

The malingerer.

Milk in coffee?!

No, it has to be cream, not milk, and only a smidgen of sugar...not cloying to me, but then I don't like coffee!

That's always puzzled me....actual cream not milk?...on tv I've heard them say tea with cream....so it's the thick stuff not milk? ...but when they add it it looks li k e mil k!

 

[Camino Chrissy]

Milk in coffee?!

That's always puzzled me....actual cream not milk?...on tv I've heard them say tea with cream....so it's the thick stuff not milk? ...but when they add it it looks li k e mil k!

In America we don't put milk or cream in tea. When I say cream in coffee, it's actually called "half and half", not as thick...but in a pinch I've been known to use vanilla ice cream!

 

[Camino Chrissy]

Sugar AND milk in coffee?!...what next?!

Coffee beans crushed in ice cream!

 

[Deleted member 397]

In America we don't put milk or cream in tea. When I say cream in coffee, it's actually called "half and half", not as thick...but in a pinch I've been known to use vanilla ice cream!

I've just fainted

 

[Camino Chrissy]

I've just fainted

Funny guy!

 

[Fearless0]

I love cafe con leche, but have to say, the coffee in Spain is the HOTTEST coffee I've ever had. I ordered a cafe con leche one morning and had to leave it untouched because by the time to leave, it was still too HOT to drink!

 

[Robo]

It's not easy leaving Medford or Revere and not getting a morning cup of Dunkin' Donuts. Sometimes 7-11 will do, but Starbucks is never far away. Even New Jersey is too far. Canada? Forget it. Spain? I'm done for.

Maybe one day.........a chain will start in the US.........the serves real coffee

 

[Lirsy]

Basically (99% of bars) "cafe solo" means cafe express.

"Cafe cortado" is a "cafe solo" + a drop of milk
"Cafe americano" is "cafe solo"+ plus hot water
"Cafe con leche" is a longer "cafe solo" + milk
"Cafe con hielo" is "cafe solo" + ice
"Carajillo" is "cafe solo" + brandy
"Cafe con gotas" is Cafe solo + some drops of liquor (only Leon and Galicia area) - usually you will see a little bottle with the liquor somewhere in the bar.

You can also demand more especific cafes, but that requires that you speak a little spanish:
Cafe con leche fria, Cafe con leche largo de cafe, cafe con leche descremada, cafe con leche de soja, etc.

 

[Robo]

Coffee and Starbucks surely an oxymoron.

I always smile when travelling in Asia.

Starbucks is always packed! I think it's considered as a 'cool' brand'.........
Or maybe it's the Free WiFi?

But I like proper coffee, so never go there

Australians have a bit of a 'thing' for proper coffee.
Maybe it's the large Greek and Italian population that have taught us!

When Pat drops into our office she often makes Affogato for everyone! Yum!

Even the simplest cafe would have a menu with a reasonable range of coffees...........

In Spain I love the Cafe con Leche..........

 

[K Turner]

Just as an FYI, there are full-functioning Starbucks in both Terminals 1 & 4 at Madrid Barajas Airport. After a month or more in Spain, I always look forward to my first skinny Vanilla latte at Starbucks after security.

That said, Spain has the best coffee. As others have said, you can get excellent coffee in the most remote and tiny cafe or bar. Here is your coffee primer:

Cafe con Leche (coffee with milk)​

Cafe Solo - (black coffee)​

Cafe ... con azucar (coffee ... with sugar)​

Cafe Largo (a long or large coffee - order "solo" or con leche... e.g. 'cafe largo con leche')​

Cafe Americano - (one shot Spanish coffee cut with hot water - same as Starbucks Americano)​

There are other phrases used to describe these basic coffee drinks. I only offer the very basics here... Consider it "survival coffee."

Hope this helps.

Thank you! This will helpful for my husband next month on our Camino. I've never had coffee in my life but I love a good cocoa!

 

[JillGat]

Cafe Americano, is closer to what Starbucks tries to push because it uses cold milk, cafe con leche is done with warm milk and foam.

Cafe Americano, is closer to what Starbucks tries to push because it uses cold milk, cafe con leche is done with warm milk and foam.

The coffee you get in Spain is espresso. You cannot get brewed coffee. What they call "Cafe Americano" is espresso with hot water added. Lets just say it is not what youre used to.

 

[VNwalking]

Lets just say it is not what youre used to.

Yup, very true.
It's way better.

 

[JillGat]

Yup, very true.
It's way better.

Once again, at the risk of being labeled ornery and contrary just for spite, I disagree! What you get in Spain is Espresso. Espresso is made with coffee, but drip coffee is not espresso. They are different things.

I drink and enjoy cafe con leche in Spain because, without the leche, it's bitter and thick and tastes terrible to me. What's more, it has LESS caffeine than a regular sized cup of drip brewed coffee, like I drink at home (with no milk or sugar, because it tastes good black). With the espresso you get in Spain, the beans themselves aren't necessarily different from what is used to make drip coffee. But with Espresso, they are roasted longer (which lowers the caffeine and raises the bitterness) and ground much finer, then brewed more quickly with high water pressure. All of this gives it the thicker texture and the bitterness. (If you order a "Cafe Americano," they just add hot water to the espresso, which doesn't make it taste any better.)

With drip coffee, the beans can be roasted longer (dark roast) or shorter (light or medium roast, which actually has more caffeine than the dark). For drip coffee, the grind is larger than with espresso and with the drip method the coffee takes longer to brew. As I said, there is more caffeine in brewed drip coffee. And you don't need to add anything to it to enjoy drinking it, because good coffee has a rich, smooth flavor.

Very few things I miss from home when I am in Spain, but coffee is one of them.
I know this stance is as controversial as bullfighting or religion, but there, I said it!

 

[Robo]

The coffee you get in Spain is espresso. You cannot get brewed coffee. What they call "Cafe Americano" is espresso with hot water added. Lets just say it is not what youre used to.

What on earth is 'brewed' coffee?
Is it that stuff that sits in a jug on a hotplate........'stewing'.....
I think we used to have one of those at home in the 70s....with the paper filters.........

I agree @JillGat having just read your next post........It's different.
I might have to try one of those sometime ...........
But where to get one................
Heads into garage to dig out old coffee filter machine....................

 

[André Walker]

What a lot of talk about a beverage that was never meant to be consumed by human beings. It looks like a stew made of something that the dog has eaten the previous day, a lot of times mixed with some white liquid stuff that has to be extracted from a big animal while sitting underneath it.

As the English would say: “Not my cup of tea”.

I prefer that fruity drink, preferably made of fermented grapes (either white or red, both will do the trick) and served in a glass or a paper bag (containing a whole bottle of this heavenly fluid).

One of the biggest pros of the stuff is that it goes perfectly well with those predictable dishes you have been eaten (or are going to wat) for 35 days, also known as menu del peregrino.

By now you might have guessed what kind of drink I mean.
Did I mention that it rhymes on “It’s mine”?

Anyway, drinking this divine beverage is to be prefered over that other stuff at all times.

 

[JillGat]

Yes, water over a paper filter (which is clean, unlike an espresso machine) over a glass carafe. If there's a hotplate under it, it should only be hot enough to keep coffee warm, not to burn the coffee. At home i just pour it through and drink it. No machine. You can make it as strong as you want but you dont end up with bitter tar.

 

[JillGat]

Sometimes a stance is just a matter of opinion, and either opinion has value. But in this case, I am so convinced I'm *right* that I feel like everyone else is lying, while I'm saying the emperor has no clothes. Im waiting for somebody else to chime in, be honest, and bravely agree with me!

 

[naplesdon]

What about those machine one has to endure at most of the French places serving pdj in the morning the morning? The stuff has no flavor and you end up paying 7+ euros to drink it with a lousy cup of OJ

 

[JillGat]

Pdj?

 

[VNwalking]

But in this case, I am so convinced I'm *right* that I feel like everyone else is lying, while I'm saying the emperor has no clothes. Im waiting for somebody else to chime in, be honest, and bravely agree with me!

We don't disagree on much, Jill...
But the first time I had espresso after years of filter coffee?
And then cafe con leche is even better.
But taste, you know....there is no accounting for it. Heck, some people even like durian. And they're right. But so am I. So, same...about coffee, we are both right.

 

[JillGat]

We don't disagree on much, Jill...
But the first time I had espresso after years of filter coffee?
And then cafe con leche is even better.
But taste, you know....there is no accounting for it. Heck, some people even like durian. And they're right. But so am I. So, same...about coffee, we are both right.

Oh, stop being all *Buddhist.*
(and durian is okay while you're eating it. Its the burping up rancid meat flavor later i have mixed feelings about)

 

[VNwalking]

Oh, stop being all *Buddhist.*

OK. Today I'll be catholic in my tastes.

 

[Ivan_Prada]

We don't disagree on much, Jill...
But the first time I had espresso after years of filter coffee?
And then cafe con leche is even better.
But taste, you know....there is no accounting for it. Heck, some people even like durian. And they're right. But so am I. So, same...about coffee, we are both right.

Hi all:

I’m in South Florida, and here we have either café americano or café cubano. Here goes the definition per Wikipedia:

Description
Main ingredient: Espresso, Whole cane sugar
Place of origin: Cuba
Variation: Café con leche, Colada, Cortadito
Alternative names: Cuban coffee, Cuban espresso, cafecito, Cuban pull, Cubanshot

Also is called in local lingo: “el néctar negro de los dioses blancos” (the black nectar of the white gods). I’m sure a shot of this will for sure carry you all over Camino for the day.

If you ever fly through Miami on way home, ask where you can get a café cubano in the terminal and for sure you won’t miss your connecting fly.
If traveling with friends, ask for a “colada” and share it like on the attached photo. Be warned, is already sweetened unless you request it be without sugar.

Enjoy and Buen Camino

 

[Rick of Rick and Peg]

Its the burping up rancid meat flavor later i have mixed feelings about

You mean you think that there is at least something pleasant about burping up rancid meat flavor?

Sorry, I can't take any sides on the coffee issue. I don't drink it.

 

[Devereaux]

In most places (bars) you can order an "Americano" (really an espresso with extra water) and get a well appointed, ceramic cup. However, an early morning cuppa is sometimes hard to find. Like someone above, I carried little packets of Nescafe (don't like Via) just in case. I used all of them! Black Americano and chocolate croissant....nothing beats it on the Camino!!

 

[skydiva]

I think that would have to be: Cafe con Leche
https://www.caminodesantiago.me/community/tags/cafe-con-leche/

Oh no! No Cafe con leche tag anymore!!! What's a cafe-con-leche loving pilgrim to do!!

 

[Stivandrer]

Just as an FYI, there are full-functioning Starbucks in both Terminals 1 & 4 at Madrid Barajas Airport. After a month or more in Spain, I always look forward to my first skinny Vanilla latte at Starbucks after security.

That said, Spain has the best coffee. As others have said, you can get excellent coffee in the most remote and tiny cafe or bar. Here is your coffee primer:

Cafe con Leche (coffee with milk)​

Cafe Solo - (black coffee)​

Cafe ... con azucar (coffee ... with sugar)​

Cafe Largo (a long or large coffee - order "solo" or con leche... e.g. 'cafe largo con leche')​

Cafe Americano - (one shot Spanish coffee cut with hot water - same as Starbucks Americano)​

There are other phrases used to describe these basic coffee drinks. I only offer the very basics here... Consider it "survival coffee."

Hope this helps.

Again forgotten: much is said for the Café Cortado - a double espresso with a mall layer of warmed milk, not frothed and boiled, Cortado meaning cut off, a little milk takes the strong spike of the coffee - you will still get the kick and do without the vast amounts of milk...
The French and the Spanish take Café con Leche as first cups in the morning and then small, strong cups later in the day, probably dur to lactose intolerance....

 

[t2andreo]

I too, now suffer from lactose intolerance. So, I need to be careful to ask for a soy beverage. Failing to pay attention is not pleasant - especially if on Camino.

Buen Camino!

Tom

 

[C clearly]

Three separate threads about coffee are active today. (Too much caffeine on the forum? Or not enough?)

Please go to the newest of the threads to continue the discussion.