Coffee Culture Across Europe, and How Not to Annoy Anyone
Coffee is the cheapest, most frequent interaction you will have with local habits. Getting it slightly right makes every morning of a trip smoother, and it takes about two minutes to learn.
5 min read
Italy
A caffe is an espresso. A cappuccino is a breakfast drink, generally not ordered after about 11:00, though nobody will actually refuse you. Standing at the bar costs 1.20 to 1.50 EUR, sitting at a table can be three or four times that, and the price difference is legally displayed.
Order and pay at the till first in busier bars, then present the receipt at the counter. A cornetto alongside is the standard breakfast.
Portugal and Spain
In Portugal, ask for a cafe or, in Lisbon, a bica, and you get an espresso. A pingado is an espresso with a drop of milk. With a pastel de nata, this is the country's finest cheap pleasure.
In Spain, cafe solo is espresso, cortado is a short one with a little milk, and cafe con leche is the morning long one. Ordering it after a meal is normal, ordering it during one is not.
- Italy: caffe, macchiato, cappuccino before 11:00
- Portugal: cafe or bica, pingado, galao in a glass
- Spain: solo, cortado, con leche
- France: un cafe is an espresso, un cafe creme is the milky one
France and the north
In France a cafe is an espresso and a cafe creme is the larger milky version, usually drunk at breakfast. Terraces charge more than the counter and that is what the terrace is for.
Scandinavia and the Netherlands have a strong filter and speciality scene, larger cups, and no particular rules about timing.
Greece and Turkey
Greek freddo espresso and freddo cappuccino, both cold and shaken, are what people actually drink for most of the year. Ordering a hot cappuccino in August marks you out instantly.
Traditional Greek and Turkish coffee is unfiltered, served with grounds at the bottom, and sweetened when ordered rather than afterwards, so say how sweet you want it.
The general rule
Watch what the person in front of you orders and copy it. It is quicker than reading a guide and it is usually the right answer for that time of day.
And take the coffee standing at least once. Four minutes at a counter is a small window into how a city actually starts its morning.
