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Crazy about coffee? There's a country you need to visit ASAP.

Aury
2 de ago. de 2017
6 min de leitura

Portuguese Culture

The best place to taste a coffee is Portugal, where a whole subculture of coffee-loving has developed.

While Italy has perfected the espresso to an art form, Portuguese people have made coffee-loving a lifestyle on its own right with a whole sub-culture and lingo associated with it. Though the country is not an inland coffee producer, habits such as this from the time it was an empire with overseas Tropical colonies that favored the import of such exotic goods are still somewhat perceptible in everyday life.

Thus you simply cannot consider yourself a coffee junkie if you have never experienced a true espresso - the Portuguese way. So, let us walk you through in this little primer.

First, the word.

Coffee is said “café” or [kɐfˈɛ]. Not “covfefe”, but [kɐfˈɛ]. Practice makes perfect and there is no mystery about that. Note: if you click on the link on the phonetic words, you will be sent to a Google Translate page. Click on the sound icon bellow the Portuguese word, on the left to get a sound bite of the words or expressions. The version is in Brazilian Portuguese, that is more easy for non-natives to speak and we will get your intention just the same.

But you said “a coffee”...

You must keep in mind that the typical American coffee is not the standard in Portugal. We usually drink espressos which are considerably smaller in size, but way more concentrated as far as caffeine goes. So , if you ask for “a coffee, please” [ˈũ kɐfˈɛ pˈuɾ fɐvˈoɾ], that is what people will serve you: an espresso. If you are looking for a larger version, check further down in the “Size matters” section.

Careful with what you wish for.

Let us point out that if you are not used to espressos, go slow on them because you can easily end up quite electrified all day long. Remember that caffeine takes at least 8 hours to be rinsed out of your bloodstream.

While we have people - such as yours truly - that have mastered the Yoga of the magic brown beans to the point of being able to take up to eight of these little bastards a day (who said I am nervous??), we would recommend you drink one or two a day at most for a start.

You may have considered yourself a true coffee binger up to now, but young padawan, there is time for everything, so if you already have heard the word of Caffeine, our Lord, be patient and you will soon be hooked up on such a high grade of C8H10N4O2 that you will have to commit yourself to a Betty Ford clinic (just kidding - not really, actually).

Black? Or with milk? Or alcohol?

There is a long lineup of formats that you can get your coffee in, with names that specifically indicate what you are looking for in each case. So, the first step for you to move your way around this diverse catalogue of choices is making up your mind if you want it with milk or not. That will automatically funnel down the possibilities to a short-list of presentations.

The standard is black espresso, mind you. If you ask for a coffee, it won’t be served with milk and rarely it is even served aside if you do not ask for it.

It used to be traditional to ask - especially men - black espressos sided with a brandy, called aguardente [aɡuɐɾdˈẽtɘ] such as Medronho or Aldeia Velha. Sometimes, people would just ask it laced with the brandy or lace it themselves. That is called a café com cheirinho [kɐfˈɛ kõ ʃɐjɾˈiɲu] or something we could roughly translated for “perfumed coffee”.

Size matters.

Now you must know that you have three basic sizes: the espresso cup size (the basic unit of the system), the teacup size and the tall glass size. And you have to cross the size variations with the black/milk variations too.

Bear in mind that as with any other similar situation in other countries, the names they are called may vary according to the regions. So, for instance, if you want an espresso (black, small cup) ask for a bica [bˈikɐ] if you are in Lisbon; if you are in Porto instead, ask for a cimbalino [sĩbɐlˈinu].

The origin of these names are easily explainable: while in Lisbon coffee served from a tap like a water fount or a spout (a bica) in coffee houses, the first espresso machine to be popularized in Porto was the Cimbalino. So it is basically the same dynamic that makes you call acetylsalicylic acid “Aspirin”.

If you are getting a larger cup - the tea cup - of what would be a very diluted version of an espresso, that is called abatanado [ɐbɐtɐnˈadu] - also called Americano (see what we did there?). But you can also ask for a double espresso in the same cup - café duplo [kɐfˈɛ dˈuplu].

Now, you might still want an espresso, but toned down a bit (i. e. somewhat diluted with plain hot water). In that case, we would recommend you a carioca [kɐɾiˈɔkɐ]. But if you want it with milk instead, you ask for a pingo [pˈĩɡu] (Portuguese for “drop”). If you want an espresso and you really just want a teeny-weenie bit of milk, ask for a café pingado [kɐfˈɛ pĩɡˈadu] or just pingado [pĩɡˈadu].

Now still regarding the espresso, which is the basic unit of this whole system, you can have it regular size (normal - that was easy, right?) which is a bit more that half of the espresso cup. Or you can have it full (cheio or [ʃˈɐju]). Or half way between both possibilities, aka comprido [kõpɾˈidu]. On the other side of this spectrum, you can have it below the normal size and that is called curto [kˈuɾtu]. But if you really want to feel the full kick of an espresso in a single sip, ask for an Italiana [itɐliˈɐnɐ].

Moving away from the espresso cup and returning to the tea cup size, this time with milk, you ask for a meia-de-leite [mˈɐjɐ dɘ lɐjtɘ]. We know it’s not easy, so keep practicing it. Either the words or gestures to go with your request (actually I am just messing with you - usually we will understand if you ask for the correct size either straight or with milk). As a side-note, in certain parts of the country this is called a Chinesa [ʃinˈezɐ].

Thought we would let you go that easy? No, it’s not over: you can still get the glass version, remember? The good part here is that people usually only have it with milk and there is only one name to memorize: galão [ɡɐlˈɐ̃w̃]. Yeah, we had to mess it up for you with that nasal sound right there.

Now, what sort of coffee do you want with that whole new dictionary?

The standard is the espresso coffee but in certain spots you can still get the so-called café de saco [kɐfˈɛ dɘ sˈaku], which is the coffee as it used to be made before the espresso machine came by. It’s called de saco (“off the bag”) because the coffee powder was literally boiled, in a more or less sophisticated way, in hot water in a cloth bag that served as a filter. Pretty straightforward, right?

There is still a third kind at least, which is called café de balão [kɐfˈɛ dɘ bɐlˈɐ̃w̃] but it’s really rare these days as it is more messy, takes longer to produce and doesn’t really serve the purpose of an agitated lifestyle like we all live under these days. It generally is reserved for true coffee lovers’ private dinners at their own homes.

Coffee is a default behavior here.

If f you want talk to someone in particular, gather with friends, meet before the night out, or just be on your own reading, chilling or you just found yourself without anything better to do… you get yourself a coffee. Maybe that’s why there is at least one coffee house virtually everywhere. And they usually have lots of different pastry to go with it.

So, if you are meeting Portuguese folks, don’t be surprised if they invite you for a meetup in a coffee house, even if any of them don’t actually drink coffee. “Let’s get a coffee” is no longer necessarily literal and it should be interpreted in a more broad, idiomatic sense.

Speaking of food, what a better way to finish a meal?

As mentioned before we typically we eat sturdy meals. That brings anyone’s metabolism into a small food coma. So, either because you need to resume work after lunch or you want to have a night out and don’t want to be dragged around like a dummy, you… You guessed it, you get a coffee. So, we would invite you to finish a meal at our restaurant with one delicious and reinvigorating espresso. Speaking of that, check our menu, for an extra incentive for you to start planning a visit to the true - and yet unearthed - Mecca of the true coffee lovers: Portugal.