I love a good strong cup of "American" coffee such as Starbucks, on recent trips to France and Italy I had to rely on Cappucino due to the fact that I could not find a decent cup of Joe. SO......What's the coffe like

If you like coffee, you'll loooovvvveeee Spanish coffee. A while back there was a long thread about the coffee. Why don't you do a search on cafe con leche? Cafe con leche is similar to a latte. That's what most people drink. Plain would be cafe solo. There is also cafe manchado and cafe cortado, all depending on the ammt. of milk. Either way, the coffee is great and I'm sure you'll love it.

Starbucks?!? Yuck! :p You can find better coffee elsewhere in the world.

The coffee in Spain was a thousand times better than anything they have at Starbucks (and I'm somewhat of a Starbucks junkie since I live right next to one.) I haven't been able to find anything like it since.

Most EVERYONE has a positive opinion of Spanish coffee including me. I think you'll find the contrary of "Starbucks" coffee in the " Starbucks in Spain " thread. :p :o

I also LOVE Spanish coffee and ALWAYS beg people living near me (or at least in the USA!) to bring some back for me in exchange for a MadridMan's Madrid Video . Anyone up for a trade?? I'm getting low - down to my last 5 bricks.

Saludos, MadridMan

Coffee from the Dominican Republic is my favorite. It beats everything I've had in Italy, Spain and even Costa Rica. Ditto for the rum!!

Yum, Yum, yum. The coffee is so good, that I bought an espresso machine the day I got home! www.walmart.com The 20 piece Melitta.They don't carry it in their stores. Comes with everything except the Spanish coffee, although comes with some type of coffee. Maybe www.tienda.com Now I will have to perfect how to make Cafe Solo. However, if you absolutely must have American coffee, I admit to stopping at the Dunkin Donuts near the Puerta del Sol, for a cafe Americano, although, it was more like a double Cafe Solo in a to go cup, which you don't see from any other cafeteria.

I believe it's as much to do with the pot as the coffee itself. As an example, tea that isn't steeped in a Brown Betty doesn't measure up I know everyone out there who owns a Brown Betty knows what I'm talking about.

If you want a good cup of coffee, add the right pot to the mix. The style shown in this link is what we found works best, and makes the rest look like pretenders. http://www.sasitalian.com/cof.htm

Of course that doesn't mean you won't get a good cup another way, but to be honest, this is what we always use while in Spain, and every time we want to make a "special cup" back here in the States. We just find a good blended coffee that matches the blend in Spain and ... Voila! Great coffee every time!

Even if it's all psychological, it works!

Wolf

I'm with Wolfgang on this one! The right tools make a big difference.

Here in SoFla, we use the same type of pot to make wonderful libation known as Cuban coffee. Something about the way the sugar is stirred into it creating that rich, dark foam....Yummy.

It's been 20 years since I was in Spain, but I recall the coffee there being very similar. I'm looking forward to refreshing my memory!

Every year I bring home coffee from Spain, and yes, I have bought one of the aforementioned pots also. One year I interrogated a grocer from Elda (near Alicante, more noted for shoes than coffee) and he swore to me that the reason the coffee tasted as it did in Spain was because it was 'torrefacto'. He then suggested I buy some blend of 'torrefacto' and whatever beans are when they are not 'torrefacto'. I read the label and it sounded like the beans had been toasted/roasted with sugar. Does anyone know what 'torrefacto' means regarding coffee beans? And Wolf, what did you mean about 'blend of coffee'? I understand coffee here, and even have Gevalia send me coffee from 'Cafe del Oriente' in Madrid every month, but I can't say as I know what 'blends' they have in Spain. I really thought I knew grocery stores inside and out but 'torrefacto' or not, I have yet to bring home the beans that are a perfect match...next I'll have to fill my suitcase with that 'cabra' mineral water for the perfect brew!

con besitos que saben a un perfecto cafe con leche!

Hi,

Basically torrefacto refers to a roasting process incorporating ten percent sugar. You can find Costa Rican blends that are processed that way.... the following link is an example of a company that offers it. http://www.rfmeseta.com/company.htm

You might try their offering and find it's almost identical to the Spanish offerings.

But taking it one step further, you can read about, and order CAFÉS Otero, online, at this link. http://businesses.msn.com/spanishcoffee/

It gives you info about the blending process... at least the percentages used... to make the coffee you want, at home.

Hope this helps! Everyone's taste is a bit different, and I like to add about 10 to 20% French roast to the mix to add body to the flavor... Also, I start from roasted beans, grinding them myself, in blended quantities.

Hope this helps gang! Make up your own brew, and claim it for yourself.

Wolf

MM no problema on the Java, I'll bring some back for ya. I've learned more with this board no need to trade. What type do you like and how much?

Ice Pick

Wow! Thanks, IcePick! You can view a photo of my preferred brand/style of coffee, La Estrella: Mezcla Exprés, Mitad Natural, Mitad Torrefacto HERE . It's pretty cheap, I think, and in a 250g brick. If you could get 5-6 bricks that would last me a few months. Email me when you get back. Thanks!

Saludos, MadridMan

Wow, coffee drinkers after my own heart! Wolfgang, your coffee making routine sounds a lot like my husband's!

Have you found that the milk matters? I wonder if the stuff in boxes that they use makes a difference in the flavor. I've tried the Spanish coffee tienda.com sells and I grind the beans fresh for every cup and use filtered water and a world class machine, but the taste is STILL not right! I was thinking about bringing some of that back with me to see if that is the secret. Is boxed milk considered contraband?

I also loooove Spanish coffee. One thing to keep in mind though, jeffperez62 is that it isn't like a big starbucks cup of plain black coffee. The coffe is sort of...dense, like a shot glass worth with foam milk on top. It can be similar to Italian coffees. There might be spots in the larger cities to find more Americanized types of coffee. To be honest, I am not sure though. When I was there, I came to love the Spanish coffee so much that I never bothered to look for anything else..

MM consider it done. As Long as I don't get horned by the bulls I'll be able to bring it back. I'm not leaving till July, so I'm sure I'll be pestering the board with questions.

IcePick

PS: Looks like Robin is hooking me up.

MM consider it done. As Long as I don't get horned by the bulls I'll be able to bring it back. I'm not leaving till July, so I'm sure I'll be pestering the board with questions.

IcePick

PS: Looks like Robin is hooking me up.

la maestra,

Actually there is a point to the milk. Milk in Spain is "ultra high temperature pasteurization" whereas we rely on pasteurization. The difference is in the temperature at which it is pasteurized. Pasteurization is at roughly 62 or 63 degrees centigrade,for about 15 seconds, whereas ultra high temperature pasteurization is done at around 150 degrees centigrade. The increased temperature in the pasteurization process allows milk to be hermetically sealed in containers, where it will actually remain fresh for months.

To match the milk taste in Spain, you can heat the milk to a point where it begins to boil, maintain that temperature, and the result will molecularly change the milk enough to make it taste more like the milk we get in Spain.

According to someone in the industry, whom I talked to years ago, the basic reason we don't use high temperature pasteurization here is because the milk loses some of its flavor. Then... off the record... he told me that we don't use it basically because it would reduce the amount of milk we use, and it would force the government to give subsidies to dairy farmers, since we wouldn't throw away the millions of gallons we do now.

We always heat the milk we use prior to using it. Another way is by steaming it, but that isn't really totally necessary unless you're doing a coffee drink that requires steaming.

Yes! I love my coffee! We also only buy short quantities of beans, and never grind them before using them. We also never stock more than a ten day supply of beans, because they begin to lose their flavor as soon as they are roasted. We constantly have shipments coming in by FedEx. But it's worth it. Everyone comes to our house for coffee... Now I just have to figure out how to get them to help pay for the coffee

Bet'cha didn't think I knew this much about coffee, did'ja?

Wolf

la maestra, I don't know about Arizona, but here in Pennsylvania you can buy boxed milk (Parmalat, a popular brand in Spain!) right here in the supermarkets. So I don't think you'll need to resort to smuggling milk into the country! It's really handy to have - I usually keep a brik in the cabinet for those mornings when the "fresh" milk is suddenly gone before eveyone had breakfast. It's UHT and tastes the same as in Spain.

Wolf, you really sound more like my husband with every coffee post! We used to have our coffee shipped in too! Now we have a local source that we think is pretty good...though we always experiment with new blends just to be thorough! Our new espresso machine steams the milk nicely and has some temperature control so that the coffee is made with a consistent temperature.

We think making coffee is an art and appreciate good baristas when we run across them!

Diana, thanks for the tip on Parmalat, though I can't say that I've ever seen it here! Do they keep it on the shelf with the non-dairy creamers and dried milk or is it under gourmet and specialty?

Here is my imitation of cortado: Only use arabica beans which I grind "fino" each time,Evian water, and Carnation canned milk.
Yes, to me the milk makes the diferrence. I even use the low fat sometimes, and it tastes just as good! Ummm.. I think it's time for a cup.

La maestra, where I buy Parmalat it's across the aisle from the refrigerated milk. In other stores I've seen it on shelves with other types of nonrefrigerated milk. It could be anywhere. It might be worth it to ask around in your area. Good luck!

Could someone please explain the difference between cortado and machado? Once in a while in a café I would see someone drinking coffee from a clear glass about the size of a juice glass, and the coffee and cream, milk, whatever , looked like they were layered. (before mixing of course). I would like to try this when I go to madrid in 2 weeks, but I don't know what to call it.

I would venture to say that what you saw was a "bon-bon" which is leche condensada (condensed milk) and then coffee.

Thanks, Chica. That sounds appropriate since the milk looked extrodinarily thick.

Damn you all!!!!!!! Here I am sitting in front of my screen with a big cup of Maxwell House enjoying reading the current posts when I reach this thread on coffee! Needless to say I got up...walked to the sink and dumped my pot of swill in disgust and envy!

Yes, I remember those days when my espresso machine was working and I purchased real coffee beans which I carefully ground up. Milk, cream, condensed milk? Sure, how about a demitasse of Cafe Diablo? Cafe Cubano? Por favor y Gracias!!

Now, my wife makes me a nice cup of mud...ahh..coffee that is. Germans...what do they know about coffee. Not much, but she makes one hell of an apple streudel!

Pls note:
Manchado (usually on breakfast) a little coffee and rest milk it is clear.

Cortado (after a good lunch) strong black coffee and drops of milk

La maestra, we have Parmalat boxed UHT milk at our local Wal-Mart, but you can also order it from http://www.netgrocer.com which I noticed had it on their home page. Since it keeps boxed for several months it ships well.

David

ABP has pointed it out perfectly

Café manchado: 90% milk, 10% coffee
Café cortado: 10% milk, 90% coffee
Café con leche: 40% milk, 60% coffee
Café bombón: 30% condensed milk, 70% coffee
etc...

Fernando

I love Spanish coffee but the other day I had a cappucino at my local Starbucks, and you know, it wasn't half bad;). I also like their cakes, especially the apple and caramel crumbly things......My only complaint is that I find their prices rather high and the portions rather small. Although it was delicious, my favourite cake measured about 4 square inches.