In Italy, the term coffee stands for espresso, and we are so fond of this type of beverage that we often ignore how many other ways exist to prepare coffee and serve it. Let’s embark on a journey together, to discover different coffee traditions and rituals from all over the world.
How do people make coffee in Turkey
Turkish coffee, also known as Turk Kahvesi, was recognized by UNESCO as intangible cultural heritage. The beverage has become famous all over the world not only for its taste, but also for the traditional method of preparation and presentation. The ritual needs a small jug – called ibrik – and porcelain cups wrapped in a brass shell. The deposit on the bottom allows, to those who can read it, to see the past and the future.
Best served with: Lokum candy, which you may know better as Turkish Delight!
How do people make coffee in France
How many ways are there to order a coffee in France? As soon as you wake up, it should be prepared at home by using a French Press. At the café, those who are in a hurry can order a petit noir, but if you’re not in a rush, take your time and sit down en plein air with a café au lait (50% filter coffee, very hot and intense, and 50% milk, often with foam).
Best served with: a croissant or an energy-boosting French toast.
How do people make coffee in Finland
Finland is the first country in the world for coffee consumption per capita: drinking coffee in Scandinavia is a true daily ritual, and it is considered the least you can offer to guests to make them feel welcome. Both at home and in cafés, it is prepared with a drip machine and the word kahvi (coffee in Finnish) describes the typical filter coffee, lightly roasted.
Best served with: pulla, Finnish pastries made with braided dough and flavored with cardamom and cinnamon.
How do people make coffee in Netherlands
Even in the Netherlands, coffee time is sacred: it is meant to be enjoyed calmly, while reading the newspaper or in good company. Apart from the first coffee of the day, at mid-morning all offices have a koffietijd (coffee break) and any time is good to order a koffie verkeerd, which literally translates to ‘wrong coffee’. It probably earned this name because you need a generous amount of milk to prepare it.
Best served with: appletaart, a Dutch version of apple pie, with a very dense filling and a generous sprinkling of cinnamon.
How do people make coffee in Greece
Coffee plays an essential role in Greek social life, so much so that the expression ‘pame gia kafes’ (let’s go for a coffee) is also used as a synonym of ‘let’s go out’. Greek coffee is boiled coffee, with an intense taste: once poured in the cup, it must be left to rest for a couple of minutes, and you should drink it slowly, without ever stirring it.
Best served with: a slice of galaktoboureko, a cake made of semolina in Filo dough.
How do people make coffee in Portugal
The cultural proximity with Italy is evident here in the way coffee is ordered. At the counter you can ask for an espresso, a cheio (long), a duplo (double) or a pingado (macchiato). But if you want to try out a local specialty, you have to ask for galão: three parts whipped hot milk and one part coffee, served in a glass. If you instead want to try something different, order a mazagran, which combines the classic taste of espresso with ice and lemon, an unusual combination but perfect to combat the summer heat.
Best served with: pastéis de nata, traditional custard tarts.
How do people make coffee in Brazil
This country tops all charts: it’s the world’s largest coffee producer and the second-largest consumer of this beverage. It’s hard that a day goes by without a cafezinho for many Brazilians, a moment to sit down and chitchat more often than not. Brazilian coffee is served black, has a very strong taste and is perfect any time of day. Those who prefer it a little sweeter, add sugar or milk.
Best served with: some bombocado – which literally means ‘good bite’ – made with eggs, Parmesan cheese, butter and coconut flour.
How do people make coffee in Mexico
The café de olla is a traditional Mexican recipe which is prepared in an earthenware pot (called olla). This infusion of coarsely ground coffee beans is flavored with cinnamon, star anise and, sometimes, orange peel. Piloncino is added as a sweetener, a raw sugar with a golden brown color and a very intense flavor.
Best served with: café de olla is served hot at the end of a meal, especially the abundant ones, in order to help digestion.
How do people make coffee in Argentina
Although the traditional drink here is mate, many Argentines also drink coffee during the day. One can order a lagrima coffee, a cup of milk steamed with a drop of coffee, or a cortado, an espresso “cut” with a small quantity of milk and served in a glass.
Best served with: medialunas, traditional sweet croissants, very popular for breakfast.
How do people make coffee in United States of America
Many people think that American coffee is nothing else than an espresso diluted with hot water. Although it happens to be brewed this way outside the United States, real American coffee requires a filter coffee machine. A trick of the trade that few people know is to lightly wet the paper cone that acts as a filter, so that the coffee powder is not evenly distributed and thus allows for better percolation.
Best served with: a plate of maple syrup pancakes for an Oscar-worthy breakfast.
How do people make coffee in Morocco
In Morocco, coffee is often prepared to seal a business deal or to welcome guests into one’s home. Similar to espresso in terms of strength, Moroccan coffee has unique flavors due to the spices with which it is prepared. Cafe des epices, for example, contains sesame, black pepper and nutmeg. In order to fully appreciate its taste, coffee lovers suggest not to add milk or sugar.
Best served with: a tray of chebakia, traditional fried honey and sesame cookies.
How do people make coffee in Ethiopia
Ethiopia is considered as the homeland of the arabica tree. In fact, it seems that the coffee plant was discovered in this region in the ninth century and only much later it was exported all over the world. A traditional Ethiopian beverage is buna, which is coffee flavored with black cardamom. The beans are roasted in a pan, ground with a mortar and infused in the traditional clay coffee pot called jebena.
Best served with: himbasha, a type of bread with a slightly sweet taste due to cardamom seeds.
How do people make coffee in Australia
The beverage of choice here is the Flat White: espresso coffee and milk foam in equal parts. It is similar to an Italian cappuccino, but it has a stronger taste because it contains more coffee in proportion. To obtain an optimal result, fresh whole milk and single origin arabica coffee are required. The flat white is often served with an artistic touch: the most skilled baristas pour the foam into the cup to create fantastic drawings called latte art.
Best served with: lamingtons, cube-shaped pastries, similar to sponge cake, filled with jam and covered with chocolate and coconut flakes.
How do people make coffee in Hong Kong
Why choose between a cup of tea and a cup of coffee if you can order a yuanyang? In Hong Kong – where East meets West – this beverage combines coffee with an infusion of black tea and condensed milk. A mix of flavors for a sweet and creamy result, with a true energy boost, thanks to the theine and caffeine.
Best served with: yuanyang is enjoyed at restaurants at the end of a meal, or you can order one from most street vendors at any time of day.
How do people make coffee in Vietnam
The world’s largest coffee producer, after Brazil, is Vietnam. The traditional recipe of Vietnamese coffee includes the use of a special coffee pot with a filter (phin) to be placed directly on top of the cup, this ensures a very slow drip extraction. The traditional coffee produced in this way is known as ca phe phin or – in its sweeter and cold version – as ca phe sua da, with the addition of ice and condensed milk.
Best served with: one of the many street foods you can find from local vendors, such as fried bananas.
How do people make coffee in Singapore
To enjoy a good coffee in Singapore, you have to enter a Kopi Tiam, an establishment somewhere between a coffee shop and a breakfast restaurant. Kopi literally means coffee, but if you order one, it will come to you already sweetened with condensed milk and sugar. If what you want is a black coffee, you have to specify Kopi-O-Kosong while to drink a cold one you will have to ask for a Kopi Peng, and it will be served with ice.
Best served with: toasted bread and scrambled eggs.
How do people make coffee in Malesia
The world’s most expensive and controversial coffee has Malaysian origins. The famous “Kopi Luwak” is made from berries ingested (and only partially digested) by the common palm civet, a small carnivore similar to an Asian wild cat. It also became famous thanks to the movie “It’s Never Too Late” starring Jack Nicholson, and it never ceases to cause a heated debate about how appropriate it is to produce and market it.
Best served with: no pairing, it’s more of an experience than a beverage.
