¿Café? ¿Chocolate?

I used to visit our friend Nicole in her lab when we were in our fourth year. Her supervisor was from Argentina and had a very discerning taste in coffee. I once walked in with a coffee from a certain famous national franchise and he insisted that I dump out my "dirty umbrella water" so that he could make me an expresso. "Proper coffee" he insisted. To us, coffee is coffee. Even lattes are coffee. To the Madrileños, coffee has as many dimensions as string theory.

In Madrid, your morning meal is light - toast and coffee (coffee as we know it, that is). Mid-morning, the whole city seems to stop for chocolate y churros, or café con churros. What kind of café should you be drinking?

WELL:

If you want strong, black expresso, ask for café solo. If you like creamy, milky expresso, ask for café con leche (coffee with milk). Like just a drop or two of milk? Café cortado. Hot?

You may be like me and somewhat sensitive to the effects of caffeine. Ask for un americano, which is expresso and water ... coffee! Hot morning? Café con hielo gives you un americano over ice. Descafeinado = decaffeinated. (But what's the point of that in Madrid?)

Tea is for the English, so the tea will not impress or surprise you in any way, but the best choices in any Spanish café will be manzanilla (chamomile), mento (mint), or poleo (peppermint).

While we are on the subject of beverages, allow me to introduce you to a few of the regional specialties.

Wine in any of the countries we are visiting will be exceptional, especially in France where the grapes differ by coast. The red wines, like Bordeaux, are exceptional. Champagne is this country's specialty. In Spain, cava is a popular drink, which is sparkling wine that originates from Penédes. Sangría mixes red wine with Spanish lemonade (gaseosa), fresh cut fruit, sugar, and different liqueurs. Vino con gaseosa, or tinto de verano, combines just red wine with lemonade. Dry sherry called fino pairs well with cava while txakoli (a sparkling Basque white wine) is a good stand alone drink. Cervezas are beers and, my personal favorite, cervezas negras are dark beers. Pacharán is sloes served over ice; anís is a strong herb liqueur reminiscent of ouzo; Orujo is a strong herb liqueur, like Jaggermeister on steroids while orujo blanco is am milder version of the same liqueur; gin and tonic is ... gin-tonic; rum and coke is Cuba-libre; and agua de Valencia is cava poured over orange juice. Lisbon is so eclectic ... the drinks are many, but the regional specialty is ginjinha, a beautiful cherry brandy.

Finally, the hot chocolate is amazing in each region. When Sable and I visited Montréal, we went to Juliet et Chocolat and ate chocolate until we were sick (literally). In France, ask for chocolat chaud and you will receive a thick, creamy, steaming mug of melted bittersweet chocolate. In Spain, ask simply for chocolate and you will receive even thicker blends of milk and dark chocolate. In Lisbon? Xocolat is the same. My advice (without even being there): have it, but don't overdo it.

Just needing water? L'eau in France. In Spain, water is agua, but you have to specify con gas or sin gas for sparkling or without carbonation, respectively. Also, for the Spanish-savvy, jugo is not used in Spain. Zumo is the word for juice, so orange juice is zumo de naranja and fruit juice is zumo de frutas.

If you have any questions about a specific drink, message me and I can post it¡