# Spanish Coffee hmmmm



## 2blackrooks (Oct 23, 2013)

Hi all, just back from Spain and if its one thing I love out there, its their coffee. I order just a plain white coffee (Cafe con leche) but it always tastes amazing. Anyone know how they do it, no matter what part of Spain it is it always taste the same. I've tried to ask but never got their, I've watched and like any other coffee shop the beans are grind, expresso is made, milk steamed??


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## ronsil (Mar 8, 2012)

A lot of their beans are Robusta served as blends with Arabica. They also uniquely roast some of their beans with sugar & caramelize them to a very dark, almost black, colour.

You either love the Coffee or hate it. Usually very heavy.


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## 2blackrooks (Oct 23, 2013)

So if I used a Columbian suarez bean or Columbian Villa esperanza huila bean (Rave Coffee) which both have caramel undertones, I would nearly be there?? I also read somewhere the Spaniards use full fat milk?


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## MWJB (Feb 28, 2012)

2blackrooks said:


> So if I used a Columbian suarez bean or Columbian Villa esperanza huila bean (Rave Coffee) which both have caramel undertones, I would nearly be there?? I also read somewhere the Spaniards use full fat milk?


Never been to the mainland, but in the Balearics it's usually UHT in the average cafe.


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## cold war kid (Mar 12, 2010)

There's a few members on here living in Spain. Maybe they'll be along to help. I too like the cafe con leche served in a lot of places on the mainland.


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## xiuxiuejar (Jan 24, 2012)

I HATE SPANISH COFFEE!!!!!!!! It is cheap, low quality coffee which is generally mixed with what they call 'torrefacto'. This is in essence burnt sugar. Generally coffees out here are extremely low quality as it goes back to the civil war when coffee was hard to come by and they mixed it with many things. A friend of mine who works for Sara Lee said that the coffee warehouses send all the cheapest lowest quality beans to Spain - don't know if it's true or not but it would not surprise me in the slightest.

Add to this that it's very hard for you milk drinkers to actually find decent milk out here, just UHT!!! My family visit from UK, Cyprus, Greece and other places and they can't bare the coffee or the milk! The only thing I can say is that compared to some of the really crap espresso in the UK, it's is comparable ... just but a cafe sol is just unbearably bitter usually.

But there is a growing sub-culture who recognises this and there are 'torrefactors' (in this case roasteries) which are starting to roast and sell great coffees. Cafes el Magnifico in el Borne in Barcelona is a great example.


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## aaronb (Nov 16, 2012)

Yeah, When I visited Spain the coffee was terrible wherever I went! Undrinkable mostly.

Illy is quite popular there, it isn't fresh or nice but you can buy it in supermarkets.

For freshly roasted darker roasts, try Compass (I've seen a very dark roast from them) or Londinium (tend to roast a bit lighter now, but I think some of their roasts are still dark).


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## xiuxiuejar (Jan 24, 2012)

aaronb said:


> Yeah, When I visited Spain the coffee was terrible wherever I went! Undrinkable mostly.
> 
> Illy is quite popular there, it isn't fresh or nice but you can buy it in supermarkets.
> 
> For freshly roasted darker roasts, try Compass (I've seen a very dark roast from them) or Londinium (tend to roast a bit lighter now, but I think some of their roasts are still dark).


glad it's not just me.I've lived here a lot of years - 12 I think if not more, and I have had maybe 4 decent coffees - usually from very exclusive restaurants or Italina restaurants. Terrible robusta mixed with burnt sugar.


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## cold war kid (Mar 12, 2010)

xiuxiuejar said:


> I HATE SPANISH COFFEE!!!!!!!! It is cheap, low quality coffee which is generally mixed with what they call 'torrefacto'. This is in essence burnt sugar. Generally coffees out here are extremely low quality as it goes back to the civil war when coffee was hard to come by and they mixed it with many things. A friend of mine who works for Sara Lee said that the coffee warehouses send all the cheapest lowest quality beans to Spain - don't know if it's true or not but it would not surprise me in the slightest.
> 
> Add to this that it's very hard for you milk drinkers to actually find decent milk out here, just UHT!!! My family visit from UK, Cyprus, Greece and other places and they can't bare the coffee or the milk! The only thing I can say is that compared to some of the really crap espresso in the UK, it's is comparable ... just but a cafe sol is just unbearably bitter usually.
> 
> But there is a growing sub-culture who recognises this and there are 'torrefactors' (in this case roasteries) which are starting to roast and sell great coffees. Cafes el Magnifico in el Borne in Barcelona is a great example.


The last time I was in carrefour, a really big one near Murcia, they roasted their own beans on site. I didn't buy any but surely it would be pointless if the beans where crap.

The other weird thing about that particular branch was its employees mostly wore roller-skates.

I can't see that happening in asda.


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## espressotechno (Apr 11, 2011)

Cafe Saula roasters in Barcelona - yum yum !


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## El carajillo (Mar 16, 2013)

Travelling in Spain last year between BCN and Santander I did not have a decent cup of coffee in a bar or restaurant

A friend who is Catalan also says the coffee is terrible.


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## xiuxiuejar (Jan 24, 2012)

espressotechno said:


> Cafe Saula roasters in Barcelona - yum yum !


Noooooo!!!! One of the worst roasters ever!!!! It's terrible!!!!


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## urbanbumpkin (Jan 30, 2013)

xiuxiuejar said:


> I HATE SPANISH COFFEE!!!!!!!! It is cheap, low quality coffee which is generally mixed with what they call 'torrefacto'. This is in essence burnt sugar. Generally coffees out here are extremely low quality as it goes back to the civil war when coffee was hard to come by and they mixed it with many things. A friend of mine who works for Sara Lee said that the coffee warehouses send all the cheapest lowest quality beans to Spain - don't know if it's true or not but it would not surprise me in the slightest.
> 
> Add to this that it's very hard for you milk drinkers to actually find decent milk out here, just UHT!!! My family visit from UK, Cyprus, Greece and other places and they can't bare the coffee or the milk! The only thing I can say is that compared to some of the really crap espresso in the UK, it's is comparable ... just but a cafe sol is just unbearably bitter usually.
> 
> But there is a growing sub-culture who recognises this and there are 'torrefactors' (in this case roasteries) which are starting to roast and sell great coffees. Cafes el Magnifico in el Borne in Barcelona is a great example.


This explains a lot. When you mentioned you were getting beans delivered from the uk I thought it was strange as I wrongly imagined there was large amount of quality roasters in Spain / Barcelona.

Great city by the way, I was there 2 years ago, unfortunately on a stag weekend so didn't appreciate the city to the full. Went to some great places in mainly in the gothic quarter. There was a fantastic tapas place we went to in the afternoon and a great Argentinian restaurant we went to in the evening (as long as you like slabs of rare meat). Liked the city a lot, all be it large sections of the weekend are a bit sketchy.


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## xiuxiuejar (Jan 24, 2012)

El carajillo said:


> Travelling in Spain last year between BCN and Santander I did not have a decent cup of coffee in a bar or restaurant
> 
> A friend who is Catalan also says the coffee is terrible.


I know. When I moved here, I tried every bar in my town and the five surrounding towns and went out and bought a machine ... any machine so long as I could make a half decent coffee!!!


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## xiuxiuejar (Jan 24, 2012)

urbanbumpkin said:


> This explains a lot. When you mentioned you were getting beans delivered from the uk I thought it was strange as I wrongly imagined there was large amount of quality roasters in Spain / Barcelona.
> 
> Great city by the way, I was there 2 years ago, unfortunately on a stag weekend so didn't appreciate the city to the full. Went to some great places in mainly in the gothic quarter. There was a fantastic tapas place we went to in the afternoon and a great Argentinian restaurant we went to in the evening (as long as you like slabs of rare meat). Liked the city a lot, all be it large sections of the weekend are a bit sketchy.


As I say, we have a few good roasters, but just a few. I import from Uk and France as I get greater variety and i mix and match with the Catalan roasteries. I am very friendly with a roaster who imports from Indonesia and deals exclusively with Asian coffees and we are always lamenting the state of coffee in this country.

Apart from the coffee, there is no better place to live IMO. Barcelona is the place for work, rest and play, for family time, couple time and friend time. Great weather and food. The Gothic Quarter you're talkining about with the Argentine restaurant is the Borne I was talking about. A few roateries there too!


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## urbanbumpkin (Jan 30, 2013)

Yes the Tapas place was called Set de Born (I think) and the Argentine restaurant translated as 9 Queens. Both really good. Would definitely go back there.


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## 2blackrooks (Oct 23, 2013)

O well probably says more about my taste (or lack of) than spanish coffee. So the long journey begins in the world of real coffee for me (throwing the insatnt out as I write) but where do I start lol


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## urbanbumpkin (Jan 30, 2013)

2blackrooks said:


> O well probably says more about my taste (or lack of) than spanish coffee. So the long journey begins in the world of real coffee for me (throwing the insatnt out as I write) but where do I start lol


If everyone had the same taste the world be a dull place. The last time I was there (before I got into coffee) I thought it was ok, but then again I used to think Starbucks was ok. I had a Starbucks a couple of weeks ago and had to tip it away.

This coffee journey ruins you.... For the better







. If you need any advice please feel free to ask, we're a friendly bunch


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## xiuxiuejar (Jan 24, 2012)

2blackrooks said:


> O well probably says more about my taste (or lack of) than spanish coffee. So the long journey begins in the world of real coffee for me (throwing the insatnt out as I write) but where do I start lol


Or my taste! Maybe you were lucky enough to find a decent bar! If I see Illy in a bar, I'm delighted. It's down to personal taste but first, I dislike robusta in my coffee and second I really dislike the torrefacto 30-50% sugar coated beans they put in.


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