Austria’s Vienna
Elegantly embellished cafes play a big role part in the country’s cultural heritage. Keep it simple and order local favorite called the wiener mélange, similar to a latte in taste and appearance. Coffee houses keep late hours, so they’re perfect places to chill after concerts, or if you’re just extremely jet-lagged.
Italy
Their original drink of espresso is still commonly drunk by locals standing up at coffee bars, at all hours of the day. A cafe con panna, which is fresh espresso poured over a large dollop of sweet whipped cream is a luscious treat for any coffee addict, easily standing in for breakfast, a snack, or dessert.
Portugal
A common drink is called a Bica, short for Beba Isso Com Açúcar, a shot of strong, astringent espresso served in a demitasse cup. The drink’s name actually means “drink this with sugar”, which is advice we will definitely heed.
Brazil
Produces about 40 percent of the world’s coffee so it’s not a stretch of the imagination that Brazilians are major coffee lovers as well. Some common sips are the café con leite, strong coffee + hot milk, and the cafezhino, a potent, sweetened brew, the former being the preferred choice in the morning. Coffee consumption is so prevalent that it’s even served to kids as young as 5 with breakfast.
Mexico
They’re obsessed with Cafe de olla,with piloncillo, an unrefined brown sugar with a smoky hit. The coffee is made with dark roasted beans, and then filtered with a fine strainer or cheesecloth, and served from a clay pot.
Cuba
These are leisurely, ritualistic affairs spent with family and friends. The unsweetened cafe con leche and cortadito (the sweet and petite, though stronger version of the ‘leche) are milky drinks taken in the morning with breakfast. The caficito, an espresso brewed with sugar, is typically drunk all throughout the day. Just like in Italy, almost every household has a moka pot which they use to make their delicious Cuban coffees.
Turkey
Thick, rich Turkish coffee is served in small cups, with the grounds settling to the bottom of the cup, and prepared either unsweetened (sade), medium sweet (orta), or full strength sweet (sekerli). It can be served at all times of the day, and especially when guests arrive. It is served with something sweet on the side like a dried fruit or piece of Turkish delight, a soft, chewy candy with the flavor of marshmallow, called lokum.
Vietnam
Coffee is known as ca phe sua and is made to order via a small, box-shaped drip filter that is filled with water, and then perched atop the cup, allowing the rich brew to slowly drip into the vessel. Vietnamese coffee is served with a hit of sweetened condensed milk, or even an egg yolk, whipped with condensed milk into a luscious cream. These traditions originally came from the French, as fresh milk was scarce.
And finally…it’s the Europeans, not the North Americans, and namely those who hale from Finland, Norway, and *surprisingly Iceland who are the winners if there was a world coffee consumption championship.
