If I were to offer my top tip for coffee drinkers in Portugal, it would be not to ask for “a coffee” unless you want an espresso. Knowing the type of coffee you want will make life a little easier for your barista and you!
January is known as being the coldest month of the year, but there’s nothing a good old cup of coffee can’t fix. While many of us presume that asking for coffee in a café means a regular white, Portugal seems to have a never-ending variety of coffees to choose from, giving even Starbucks a run for its money. So, this month, I’ll dive into the various styles of Portuguese coffee and what each one entails.
Coffee plantation in São Paulo, Brazil Public Domain
The history of coffee in Portugal
The trusty coffee bean first came to Portugal in 1727. According to an intriguing legend, in 1727, Sergeant Major Francisco de Melo Palheta was dispatched to settle a land dispute between French and Dutch Guiana. A Portuguese-Brazilian military officer, he arrived in Cayenne intent on smuggling out the coveted coffee plants that were so closely guarded. He set his eyes on the Governor of Cayenne’s wife, Madame D’Orvilliers. At the closing banquet, his amorous exploits paid off, as she handed him a bouquet of flowers which had coffee beans hidden within the blooms containing the seedling that would become the progenitor of the Brazilian coffee industry.
“Bica” is an abbreviation of “drink this with sugar” (“beba isto com açúcar”)
This led Brazil to become one of the biggest coffee producers and a rival to French Guiana! As the Portuguese colonists developed coffee plantations across Brazil, the trusty coffee bean eventually made its way to Portugal for roasting and distribution. Cafes were soon popping up across Lisbon and Porto, where the elite would meet over this newly found dark brew. Before long, coffee became the main choice of hot beverage in Portugal, which arguably became one of the first countries to expand the use of coffee to the European continent. However, the question remains, what are the differences between the many Portuguese coffees?
Bica
The bica, more commonly called “um café”, is equivalent to the widely known espresso. This small, strong shot of coffee is the perfect caffeine fix after a long meal. The name bica is popular in Lisbon and is an abbreviation of “drink this with sugar” (“beba isto com açúcar”), which made the then-new novelty of coffee more pleasant to drink. However, it’s not only Lisbon and the south that have their own way of asking for “um café”. If you’re from Porto, you would ask for a cimbalino, a name that derives from a brand of coffee machine which was once favoured among the coffee houses.
The bica can also be served in various measurements, such as a full bica cheio or the average short bica curto. Very occasionally, some might ask for a bica Italiano, which is nothing more than a teaspoon of highly concentrated coffee. If you want to be extremely fussy, you can also ask for the bica to be served in a cold cup (chavena frio) or a heated cup (chavena escada), but if you’re like me, you simply ask for a bica to avoid giving the barista (a skilled coffee maker) a mental breakdown.
Pingado
If you’re thirstier, you can ask for a pingado, meaning “a drop”. A pingado is topped with a little milk and served in a slightly taller cup, making a slightly longer and weaker version of the typical bica. If you want to spice up your coffee, you can ask for a pingado com cheirinho (literally meaning “a drop with a little smell”), which involves adding a drop of alcohol. Traditionally this would be Bagaço liqueur, but any spirit can be used.
Abatanado
If you’re not a milk person, you can ask for an abatanado, which is a simple bica topped up with water. It gives you a slightly longer black coffee, although it’s not as big as an American filter coffee.
Café duplo
For those of you who like a cup of tarmac – I mean, an extra-strong coffee – you can ask for a café duplo to give you an instant boost of energy. Meaning “double coffee,” this is simply a double bica or espresso.
Meia de Leite
Many say that the meia de leite (half a cup of milk) is basically a galão in a cup instead of a glass. In my opinion, it’s very similar to the galão, but slightly stronger, and a personal favourite of mine.
Galão
The galão is probably the most favoured coffee options for visitors to Portugal. Served in the iconic tall glass, one needs asbestos fingers to hold it because it’s normally served piping hot. For those of you who are not in the know, the galão is a shot of espresso topped up with milk and it shares a similarity to a typical “flat white” that we know in Britain. Despite its translation loosely meaning “a gallon”, it’s safe to say you will get a decent-sized regular milky coffee, just not a gallon of it. Unlike the Italian requirement of their variation, the galão can be enjoyed any time of day, not only during the morning. On the other hand, if you’re looking for anything but regular cow’s milk, you might be in for a bit of a challenge. An oddity about the galão is that the plural doesn’t just add an “s”, it’s almost a different word – galões.
Garoto
Literally meaning “a little kid”, it is basically a miniature galão in a bica cup. Who knows, maybe it was once given to kids before they were old enough for a full galão.
Café com Gelo
If you’re looking for a coffee on a hot day, an iced coffee isn’t exactly top on the list in Portugal, but a café com gelo makes a great alternative. A bica or espresso served in a glass of ice makes a refreshing cool coffee, especially during the summer months. Whilst not native to Portugal – it originated in Spain – cafe com gelo seems to be the local go-to drink on those hot sunny days when a caffeine fix is on the cards, with an extra cool down as a bonus.
While I can’t cover every variation of coffee I hope the following descriptions will encourage you to be a little more adventurous the next time you visit your local cafe. Why not take the plunge and order yourself something a little different. Asking a local barista what his favourite coffee is, he replied, “A simple coffee with milk or, as we say, meia de leite. Portugal has so many coffees even I can’t keep up.” So, there you have it, the list of the most known Portuguese coffees to keep you warm this New Year, and may it be a happy one too.
Top tip: If you’re heading over the border into Spain, just remember an espresso is known as café solo and the equivalent to a galão is called café manchado.
With thanks to Snack-Bar Café OK in Portimão for helping with this article.
Coffee cup photos by Luka Alexander
