

Coffee is a serious business in Portugal. Look at any menu in a café, bar or restaurant and there will be a bewildering selection of coffees listed, many with strange-sounding names and no description, further complicated by regional variations in what different coffees are called. For a long time I ordered a café com leite (coffee with milk) and usually got the type of coffee I liked (a strong white coffee with a froth on the top, served in a regular-sized coffee cup). This worked in the Algarve, but on a recent trip to the north of Portugal ordering a coffee became more challenging. Asking for a café com leite was met with a string of questions regarding what size cup I wanted and often resulted in a disappointingly weak, milky mug of coffee or an espresso-sized cup of strong coffee with a dash of milk. After talking to Portuguese friends I discovered that café com leite is not a term used in Portugal and most waiters wouldn’t understand what I wanted. I realized that I needed to learn the language of coffee in Portugal and leave my café com leite comfort zone. Here is a short guide to successfully ordering a coffee Portugal. Where possible I have included regional variations in the names. This list is not definitive and I will continue in my quest to gain a comprehensive understanding of successfully ordering coffee in Portugal.
Uma carioca is a weak, black coffee served in an espresso-sized cup.
Uma bica (in Lisbon and the south) / Um cimbalino (in Porto) / Um café (other parts of the country) is a black espresso-type coffee served in an espresso-sized cup. A variant of this is uma bica escaldada / um café escaldada, which is the same drink as described above, but served in a heated cup.
Uma meia de leite is usually a strong, white coffee with a froth on the top, served in a regular-sized coffee cup. If you want to ensure it is strong, ask for uma meia de leite escura.
Um café duplo is a double espresso-type coffee served in a regular-sized cup.
Um café duplo com um pouco de leite is a double espresso-type coffee with a little milk served in a regular-sized cup. Sometimes it comes with a small jug of milk for you to add as you require.
Um galão is a large, weak, milky coffee served in a glass.
Um garoto (in Lisbon and the south) / Um pingo (in the north) is a coffee with a dash of milk served in an espresso-sized cup.
Um abatanado is a black coffee served in a regular-sized cup. It is made with espresso beans and is similar to a caffè americano.
Um café com gelo is a cold, black coffee with ice cubes.
Um café com gelado is a black coffee served with a scoop of ice-cream.
Um cappuccino is best avoided unless you like weak, milky coffee with a thick layer of artificial whipped cream on the top. It is better to order a uma meia de leite escura, which in my experience is the closest to the Italian-style cappuccino.
oh I’ve been meaning to write a post like this for ages I don’t need to now as this is an excellent post 🙂
May I reblog it one day though?
Hi Becky
Thank you so much. Yes, I’m very happy for you to reblog it. I realise that there are still quite a few coffees that I haven’t tried, but will continue in my quest!
Best wishes
Sandra
Fantastic – thanks Sandra. Look forward to seeing the next post!!
Reblogged this on It caught my eye in Portugal and commented:
Chatting to a friend yesterday about how to order coffee when away from home, reminded me of this excellent post by Sandra. An essential read . . . . . . .
Love your photos and post. I am a coffee addict. a couple of years ago we went to Boquete, Panama and the coffee there was fantastic. they grow some of the best. We went to visit a couple of coffee plantations. You might try ordering a tall black with milk on the side. That worked for me in Australia. I don’t like too much milk in it. They either served it black or all milk with a dash of coffee.
Phew! Makes the variations on the theme in Spain look simple by comparison!
Hi we would love to have this post on our website, would you be happy with that? full credit will be given to you
Hi Jenny,
Yes that’s fine. Thank you for sharing!
Best wishes
Sandra