04/06/2010: "How to Order Coffee in Spain"

Cafe con leche. Coffee with milk.

It sounds simple enough and should be but there is something about a coffee drinker that wants to complicate things with entera (full fat) desnatada (skinny) or soya (soy). And there is something about a coffee drinker that wants to know the code, to rattle it off the cuff like an insider, the double double of whatever culture they're immersed in. As my friend Andrea did lately at a cafe off the Placa Espanyol when she asked for a cafe con leche entera desnatada soya and got a pretty surprised look in response.

Three morals in this story:

1. Even the simple things can get complicated if we try hard enough.
2. Seeking to fit in, we are all the more likely to stand out.
3. Coffee is a sacred ritual, with all the attendant mysteries of the initiated.

Yours with creativity and imagination,
Darlene

Replies: 1 Comment

on Tuesday, April 6th, goddessofallthingsunseen said

In full agreement as I enjoy my half decaf, half regular organic coffee with 1/3 2% hot milk in my French cidar mug