What's Wrong with Spanish Coffee? 😥☕
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- čas přidán 31. 05. 2024
- Something is very wrong with Spanish coffee. If you buy a pack of coffee in the supermarket, or a café solo in a bar, it too often tastes like acrid burnt rubber. Want to know why? In this video I delve into the mysterious world of torrefacto! So venga, let’s go! 🥝
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When I first moved to Spain in 2011, I would buy all my coffee at the supermarket. But it never tasted very good. It always had this acrid, bitter flavour. I drink my coffee black, and I found the stuff I was buying and drinking in bars almost undrinkable. It was like burnt rubber.
And then one day I looked a little closer at the coffee packet. And I noticed this common word, “mezcla”. I knew that mezcla meant mix or blend. But I thought - a blend of what? So I read further, and then I started seeing this word “torrefacto”. I had no idea what it was, but I suspected it had to do with what was going on with the coffee in this country.
So I started investigating further, and I discovered that torrefacto is a process that is applied to coffee beans sold in Spain that make the coffee taste, well, horrible. How the tradition got started is connected to the civil war. And why we still drink torrefacto coffee in Spain is about tradition, and, well, habit.
In this video I explain what torrefacto is, do a taste testing with my wife Yoly, and head to Toma Cafe to get a good cup of coffee!
Below is a list of great coffee places in Madrid:
Toma Café (Malasaña)
Toma Café (Chamberi)
Cafe Tornasol (Antón Martín market)
Zero Point (Lavaiés)
HanSo Café (Malasaña)
Coffee & Kicks (near Puerta del Sol
WHO ARE WE? 🥝
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Hola, Spain lovers! We're James and Yoly. James is a New Zealander, and Yoly is from Spain. And we both live in Madrid. This channel is all about giving you a local insight into life in Spain, and helping you experience this country like a local when you come to visit (or live!). If that sounds like your kind of thing, bienvenido!
*This description contains affiliate links which means we may earn a commission if you use them 🙏🏻
When I first moved to Spain, I couldn't figure out what the coffee tasted so bad. So I did a little investigating. And that lead me to the mysterious world of torrefacto. Have you tried coffee in Spain? What did you think? Let me know in the comment below - I'm very curious!
Just moved to Naples Italy from Hawaii. I did love those Hawaiian beans; will I have to be on the lookout for Torrefacto here in Italy, maybe by a different name? (My wife is from Spain so she has been giving me the basic tour of food and drink)
it took a while for me to find good coffee in spain. i did find out i like a cafe con hielo though
What you describe is extremely similar to what is served in Vietnam - sugar roasted robusta - quite sure that’s a colonial hangover too! I expect robusta has always been much more available, it’s so much easier to grow.
It just like espresso in Italy or Cuban in Miami.
@@Expert1911 You drink Starbuck? Spain coffee is good Starbuck is bad.
The cofee in Spain is for people who need start live. A dead man with close eyes became a Spedy Gonzalez or Correcaminos with eyes like dishes, the diferent: "un cortado, por favor".
We don´t need coca or nothing like this.
LOL remember that we sleep one hour less, in average, than other europeans
I love that I can get a cafe con leche in a raggity bar pay 1.50 of even and its better than Starbucks imo
The good thing about Starbucks is that it's triple the size of a regular bar's milk coffee. Some of us like our coffee extra big :)
@@PluslineNeko I can never taste the coffee in a Starbucks cappuccino or latte. And it's much more expensive.
Actually u can have coffee in many places for 1 euro
Bill-Guille Yes you need to ask for an extra shot in Starbucks .
AZ One of my very favorite things about Spain! Walk into any little bar and put down a couple euros and you get a beautiful cup of really strong coffee, often with a little chocolate on the side, and served in a real cup, not paper. Sigh. I miss it.
try starbucks in America, it taste like water
Try Starbucks in Spain, that is literally water xD
Starbucks is better than most chain coffee places in US. But coffee in general is not great here. Australia really knows how to do coffee.
I am not a Star Bucks fan and I really don't understand why so many drink it.
@@stickychocolate8155 Disagree, I was in Australia, most of the coffee I got there was Star Bucks rip off recipe; with a slight bend towards more of milk shake than true coffee.
@@Emy53 I live in California. I am not a fan of it as well. The reason it is popular is due to pure marketing.
Wait... an english man complaining about spanish coffee?? really?
Haha yes! (Though I’m not English, I’m a Kiwi)
Haha yes! (Though I’m not English, I’m a Kiwi)
Haha yes! (Though I’m not English, I’m a Kiwi)
@@spainrevealed I love kiwis, they taste so niiiiice
@@aitorruiz9364 jjaajajajjaa
Oh God, I miss Spanish coffee... I lived in Spain for 9 years from 1968 to 1977 and since my return to Canada I have never had a "good" cup of coffee... We never made coffee at home in Spain... it was our treat to go to a Spanish Bar for coffee when we went out to do our shopping. Oh Lord that little Bar across from the back of the Fish Market in Fuengirola had the best Tapas and the best coffee... Maybe it isn't even there anymore? If anyone ever goes there... Her potato salad was to die for!.... I don't know how to spell it but she called it "Ensalada Rusa"... If I remember it correctly, it had her home made mayonnaise with the potatoes, green peas and tuna... and not sure what else... but I still dream of it and I haven't been back to Spain since 1981.... I lived between Fuengirola and Mijas Pueblo, so we took a long bus ride to get to the fish & vegetable market either way. Yes, I dream of having a "Sombra".... In those days it was not served in a cup & saucer, it was served in a small clear glass.
This is so funny to me. I really love Spanish coffee! I couldn’t figure out why it tasted so much stronger and (to me) tastier than what is typically offered in the US. To find out it’s 15-20% burnt sugar makes it all make sense, because I’ve always loved anything with that bittersweet burnt caramel flavor. So thanks for the explanation! 😂
see, some of us find this appealing!!
It's only in Southern Spain
Wow, congratulations! You really went deep in your research about Spanish coffee. I’m a Spaniard and, in my opinion, our coffee sucks! 😂😂😂 I lived in Brazil for a while and I was amazed of how good their coffee was, and you didn’t need to go anywhere special, any place around the corner would do the trick. Mind blowing good 🤯❤️❤️❤️
Interesting story. I'm Spanish and I didn't know anything about this. BTW, I like Spanish coffee, LOL
It's funny, I'm Spanish and have been an expat for over 20 years now. I had to watch your video to understand why I miss Spanish coffee so much. What I miss is my torrefacto!! I didn't know it was such bad quality either... But I like it that way. It must be the emotional factor you mentioned. Great video thanks!
I am also a Spanish migrant living abroad, and, even though I knew about torrefacto and Spanish coffee's bad quality, I also miss the Spanish coffee with torrefacto!
Totally good point! Good/bad is a matter of taste :)
desgusting
It's not bad quality. The author of this video is profoundly arrogant, and I, who am also a Spanish person, was deeply offended by it. I don't know where you're living now but if you're living in any of the Commonwealth countries or the USA I'm sure you've noticed that the coffee is actually worse than in Spain. I live in Canada and I am about 120Km away from the nearest place I know of that serves a tolerable espresso. If I were in Spain I could walk 50 metres to the nearest bar, cafe, restaurant, or even chiringuito, and get a very very nice coffee. Here in Canada I am surrounded by Tim Hortons. Terrible terrible coffee. I was heartbroken to see Tim Hortons opening up in Spain the last time I visited. There's one in the Renfe station in Alicante!
@@user-of4bf8dl5r The coffee is not bad quality. You should always ignore arrogant expats like the author of this video. He comes to Spain from abroad then claims to be an expert on all things about Spain. He's pathetic.
I never had a "really" bad coffee in Spain, this is new to me this info. One of the things that I love about Spain, is just the coffee. And I don't like bitter coffee so I must have been lucky then trough out the years:) Mostly I drink cafe con leche bot also from time to time a normal cafe, and the combo of coffee and milk in Spain are wonderful.
Yeah, if you're drinking with milk then most of the time you won't notice the flavour
@@spainrevealed Wrong in that, James! It's noticeable even as a latte machiato (leche manchada). Ewww! Yuk! I get the shivers! 😂
And you are right, what this guy is saying does not make any sense.
I love coffe in Spain and most spanish people seem to like it too. Its only ever anglophone people I see complaining about the coffee in Spain but everyone has different tastes! The reason Cafe con leche tastes unique is because in Spain they usually use UHT milk rather than fresh milk and I actually prefer it with coffee.
The people in this thread saying the coffee in Spain is bad... I just don't get it. I love coffee and have had it in about 15 countries all over the world and Torrefacto is my favourite.
I live in Spain myself and I think this is the 1st time someone is complaining about their coffee. I absolutely love it and everytime I travel up north it kills me not to be bale to have a decent coffee in the morning.
So true
People from Spain can't see it cause they don't live in a place where coffee is amazing like Italy
@@Herr.Mitternacht dude, it’s the same coffee hahaha we’re neighbours and many Italians live here
@@Shmalick It's not the same coffee. People associate Spain with good tapas and wine but not with coffee. Italy is considered the best place for an espresso or cappuccino. Spanish people don't take proud in the way they make coffee and that's fine. But don't kid yourself and think you can find great coffee everywhere in Spain just like in Italy. If you don't find a difference is because you don't know anything about coffee or just do half coffee half milk from a carton.
@@Herr.Mitternacht You have never been in Spain. Italian coffee and spanish coffe are very similar. If the author of the video is complaining for the Spanish coffe, then If he were in Italy then he would be complaining much more, because Italian coffe is even a little bit stronger. He is used to drinking very very very smooth coffee and he only have felt the huge difference between both drinks.
Nipple-hardening mix?! LOL. The sense of humor in these videos is great...love it!
This was the funniest video Blick has posted. I watched it 2x because it was hilarious.
I laughed out loud when he said that
carmelized sugar will do that to ya
I'm Spanish and you are SO right. I literally can only have coffee in very few specialist coffee shops these days, which luckily are opening up more and more! I miss the Aussie coffee shops
Should move to the north where coffee is not torrefacto.
It's a testament that you can get use to anything - even bad coffee. Unless of course you're Italian. They would never put up with a bad cup.
In Portugal we don´t have the mezcla café and I notice when I bought café in a spanish supermarket that most of the coffee (100% coffee not la Mezcla) was from a portuguese company (Delta - Campo Maior)
Delta do fantastic coffee. I see that in many places in southern Spain too
Delta? qué coño es eso. Creo que es barato.
Once again, James and Yoli expanding the list of cool places that I need to visit in Madrid (and I've been living here my whole life)
I'm glad!!!
I go to cafe's where the coffee is good. Down in Andalucia the workers usually have a cafe solo with a brandy before going to work so a bitter taste might give you the kick start you need.. You can also ask for a 'sobre' which is a sachet of instant ..
After all these years you have answered a question I always asked myself. Thanks.
Thanks for this excellent explanation. That's something we, Spaniards, discover when living abroad: why the hell coffee tastes so bad in Spain? You gave us the answer! Thank you!
albwixmp I used to buy my coffee beans in La mexicana . Colombian it’s always been my favourite.
No habrás estado en asía. No puedo con el café aguado...
Exactly!
Great video. Well documented staff. Keep it up.
Thanks for the info on Spanish coffee, I found coffee in Spain terribly bad, yet Portuguese coffee was perfect among the best in Europe, 2 countries so close together yet with really different coffee quality.
But two very different colonial histories - hence the difference in the coffee
I totally agree with you.
It'is incredible how in the Iberian Peninsula can be a country that's a great barista culture and another that uses "torrefacto" on a daily basis and also likes many people. Luckily there are more and more specialty coffee shops and roasters in Spain.
@@v.j.routed5310 I guess Portuguese coffee is better, but I don't know if it means better 'barista culture'...
I really enjoy your videos! You and Yoli are awesome!! Keep it up!!!
Really helpful guys. Thank you.
What a great informative video. I'm very much a coffee lover so will certainly be looking out for the right blend. Thank you for sharing
"torrefacto tasting time." This is the first time I wasn't jealous about what you guys were tasting.
Thank you, James, you just saved my mornings! Keep up the good work!
haha my pleasure
Hi James, being born in Cuba, I couldn’t stomach the coffee in Spain. However, Cuban coffee ( very dark espresso) is always drank with sugar. Very rarely do you see anyone drink without some sugar. I don’t know if you have ever visited Miami and had some Cuban coffee- as my Dad would say “the elixir of the gods”. You could always drink a “cortadito” which means adding some hot milk into your coffee. Let me know if you want me to send you some Cuban style coffee from Miami.
Espresso always with a sugar for me
No sugar in any other coffee though
I lived 14 years in Miami, and my stomach couldn't tolerate the Cuban coffee, too sweet and strong. I stick to my Spanish coffee
I quit drinking American coffee about 20 years ago in favor of green tea. But recently I found a small restaurant in Chadd’s Ford,PA that makes Cafe con Leche. With a little sugar and a side of Cuban bread, it was delicious. It brought back memories of mi abuelo in Tampa. BTW, they make a very good Cuban Sandwich(Miami style).
Thank you, James. I live in Spain and coffee here is mostly wretched gut twisting battery acid. I avoid coffee like I avoid the fluorescent Paella on the Costa del Sol. As far as I am concerned it is a scam run by a coffee monopoly. I am baffled that so many folks are okay with it. Taste is not as relative as some would have it and some things are just disgusting - period. Torrefacto is disgusting. So what if a few philistines like the taste? Their taste buds have been melted away by the toxic brew.
As a Spanish person, I am offended by your comment. It is not gut twisting battery acid. That's what coffee is supposed to taste like, but you probably came to Spain from the USA or Canada or the UK so you're used to what is actually horrific low grade coffee, and you think that's what coffee is supposed to taste like. Also, as a person whose entire family comes from la costa del sol, how DARE you call our paella "fluorescent?" That's what it's supposed to look like when you use the correct amount of saffron and other ingredients that give it that color. The Costa del sol is IN Valencia. Valencia is where paella COMES from. You might as well say "The pizza in Naples is garbage". How ignorant are you bro? I find it tragic that people like you think it's ok to move to another country and then trash the local cuisine which was never intended for your tastebuds in the first place.
@@theotherspain Dear moron who makes assumptions: I have never lived in Spain. I live in Canada. I have travelled, also, to about 30 countries, all of which I have enjoyed coffee in. I've been to Spain about 20 times because my family is from there. Do you feel stupid yet? You should. What kind of idiot goes to another country and assumes to be an expert on a culture they weren't born into? You are a pompous, arrogant, pathetic excuse for a human being. You're not a spaniard, and you will never be one, yet you assume to be the world's leading expert on spain when you're just a pathetic expat who left his country of birth because he couldn't hack it there. You're probably chronically single too, aren't you? You a little lonely buddy? TRULY you are the most pathetic person I've found on the internet in the past 12 months. Who hurt you? Are you upset because you're only 140cm tall or something? Do you act this arrogant around your Spanish friends? Spaniards tend to have a very low tolerance threshold for arrogance so I'm assuming you don't. Keep living a lie buddy. Enjoy.
i trained under alfred peet, and im sure he knew of this, and he probably didnt care for it, but i do. i have a trained palate. i tend towards very dark, very bitter, i dislike any hint of sourness, as found in light or medium roasts. so of course i would find torrefacto interesting. i also like white and green tea, and can drink all without cream or sugar, so i trip on incredibly subtle flavors. as did alfred, whose eyes would roll up in his head tasting room temperature teas at a tasting.
My husband and I say we moved to Spain for its coffee! Guess we’re in the minority of liking the everyday café variety - before we knew about torrefacto we certainly thought it tasted more “robust” than elsewhere in Europe. My husband takes sugar, and I like con leche, so maybe Spanish coffee stands up to those additions better ☕️❤️🇪🇸
Depends where you go in the country. In the half-north of the country you have Natural and never torrefacto. In the south they commonly use torrefacto. So it's a matter of where in the country you are going. The guy in the video was making a generalization, when in reality is a very regional thing.
Muy bien explicado! Gracias por la aportación, buen experimento y buen ritmo. Se os felicita!
Gracias!
I love the way you talk, its super easy to understand you.
Great video!
Qué interesante! Muchas gracias ♥️
Very good informative video as always. James Blick is a fantastic communicator and even Spaniards can learn two or three things through his eyes. It is true that some cafeterias in Spain serve quite a bad tasting coffee, but it may not all be down to torrefacto but to their ability to prepare coffee and maintain their machine. While torrefacto started as a way to provide cheap coffee to the masses, it is not anymore a matter of low quality/price. Supermarkets offer packs of "natural" coffee side to side with "mezcla" at different proportions, and people can buy the kind of coffee they prefer the most. They are often sold at exactly the same price. If it was so terrible, people would only choose "natural", so I guess it is some kind of a developed taste for that dark burnt flavour, the same way as Americans enjoy the overburnt meat from a barbecue while my mum would make a scandal and throw it away. Let's not forget that coffee as a drink (like chocolate, for example) is already a highly (naturally) processed product. We are not talking about eating an apple from the tree nor eating the bean from the bush! I live in the Philippines for most of the year and my only choices here if I am out are American coffee shops, as I am not so much into the brewed coffee that a few Filipinos drink. Sometimes (but not always), I would like to enjoy that particular unique burnt torrefacto flavour, even better in cortado (Italian macchiato is lovely but I do love variety).
Thanks for those thoughts Marcos!
I'm spanish and I had no idea about any of this. I just assumed it was so bitter because it was concentrated in a shot. Informative, cheers!
Lived in Spain 5 years after coming from Venezuela(great coffee) and just now learned about this Torrefacto crap. No wonder I had to go through tons of coffees to find something decent. This would have saved me a lot of time and money. Thanks!
Totally true! That's why I love Portugal...
I had no idea about this! I knew that Spanish coffee wasn't my favourite, and now I know why! Thanks for the awesome content, as always :)
Very interesting, thanks!
Thanks for watching!
As usual another great video from James. Now I know where to go for good coffee.
Love your definition of how torrefacto tastes. Funny video! 🤣
Thank you!
Hi James, just stumbled on your channel, been bingeing on your vids. Excellent stuff :)
I lived in Spain for about 14 years and often wondered why about, mebbe, 10% of Bar/Restaurant coffee wasn't as good as the rest. Now I know!
And, I used to think that Spanish coffee was the best in the world, until I went to Rome! Yes, 3 times the price, but man, it is seriously awesome coffee!
I'm Spanish and you are absolutely right. Torrefacto is terrible but it's like spicy food for South Americans, they cannot it eat without it, its the same for coffee with Spaniards.
I myself don't like coffee anyway, torrefacto, watered down, or the best Italian, it's not for me.
I also was expecting for you to get more flak from Spaniards, but apparently not. I mean when you are right you are right.
Keep up the good work.
It's true James. I always add a sachet of sugar to to my tiny glass (cafe en vaso). I don't have sugar anywhere else. I'm very pleased to get to the end of my coffee and wash it down with a, far superior, fresh orange juice to rinse my mouth out. You did a great video explaining the history of Spanish coffee. Spain is such a fast cafe culture that it's going to take a long time for the coffee to change. We tend to eat with the coffee too so it disguises the poor quality. Stuart at Spain Speaks did a video of this also. Cheers. WT
Lol..that was a funny opening🤣
This is one of your best educational videos, mixing perfectly tourism, history, culture, food and entertainment! Btw loved your Sevilla videos, are you going back to record some more in the future?
Very interesting, now I understand why it was hard to find good coffee for our Mocha Espresso when we were in Madrid. Thanks for the info!
I'm Spanish and I don't like Spanish coffee. I hate torrefacto, to me it has no flavour or aroma, it's just bitter and sour.This video was really interesting for me . I didn't know all those historical facts. I'm an expat and enjoy my non Spanish coffee. I miss many other wonderful things and products from Spain, but certainly not torrefacto. Curiously enough many Germans and Americans here in Berlin tell me they love Spanish coffee and ask me how I can live without it! :-)
Thank you for this very informative vid. I’m a coffee snob and always travel with my French press and coffee. I was looking forward to tasting the coffee of Spain on our next trip, thanks for the knowledge!
Another great vid, mate! I have an idea for a video which I'd love to see you guys make: the cold, harsh reality of the amount of street crime here in Madrid these days (not to mention how bad it's got in Barcelona). I've been in Madrid since 2011 like yourself, and the change these past 8 years has been crazy (I got mugged myself in Sol last month). I know it's not a fun topic to cover, and I'm well aware of people not wanting to touch upon it for fear of being politically incorrect, but given the current levels of street crime in Madrid, I think as a warning to tourists and wet-behind-the-ears guiris thinking of coming here, a video on how to make sure you don't get pickpocketed/scammed etc., would be absolutely priceless information.
I love Spain coffee! Before Nespresso came to the USA, I used to bring bags and bags of Spanish coffee back home. Also, I do mix it w warm milk and sugar
Great video . I'm a coffee lover and there is some decent coffee in Spain for sure . My favourite is Italian or Portuguese coffee . Good job guys. Hugs from London
No tenemos ni idea de café. Viví en Italia y allí si que lo cuidan.Pero jamás piso un starbucks tsmpoco.
Muy Cierto!! Vivo en los Estados Unidos y siempre traigo la maleta llena de Lavaza.
Starbucks es otra basura comercial, no usan torrefacto pero no es normal pagar 3€ por un café mediocre, cuando en una cafetería especialidad española te pides un latte por unos 1,50 y un espresso a 1,30
En todos los sitios no hacen un café decente, por eso las buenas cafeterías están a tope, la porquería de torrefacto es horrendo. Italia es otro nivel.
I've been in Spain twice and the coffee there always taste amazing !! Even in the small train station coffee shop ;-)
Great video!
Try a cortado, learn what to order, then perhaps you will see that a cortado is what you need, or if you like US coffee or otherwise “dirty water” order an Americano
Coffee is fine in Spain. If you buy the cheapest blend why complain? There is a big choice in the big supermarkets and some shops. You can buy 100% coffe beans, grind and brew it at home no problem with a coffe maker like the one in the video. My mother always did it that way.
The issue is a lot of the coffee available in the supermarkets is either torrefacto, or if it's natural, it's robusta, which doesn't taste very nice
Great video thanks we are off to Seville on Friday and got an apartment so will come in helpful 😀🏴🇬🇧
A side note, in Portugal they like the coffee dark and bitter, with strong robusta mix. Lisbon's "bica" coffee (expresso) reflects this, jokingly referred as a portmanteau of "Beba Isto Com Açucar" (lit. Drink This With Sugar)
Hahaha "it could be tar distilled" - you really sold me torrefacto Yoli 🤣
The issue we had with the coffee in Spain wasnt with the espresso being bitter, but rather the drip coffee being sour. It was as if everyone brewed light roast, and we werent fans. But cafe con leche was always a good back up for us.
To which I respond- who goes to western Europe and orders drip coffee? You know?
I love this explanation. Did not know.
Gracias! por este video, seremos más cuidadosos al comprar café. Cheers!
That’s the same type pot I use to make my daily espresso.
Mine is La Cafetierre.
It’s espresso and I require sugar!
I use regular, medium roast, espresso grind.
I get a very, lovely, dark result!
Puerto Rico produces one of the best quality coffees in the world...100% pure coffee....
People still put sugar in it.
Yes, en España se consume mucho café de la hermana Puerto Rico y de muchas partes del mundo. Pero aún hay muchas cafeterías de baja calidad, que usan cafés malísimos.
Very interesting channel, btw... Manda cojones that a foreigner teaches me about Spanish traditions xD. Good job !
haha - thank you!
Wow, now I know why the coffee sucks in bars here. I can hardly drink it most of the time. Luckily there are some great specialty coffee shops in Madrid now.
Fantastic video. You've fully explained something I've wondered about for yeeeears of regualry visiting Spain! Genuinely baffles me that anyone can like torrefacto coffee!
I’m pleased!!!
I have to say, one of the best coffees I have ever had was in Spain at a roadside service station on the A8 somewhere near Ribadesella. Muy rico!!
That's because you never tried Portuguese coffee ;)
@@luismarques9280 no one cares about your coffee man
@@tyronesmith3020 yes you do kkkkk
Thanks for a very vivid explanation. When I moved to Spain, I did not like the coffee here, so I would put a lot of sugar, and also, I learned to ask for Cafe Americano which is the same coffee but they add more hot water for yoy. So, this makes my coffee in a bar taste better😂
Excellent video, James and Yoli! Muchas gracias! I found Spanish coffee excellent, much much better than Starbucks. Always get either caffe con leche or cortado in bars and it is nearly always excellent! I never bought mezcla in supermarkets, as I use Nespresso capsules at home. Thank you for explaining this Torrefacto story- very interesting! Keep doing your nice videos! All the best!
Thanks Vlad! Yeah, if you're having with milk, you won't notice as much.
Next time I am in Spain will try caffe solo remembering your video! :) thank you very much for your entertaining and positive videos! You are the best!
Hi James, glad to see you all well on the live stream the other day. I have a quick question ahead of my trip to Madrid at the end of November. I love Saula coffee it’s all I buy here at home (in Liverpool) for the cafetière, however this is obviously a Barcelona brand. Is there a Madrid equivalent you would recommend/ have heard others recommend that I could pick up on my trip? Thanks mate
Go to Parcería Cafe for some great coffee if you're ever in Seville.
Thanks for the tip!
In the seventeenth century when ships brought coffee from America to Spain and Portugal, it used to arrive in poor conditions due to humidity, temperature changes and transport time. At that time they realized that by adding sugar to coffee in the roasting process, it resisted changes in temperature and humidity much better and since then, the tradition in Spain of drinking torrefacto coffee was based
Agreed. Spain coffee is so different from what we had in Colombia 🇨🇴 and USA 🇺🇸
Fascinating!
Now it all makes sense...thank you.
In cafes the coffee is super strong but when you visit people in their houses they serve you lovely coffee . Colombian is very popular there .
But many people do buy mezcla, which isn't good
Spain Revealed - James Blick when I used to live there I alway bought the coffee from here www.lamexicana.es/packs-cafe/59-pack-degustacion.html
www.lamexicana.es/nosotros?pag=sobre
love watching your Channel...so informative. are you going to do anything on Portugal, Porto, Lisbon. They are only next door to you.
Best of luck johnc
Lisbon coming in a week and a half!
It's really interesting! In Brazil, the bad quality coffee is made with extra toasted beans, so people don't recognize if some branches/leaves were burnt together with it. The coffee, then, tastes very very strong, but not as a good coffee. As you said, the secret in this case is to buy the 100% Arabica ones!
On the other hand, I really like strong coffee, strong flavor, but balanced with the acidity. Colombia produces great coffee, but their preference is not to toast it dark, making their coffee more acid. Moreover, they make it looks like a tea, because they add too much water.
The truth is that coffee has a range of flavors and preferences, but you brought me a new information: I never realized it could be toasted with sugar!!! I read this "mezcla" in the supermarket, but I didn't get it so I didn't buy it!
Thank you, guys!
Toma is one of my favorite places, glad to see it as one of your examples of a good local coffee shop!
Great video as usual. Maybe you could make one about your fav cafeterias in Madrid!
¡Qué interesante! Thank you, James. I'm Spanish and I'm doing some research about coffee for a podcast and I didn't know what torrefacto was!
Good coffee is on the north of Spain, and better with milk and without sugar ;)
Well, I'm spaniard and I thought the opposite when I travelled to USA: Why is the coffee so light here (in USA)??
Me to ...I'm shocked with this topic tbh
Same as the US beers...all watery
Well American coffee is famous for being ultra light. Hence the term "americano", which is coffee with water.
Because they normally use different types of machines and coffee
Europeans like their coffee dark roast. people from United States and Canada prefer lighter roast coffee.. so the roast changes the flavour profile big time. there are other factors that will affect taste
We moved to Madrid 20 days ago I and I think this may be the most important video you have ever posted. PS I am married to a Colombnian.
Great video. I really don't like torrefacto, but I've had to adapt to it. Milk and sugar help a lot. In Uruguay, not a coffee drinking nation, it was all I could find in supermarkets. Gah! I think they call it glaseado, Now, can we have a video about why when you order a glass of orange juice, it always comes with sugar packets? :)
Good call on the sugar packets! lol
Hi James. Costa Rican in here - from the land of *real* coffee, heh. I also work for one of the leading coffee export brands in the country and we’re about to visit Spain in a few months. Looks like we’ll have to haul some coffee with us! The minute you started talking of “torrefacto” I started to cringe badly. That’s a surefire sign for what’s basically shit coffee - I recognize I’m hopelessly spoiled on our prime 100% Arabica beans (btw, by law only Arabica coffee can be planted in Costa Rica). Usually someone who still preferes torrefacto over pure coffee is a person that is so used to the flavor of torrefacto that he or she won’t try other coffee kind, or someone who doesn’t care much about coffee varieties. Coffee is coffee is coffee for some I guess. But once you do... well, there’s no turning back. Thanks for these info tidbits.
This makes sense, I do remember my first taste of coffee in Madrid being wah?! Don't forget that robusta has a much higher caffeine content than arabica. So while bitter and less refined than arabica, some drinkers (like me) may like a blend for more of a kick. Excellent informative vid as usual!
growing up in a cuban family we grew up on the regular bean coffee its bitter enough as it is as expresso couldnt imagine it anymore bitter. two to three spoons of sugar in the colador and when its ready just pour a pinch of it into the sugar stur the sugar till its creamy a bit then put it back under brew.
Nice mate. Great little history lesson, a reason for the madness atleast. Nick and I went to toma café today. I hit that up most days. Makes me feel like I'm back in welly for a few brief moments.
Hey, Josh! I must have given you all the wrong number in the last meet-up! Not intentionally of course. I must be developing dislexia or something. I sometimes mix up sixes and nines, especially when I've had several vermouths! 😂 Sorry if you tried to contact me and it was the wrong number. Say hi to Nick from me.
In Spain, even in the smallest town there are half a dozen bars and restaurants and the locals know which bar has good wine, which bar makes good coffee and which bar serves good beer... and since we go out almost every days to drink a wine, a beer or a coffee, we do not complicate our lives, nor do we seek excellence, we simply enjoy what we are doing, when we want to celebrate something special, we know exactly what wine we like and where to order it, All this taking into account the budget, up to 12 euros per bottle, a normal wine, from 12 to 25 a good wine and over 25 an excellent wine, that of the vintages, the flavors of earth, spices and other things, we leave them to the Anglo-Saxon experts who seem to enjoy it more than drinking and chatting over a bottle of wine
Great video! I missed Spanish coffee while living in England, and now that I am here I can notice the difference. However, I do like mezcla! I find it good for cortados, café con leche and just general small sized coffees. The problem I saw in the UK was that, even if you could find nice coffee, only the chains (not Starbucks, ugh!) and the special little shops would do a nice coffee for my tastes, everywhere else it would just too watery, and that's just not nice! This is my opinion though, I still think Italy are the masters of coffee!
You could always drink Italian coffee. There is some Lavazza Crema e Gusto on that supermarket shelf in the red and blue packet. It's great stuff and no torrefacto.
Yep, it's not bad
Not bad ? Sheeeeesh ! I have been happily drinking Lavazza for 12 years now. If being seen to drink something that isn't Spanish is likely to get you ostracised from your local tapas bar then there is a plan B. The Spanish coffee labels have a torrefacto free product called " Natural " which is an old Spanish word meaning " natural ". You might want to keep the viewers happy and avoid the one called " Bonka Natural ". Too many negative connotations. Just a thought.
Compro Lavazza in la lata oscura.
Hi James. I now make my coffee Vietnamese style with condensed milk. I'm not a coffee pedant but I do like filtered coffee in the morning due to its strength. Four weeks with cafe leches in Seville in two days. Will I survive? I also liked the tiny cups of coffee the Portuguese serve up. Real heart starters.
This is why the spaniards invented Cafe con leche...and it is glorious (atleast in Andalucia)! :D Never have cafe solo (only black coffee). That is awful.
Si tienes un viaje planeado a Miami, tendrás que probar un Cafecito Cubano. No te lo pierdas!
Ok!
Yo soy cubano y cuando voy a Cuba les llevo Tirma, que es de aquí de canarias, a ellos le gusta.
I am 2:30 in, and this plays out like a crime show! Haha :)
Cheers Guys, I did wonder why Mezcla coffee existed. I will definitely check out the coffee list as love a tasty coffee.
Enjoy!
I enjoyed the video very much. What kind of coffee maker is it that you used to make coffee in your kitchen?
Thank you! Just the typical Bialetti-style (but not that actual brand). But if you Google Bialetti you'll find it.
Thanks. I’m looking forward to your next video.
@@spainrevealed The one you used in the video is an actual Bialetti -- the logo is engraved on the side. Have you tried using a lower flame and shutting it off as soon as the small bubbles appear? Makes a huge difference in the taste.