café con leche

american coffee is viewed by spaniards and french as dirty water. real café is an art that requires attention to the water used, the beans and the degree of the grind, as well as the temperatures of the café and the milk (if you choose to use it). in spain you can choose:

café sólo - espresso

café cortado - espresso "cut" with a little bit of milk

café con leche - nearly equal parts espresso and milk, the milk can be cool or hot

café manchado - mostly hot milk with a small amount of espresso

when you order a café con leche you may be asked something like "¿cómo le pongo la leche?", or "how do you want the milk?" during my current trip, a spanish-speaking friend from south america who was unaccustomed to the cool or hot milk option replied "pues... encima". lol.

when my american accent was much thicker, spanish waiters used to pick on me. at one café i said "yo quiero tomar un café sólo." he replied, "vete al rincón y te lo traigo jajaja". lol

i thought of writing about the coffee in france in this post as well, but i'm lazy so i will do that from paris. for now, it's time to go have a cortado in the plaza, with the leche encima.

if you're studying at the university of granada's centro de lenguas modernas, stop in at potemkin right next door. here i am with my brother ryan. ¡aprovecha!