Coffee anyone?
HAVING a ‘café con leche’ (plus a ‘tostada con tomate’) is one of my favourite pastimes, especially if enjoyed along the promenade with a view of the sea. This is what I miss most when I pop back to the UK, along with the weather which obviously goes without saying!
Cafés, alongside banks and estate agents make up the vast majority of establishments along a typical high street here in Spain and, generally speaking, you can have a coffee for
around
€1.80 or even less – but more in frontline locations with said view.
This is justified and fair game as, no doubt, their rents will be more than, say, a back street position, and I, along with most, will be happy to pay a premium for it. But you can always spot the holidaymakers – I am not referring to their attire, rather that they will always opt to be in the full, blaring sun to top up their tans, whilst we locals will be clamouring for the shady tables. The Spanish drink a lot of coffee and bars are always full of workers, especially at around 10.00, which is classified as ‘bocadillo’ time. We know not to expect a fast service in many places between 10.00 and 11.00, as staff go for their coffee breaks. It’s an anomaly that offices here do not have a staff area where they can make a coffee or bring in their own lunch, favouring to go out instead.
I suppose it keeps the bars and restaurants in business, but can work out rather expensive if you do it on a daily basis, especially on the wages paid here in Spain!
There is a huge variety of coffees available here, and for visitors, or even us expats, it can be a little bewildering which to go for. A ‘solo’ is the equivalent of an expresso, an eggcup of incredibly strong coffee, which is hardly worth the effort in my opinion, and an ‘Americano’ is a normal black coffee. But others include ‘café cortado’, a solo with a drop of milk, ‘café sombra’ or ‘cafe manchado’, mostly milk with a few drops of coffee, or ‘café bombón’, a small glass containing condensed milk with café solo - very sweet and sickly! A ‘café con hielo’ (pronounced yello) is mostly drunk in the summertime and is cold, iced coffee - you will be served a normal coffee together with a separate glass with ice and then you pour the coffee over it. I have noticed some bars being criticised for charging extra for the ice! A very popular choice, especially with builders at 07.00 on their way to work, is a ‘café carajillo’ - a café solo served with a shot of brandy… sometimes they don’t even bother with the coffee bit!
In Benidorm, and probably many other towns, it is not uncommon to see chalkboards outside offering a coffee, slice of cake plus a liqueur for as little as €2.50! You’d undoubtedly pay more just for the coffee in the UK, and it would be a watery version from one of the large conglomerates such as Starbucks, Costa or Café Nero with their identikit interiors and décor. Perhaps they would survive in the likes of Madrid and Barcelona, but in smaller towns and cities there is far too much competition and locals prefer to support local businesses.
Despite rising prices, the good old English breakfast is still great value here and hardly worth cooking it yourself if the truth be told. You can still easily find places offering a fry up for between €3-4, so it’s hardly surprising many holidaymakers go self-catering or book accommodation only.
Those that do favour the allinclusive packages are generally families with young children, but many comment that the food offered within these packages is basic and very limited, often looking and tasting the same every night. They always have buffet style dining – how else would you be able to feed so many in a short space of time, where you tend to get the same food day after day. One turnoff is people picking up food with their fingers or touching half a dozen rolls before eventually taking one or eating straight from the buffet… oh the joys of going on holiday, eh!