Our Spanish Hibernation 3:0

You don’t need to be an expert to realise that coffee in Spain is strong. Very strong. Even so, I can’t imagine the locals here in Malaga ever asking for an americano. I usually do in the club room at David Lloyd after a workout. I asked for it the first time as I was unsure what their coffee would be like. I need not have worried. It is just a splash of hot water they put in and still a very punchy brew.

Apparently, throughout Spain, it is the “torrefacto” method of roasting – adding extra sugar near the end of the process – which gives the beans such a strong, bitter flavour. Not everywhere serves this type of coffee but most of the traditional bars do. Personally, I like it and enjoy sipping a cortado at Al Sur – a lovely local’s bar, right on the beach.

Málaga actually has its own unique coffee culture, with ten different grades of brew based on how much milk you take with your espresso. They range from a solo (straight coffee) to a nube, which is 90% milk. The locals will know how they take it, but it is still acceptable to ask for a cortado – a corto in Málaga with 70% milk – which is my regular brew if in a traditional bar or cafe.

Our lovely friend, David was staying with us this week and he too enjoyed the coffee at Al Sur. During his stay, we were wandering along Muelle Uno, close to the town, marina and port, so very popular with tourists. We decided to stop for coffee in one of the bars looking out at the water. Earlier that day on the beach, our coffee bill was €3, down at the marina it had risen to €5.40! That said you would be hard pushed to get one coffee back in England for that and certainly nothing that tasted so good.