Spanish Coffee Drinks: 9 Classic Recipes

If you’ve never been to Spain, you might only be able to name one or two of the many Spanish coffee drinks on offer in the country.

This is mainly due to Italian coffee culture, which basically dominates the entire coffee world map. Still, Italy’s Mediterranean neighbor brings quite a few unique specialties to the table. café bombón with condensed milk, for example. Or Café Cortado as a Spanish version of the Italian espresso macchiato.

Apart from some questionable coffee recipes such as the Barraquito, two things belong to Spanish coffee culture: good coffee and good milk or milk foam. Let’s face it, such a tradition and way of life counts not only in Spain!

Spanish Coffee Drinks: What Sets Them Apart?

At first glance, Spain cultivates a coffee culture that is neither more special nor more exclusive than that of its neighbors. However, if we zoom in, there are differences to be found.

Sugar Coffee for the Spanish Sweet Tooth

Spanish coffee drinkers don’t seem to mind if their drink comes with its own hit of sugar – not extra in a cup or glass, but in the coffee beans.

The so-called torrefacto roast usually contains up to 20 percent of coffee beans that have been sprayed with sugar during coffee roasting. This caramelizes, adding a distinct flavor to the cortado, café solo or whatever else is being enjoyed in coffee cups between Barcelona and La Palma.

Originating in the 1920s, candied coffee was originally intended to keep beans fresh for longer. But it is just as effective at hiding the unpleasant taste of low-grade Robusta beans. Either way, it’s not just Spain that still enjoys this type of coffee. Torrefacto coffee is also popular in France, Portugal, Costa Rica and Argentina.

Booze or Condensed Milk: Why Not Both?

Apart from that, some Spanish coffee drinks also benefit from a shot of the country’s own liquors. In particular, Licor 43, Spanish brandy or rum are always on the café menu. You’ll also see layered concoctions with additions such as condensed milk and whipped cream.

Otherwise, Spanish, Italian, German and French coffee lovers don’t differ too much. Most variations are based on the classic combo of black coffee and milk. That said, you’ll find far less milk foam than in Italy, for example. In this respect, Spain and France are even closer than Spain and Italy.

Café Solo: The Spanish Espresso

The Spanish have never gone along with the naming and pluralization of espresso, simply calling what comes out of an espresso machine “just coffee” – or Café Solo.

Nothing about this version is fundamentally different from the Italian classic – unless torrefacto comes into play. Some speak of the national drink, but basically the café solo is a normal, everyday part of life, just like Italian espresso.

Ingredients and Method

It would take way too long at this point to explain the entire process of espresso preparation. Because this elixir is, and remains, the supreme discipline of coffee preparation. So, if you want to know more, check out my guide on how to make the perfect espresso.

Café Cortado: Half-and-Half

When milk foam and a café solo meet in a mixing ratio of one to one, Spaniards talk about café cortado. It is the counterpart of the Italian espresso macchiato, but is usually served in an espresso glass. By the way, the word cortado means “cut,” precisely because the intensity of the coffee is cut by a dollop of warm milk.

Ingredients

Method

Prepare your coffee and froth some milk. You can also pull a double shot and double the amount of milk. Then, carefully spoon the milk foam onto the coffee crema.

Cafe con Leche: The Spanish Au Lait

If you celebrate hot coffee with steamed milk, you’ve probably heard of the café con leche. Because that simply means “coffee with milk.” However, coffee from a drip machine isn’t an option in this case. Rather, a double café solo is on the program.

Similar to café cortado, everything remains in balance in a café con leche, as milk and coffee also come in a one-to-one ratio in the cup. Incidentally, café con leche is also an integral part of coffee culture in Latin America – especially in Argentina.

It is served in a medium cup, and you might even see some latte art. Traditionally, however, the milk is only slightly aerated, to focus more on the taste of the coffee.

Ingredients

Method

For starters, make sure to warm a medium-sized cup. Then prepare a double shot of espresso. Finally, lightly foam the milk and then pour it over the espresso.

Café Bombón: Coffee With Condensed Milk Layers

The Spanish love layering. Especially if there’s a lot of sugar in their specialty coffee. You don’t have to know the language to understand what café bombón is – something very, very sweet.

For café bombón, you layer a café solo with sweetened condensed milk. On top of that, there is a hint of milk foam. I’ll leave it up to you whether we’re talking about a specialty coffee or a crazy concoction. Of course, this eye-catcher is always served in a glass.

Ingredients

Method

Put cold sweetened condensed milk in a glass. Next, prepare the coffee then let it slowly run into the glass over the back of a spoon. Lastly, foam the milk and carefully place it on the espresso with the spoon.

Café Manchado: The “Latte Cappuccino” Method

Café manchado literally means “stained coffee.” That sounds familiar to us, right?! Then again, compared to latte macchiato (“stained milk”), café manchado relies on a rather modest total quantity and is actually more like a cappuccino.

Unlike the Italian classic, the Spanish version features very lightly foamed milk. It doesn’t matter whether you mix exactly 75 percent milk (foam) to 25 percent coffee. The main thing is that you stick to smaller cups and a smaller total amount. After all, that’s what makes the character of this Spanish coffee drink.

Ingredients

Method

Start by preparing the espresso. Heat the milk and put it in the glass or cup first. You are welcome to include a little milk foam. Let the coffee flow in slowly – preferably by using a special espresso pot.

Café con Hielo: A Big Shot of Ice

Iced coffee is a standard menu item in every southern cafe. Unlike usual, however, milk is never added to a café con hielo glass.

Not even the ice cubes are brought into play during the preparation. These are served on the side and how much you add is up to you. To make it particularly fresh, you can perfume your glass with a little lemon peel.

Ingredients

Method

There’s no real explanation necessary here. Still, it’s worth pointing out that you can make your life a little easier by pulling the hot espresso directly into a glass of ice instead of adding it afterward.

Barraquito or Zaperoco: Alcoholic Coffee from the Canary Islands

Barraquito or Zaperoco is actually a coffee cocktail. Invented in Tenerife, it is now served on all the Canary Islands.

The fact that you don’t often see it outside of La Gomera or La Palma may be due to the somewhat adventurous barraquito layers of coffee, Licor 43, sweetened condensed milk, cinnamon and foamed milk.

In this drink, far too many flavors are at play. Sure, it reflects the tradition and way of life of the Canary Islands, but misses the mark in my opinion.

Ingredients

Method

Prepare the espresso and foam the milk. First, put the condensed milk into the glass. Then carefully pour the liquor over the back of a spoon onto the condensed milk. With the same technique, layer the espresso on the liqueur. Then put the milk foam on top. Lastly, garnish the whole thing with lemon zest and cinnamon.

Carajillo: Legendary Coffee With a Shot

According to legend, the carajillo was invented by Spanish soldiers during the colonial period in Cuba. They drank courage before each mission and mixed their coffee with a shot of rum.

Ingredients

Method

Heat rum together with sugar and lemon zest in a saucepan until the sugar has dissolved. Pour the mixture into a heat-resistant glass. Add espresso and cool down the drink to taste.

Café del Tiempo: Flambéed With Alcohol

The café del tiempo is a somewhat crazy version of the carajillo, wherein anise-flavored liquor is used instead of brandy or rum. However, this is not cooked, but flambéed and then ice-cooled.

Ingredients

Method

Flambé lemon zest and anise liquor with a teaspoon of sugar in the cup. Attention, this will get hot! Then, add your shot of espresso and serve the whole thing with ice cubes.

Torrefacto and Friends: The Best Coffee Beans for Spanish Coffee Drinks

With the many ingredients in the most popular Spanish coffee drinks, it’s no wonder that in Madrid or Barcelona there aren’t just Arabica beans behind the café counter. In fact, Robusta coffee beans often play a leading role.

This creates particularly strong coffee, which can hold its own when combined with a shot of alcohol or sugary milk. What’s more, torrefacto coffee is commonly used in Spanish cafes. As it happens, Torrefacto coffee is particularly low in acidity. This makes it ideal for milky drinks like café con leche.

If you prefer to drink coffee without sugar, I recommend trying my Coffeeness coffee beans. There’s a blend for fully automatic coffee machines as well as one for espresso machines, and both blends display very low acidity. In addition, you’ll experience a nutty, chocolaty flavor that’s ideal for Spanish coffee drinks.

Coffee Culture In Spain

It’s no different in Spain than elsewhere in the world: even at breakfast time, people like to meet in the café, eat together, share the latest gossip then go to work. Often, folks will then return to the café after work.

In tourist strongholds such as Tenerife, a lot of fuss is often made about traditional coffee like Barraquito. However third wave coffee is just as common here as in New York or Berlin.

When Do Spaniards Drink Coffee?

First thing in the morning, during a lunch break, after dinner and any time in between: Spain is no different from the U.S. The coffee break tradition in Spain is the same as anywhere else, even if it’s less likely to be celebrated with a mug of drip coffee from a carafe than with a café solo.

Vocabulary for Ordering Coffee in Spain: Un Café Por Favor!

So that you don’t have to stress out about feeling under-caffeinated on your next trip to Spain, here’s some vital vocab for ordering coffee.

Spanish Coffee Drinks: Well-Known Creations, Just a Little Different

The world is a single village and we’re used to seeing the same coffee drinks wherever we go. Although coffee in Spain may be super sweet and super complex, a cortado, café con leche or café solo will all be familiar.

If you’re a coffee lover planning on visiting this wonderful country, definitely get to know Torrefacto beans and dare to try a barraquito. If you understand the Spanish taste, you will also appreciate every other coffee more. After all, that’s the most important thing.