Wednesday, July 14, 2010

Coffee SNOB

That would be me.

I was never much of a coffee drinker before I went to Spain.  That would, indeed, be a WILD overstatement.  The only coffee I drank in TO was iced Vietnamese coffee in a great Vietnamese Pho store....

Then I went to Spain....goodness gracious me, but I love the stuff, thick, strong, dark hellish brew, but not as bitter with chicory as the French....

SOOOOOoooooo good.

Today I was out and about and came across a coffee truck.  Sounds bad I know, but this one is run by a Cuban guy using Cuban beans.  Well, the other really excellent coffee I have had in North America was in Miami Beach in a tiny little hole in the wall restaurant...is that what it's called if it is all take-out?  They sold a Cuban espresso...that was to. die. for.  Black jet fuel sweetened with cane syrup.  OMG.

The coffee truck gave me the idea that maybe, just maybe, a cuban coffee would be a possibility.  I asked him if he made them, he offered me cafe con leche.  I should have known at that point.

I got the coffee with milk...took a sip, walked far enough away he wouldn't see, and I am ashamed to say, I poured it out.  It was WAY too big.  WAY.  and weak and watery and had this weird sort of sharp heat.  Not the mellow loveliness I am used to.

Coffee snob.

I'll have to wait till I'm back it seems.

At least the tea's good here.

6 comments:

Helen said...

I sympathise about the coffee. It is so disappointing when you are hopeful and our hopes are dashed.

I think the Brits will all be a bit (!) surprised at the nice tea comment though. I never had nice tea in Canada unless I made it myself.

We take our own tea when we travel, so ..... tea snob.

Usually I have coffee when travelling because I am less fussy about bad coffee than bad tea.

Terrie said...

I must confess that I too am a coffe snob. I love Italion coffee. They are responsible for the lattes I so dearly love. I get an awesome coffee at World Market. It is called Lavazza Gold and make my own at home. Yummy. Is 10:30 pm to late for a latte?

oreneta said...

I am talking about make it myself tea Helen, though there are some places you can get a decent cuppa, it is easy to buy decent tea in the supermarkets for instance. I am also much more open minded about tea, there have only been three cups of tea in my life that were truly awful, all made by Catalans or in Catalonia. Urgh. Coffee however, there's a lot of terrible coffee out there.

Terrie, Lavazza, the king of coffees, though the Spanish would have my head for that, they would maintain that Spanish coffee is better....and no, it is never too late for a latte, especially a decaf.

oreneta said...

I have seen the Catalans have an espresso at 1 or 2 am, as in after midnight. They are a different subspecies though, I am convinced.

Vancouver Isle Doug said...

OH MY GOSH!!! You just gave me goose bumps as I read this post. I am SO with you on the Miami coffee!! LOVE the stuff and, dare I say, probably got addicted to it on my yearly jaunts to South Beach. Alas, those days are long gone, but the memory of that coffee, from those little walk up windows in the wall, remain. Incredible aroma, HOT, SWEET, strong - the kind of strong that hits you in the chest with the first sip, but you just HAVE to have more, at a slow relaxed pace of course because it is so dang HOT! Now if only I could get that here in Victoria.

oreneta said...

Doug, it may have been the same place, we spent a WHOLE lot of time in South Beach...along those walking streets Ohohohohoh....I am still waiting to find such good coffee. Not here in TO yet either, and you'd think......