The Café con Leche

The remains of a successful café con leche...

Maybe it's just a latte. I really don't know, and I could really care less. All I know about this drink is that it makes me feel like I'm in Spain. It's 1 part milk, a couple parts espresso, and some sugar, but what it symbolizes during the day in Spain is much more significant.

I would not say that I was a coffee drinker before I came to Spain, and I still might not be when I head back. Here though, coffee-haters and lovers both fall for the café con leche.

In the US, coffee is too often the drink to grab and go. Could you imagine Starbucks handing you a coffee in a ceramic mug? What's more, could you imagine it being smaller than not just a Grande, but a Tall? All I know is that I used to occasionally go for a Grande latté, and now that seems like an ocean of coffee.

To order a café con leche, the directions are simple - walk into anywhere, literally anywhere, and ask for one. Don't be fooled when they give you two huge packets of sugar (that's too much), and don't expect it to be in a to-go cup. In fact, many places, when asked for coffee to-go, will give you a weird look and put your drink in a cardboard cup with a lid without a place to drink from. That's right - they force you to either use a straw or sit the heck down somewhere and enjoy your coffee.

The DeGennaro's get in on it too...how about that foam?

I imagine Spaniards have a couple cafés throughout the day. For me, it's a once a day thing. Most of the time, my café con leche break is pretty sacred. I'll go with Megan or some friends to a local cafe and order one with a croissant. When we find a particularly good café, Megan has even been keeping the sugar packets as souvenirs.  That's because our time here is so well signified by the habitual café con leche that it's worth remembering.

Why? You might have to see for yourself. There is something about sitting down at a tiny table, taking in the people around you, trying to pick up Catalan words, and making the café last by taking tiny sips...it's much more rewarding than power-walking late to class with a Grande something and heart palpitations. Now I know in some circles in the US, coffee is complementary to a newspaper. They do that here too, but after the morning it's almost always a social activity**.

When I go back to the US, I'll probably try to recreate the café con leche experience. My mornings in Berkeley are normally mad rushes, quick showers and breakfast on the go. It's a pretty hectic start to the day. After 3 months in Spain, I think it's definitely worth taking 30 minutes out of the day to enjoy a cup of coffee. Maybe not for the taste, or not even for the caffeine boost after a late study night, but the time to get your head together and start the day stress free. One of the things Spain teaches you without fail is how to relax. Tranquilo, hermano. 


(**This article is directed to other students like myself. I don't exactly know how responsible adults spend their mornings nor in what situations they drink coffee.)

"Yes, of course I prefer a café con leche to a much needed shower" - Chris Severn