How to order a coffee in Jimena

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(Originally published in July 2009) This idea came about when we heard a British tourist trying to order a ‘latte’ in a Jimena bar with no success. There are several ways of getting the coffee you want -or a cuppa, but that’s another story. We’ve prepared a little list below which we believe might be of some help. Café con leche is the most frequent way to ask for a ‘latte’ and it serves most purposes. It translates to ‘coffee with milk’, without further ado. The trouble is, you get a number 6, como salga, however it comes, which depends on the place and person serving it up. So let’s look at the options. Your guide is the number of each item on the chart above. We’ve also included the way it will probably be pronounced, which consists mainly of cutting off the last letter. (Don’t forget that the coffee is usually stronger than what is too often served up in Britain under the same name.)>>>

1. Con leche, or mitad / mitá – Half coffee, half milk
2. Cargado / cargao – Heavy on the coffee
3. Más leche, or manchado / manchao, or sombra – Heavy on the milk
4. Bombón, or con leche condensada / condensá – with condensed milk, very sweet, though some add sugar (!).
5. Cortado / cortao – a solo ‘cut’ (cortado) with a little milk
6. Como salga – as it comes (see above)
7. Solo – the equivalent of an ‘expresso’, which may or may not be understood in Italian; this is Spain!
8. Solo americano – a solo but weaker with added water; sometimes a double solo, so watch it
9. Carajillo – a solo with added brandy, aguardiente or whisky; aguardiente translates to fire water
10. Capuchino – spelt differently but pronounced the same as its Italian sister, it is not entirely what you’d expect: simply a café con leche with (shaving?) cream on top and often with sugar added for you. If they want to get fancy, they might put some sweet coloured bits over it, or powdered chocolate.
11. Irlandés – means ‘Irish’ but chances are it won’t look or taste much as you’d expect. The whisky is unlikely to be Irish, and a cheaper Spanish variety will more likely be used. The cream on top will probably be the same as for 10 above.
12. Sancho Panza – a variety we hadn’t encountered before: contains brandy, sugar, cream (as above) and Khalúa.

Please note that we are talking about how things are in Jimena, not necessarily anywhere else, though it probably applies to other small villages in the area. Nor does it mean that the aspersions we have cast apply to all bars or restaurants, though it does to most of them in our experience. But then, think of what you get for the price of a cup of coffee, or €1! (Watch this space for a list.)
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