Coffee, explained before you order
How coffee is made, ordered and drunk from Hanoi to Lima: the drinks, the words, café manners, working from cafés and the farms behind the cup.
Coffee cultures
What people drink, where it comes from and what it is called, country by country.
Vietnamese coffee and how to order it
Phin, cà phê sữa đá, egg and salt coffee, 2026 prices, robusta vs arabica, and the phrases to order.
The Ethiopian coffee ceremony: buna, the jebena and three rounds
The Ethiopian coffee ceremony step by step: green beans roasted for guests, the clay jebena, abol, tona and baraka, Addis macchiatos and 2024/25 export figures.
French café culture from the zinc to the terrasse
Counter, salle or terrasse prices, un café to noisette and crème, café-tabacs, bistrot hours and Paris specialty coffee from KB to Coutume and Télescope.
Korean café culture from the kiosk to the buzzer
How Korean cafés work: kiosk ordering, the vibrating buzzer, ah-ah and tteu-ah, cup rules for drinking in, tumbler discounts and 2026 prices in won.
The Australian flat white and the cups around it
Flat white origins in Sydney and Wellington, the long black, piccolo, magic and babyccino, Starbucks' Australian retreat and coffee prices in 2026.
Colombian tinto and the coffee Colombia kept at home
What a Colombian tinto is, how to order a perico, pintado or chaqueta, why pasilla beans stayed at home, and 2026 tinto prices in Medellín.
Indonesian kopi from the tubruk glass to es kopi susu
Indonesian kopi explained: unfiltered kopi tubruk, charcoal kopi joss in Yogyakarta, Aceh’s sanger, palm-sugar es kopi susu and the civet cages of kopi luwak.
Japanese kissaten and how they still work
Japan's kissaten explained: the 1888 Kahiichakan, siphon and flannel-drip coffee, the morning set, Napolitan, smoking rules since 2020 and how to order.
Café de olla and Mexico's other coffee habits
Café de olla with cinnamon and piloncillo, the Veracruz lechero you order by tapping a spoon, Mexico City's cafés de chinos and 2026 coffee prices.
The Portuguese bica and how to order it
How to order coffee in Portugal: bica vs cimbalino, galão, meia de leite, pingado, abatanado, counter vs terrace prices, pastel de nata and the old cafés.
How to order
The words, the customs and the bill: ordering coffee like a local.
Espresso drinks from ristretto to café bombón
What each espresso drink really is: ristretto and lungo, americano vs long black, three macchiatos, cortado, gibraltar, piccolo, flat white and bombón.
How to order coffee in Italy at the bar, standing up
Al banco or al tavolo, paying at the cassa, ristretto to marocchino, Trieste's capo in b, Naples' caffè sospeso and 2026 espresso prices by city.
How to order kopi in Singapore and Malaysia
How to order kopi in Singapore and Malaysia: kopi-O, kopi-C, siew dai, gao, peng, teh tarik and tak kiu, how drink stalls work, and 2025–2026 stall prices.
Café etiquette around the world
Tipping in cafés from Tokyo to Lima, counter and table prices in Italy and Lisbon, paying at the till, Vietnam's free trà đá and indoor smoking rules.
How to order coffee in Japan from kissaten to konbini
Order coffee in Japan: burendo or sutorēto, hotto or aisu, konbini coffee machines, the morning set, Suica, smoking rules and 2026 prices in yen.
How to order coffee in Spanish from Mexico to Paraguay
Tinto in Bogotá, americano in Mexico, café pasado in Lima, cocido in Asunción: the coffee words, sugar, sizes, the bill and tipping in four countries.
How to order coffee in Thailand and how to make it less sweet
Order coffee in Thailand: oliang, kafae boran, cha yen, wan noi or mai wan, ice, street carts vs Chiang Mai roasters, 2026 prices in baht and tipping.
Working from cafés
Wi-Fi, outlets, laptop etiquette and where to settle in for a few hours.
Café Wi-Fi for travelers who need to work
Café Wi-Fi abroad: public-network safety, eSIM and SIM registration in Vietnam, Thailand and Peru, mobile vs fixed speeds for 2026, and plug types by country.
Working from cafés in Chiang Mai and Bali: the two nomad hubs compared
Working from cafés in Chiang Mai and Bali: Nimman and Canggu, the DTV and E33G visas, internet speeds, coworking prices, smoke season and rainy months.
Working from cafés without wearing out your welcome
How to work from cafés without wearing out your welcome: how often to order, rush hours, outlets, calls, Japan's time limits and coworking day-pass prices.
Coffee travel
Farms, roasteries, harvests and festivals worth a detour.
Bringing coffee home: customs, carry-on and freshness
Roasted vs green coffee at US, EU, UK, Australian, NZ and Japanese customs, carry-on powder rules, roast dates, and what to buy in Vietnam or Ethiopia.
Café opening hours around the world
When cafés open and close: 06:00 coffee in Vietnam, Italian bars shut by 20:00, Melbourne cafés done by 15:00, Sundays in Berlin, Ramadan in Dubai.
The coffee harvest calendar and when to see it
Coffee harvest months in Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia, Colombia, Mexico and Peru, with Brazil and Ethiopia: when to visit farms and when new crop arrives.
Colombia's coffee region: farm visits from Salento to Manizales
Coffee farm visits in Colombia's Eje Cafetero: Salento, Filandia and Manizales, tour prices in pesos, buses from Medellín and Bogotá, harvest months.
Vietnam's coffee highlands from Đà Lạt to Buôn Ma Thuột
Arabica farms at Cầu Đất and Langbiang, robusta in Buôn Ma Thuột: the World Coffee Museum, the 2027 festival, harvest months and how to get there.