el café con leche

Blog Post 14.

The cafe au lait. Coffee with milk. The clandestine key to surviving a day (or four months) of the Spanish food schedule. The ingredients are as follows:

• 1 shot of espresso
• milk: steamed to whatever point the barista feels and in the amount they deem necessary.
• Sugar (I use less than 1 gram; more for the ceremony of it than for the flavor)

It is how I start my day, alongside a piece of gluten free toast with butter and the slightest hint of mermelada de fresa.

It is necessary after lunch, before I go into la facultad for class. Sometimes, it is also necessary after class to tide me over until dinner. It is an excuse to get together with other people. It is an excuse to sit alone and read a book on the terraza of a local bar.

It is inexpensive (I have yet to pay more than 1.50€ for one). It is not fancy. And it gets the job done. Each one is slightly different than its brethren; all varying tones of the average color of the universe.

I’ll take it over a $4 latte in Denver any day.