In Singapore, ordering coffee can already feel like learning a second language — from a kopi-C siew dai to a kopi-O kosong, each shorthand carries its own ritual. Step abroad, though, and coffee culture transforms again, with every country offering its own way of brewing, serving, and savouring that daily cup. If you’re travelling from Europe to the Middle East to Asia-Pacific, here’s a quick guide to the kinds of brews you’ll encounter, and what they say about the people who drink them.
Europe: Old-World Rituals and Café Culture
In most of Europe, a simple coffee at a local café costs between €1–3 (S$1.50–4.50), especially if you drink it standing at the bar. The big exceptions are France and Austria, where café culture is more about lingering at the table (or sidewalk) — expect to pay €4–6 (S$6–9) for the same cup.
Portugal – Bica & Galão
In Lisbon, a coffee is never just a drink — it’s a quick pause in the day. In traditional pastelarias (a cafe with pastries), you won’t find your typical lattes, cappuccinos, or flat whites because the Portuguese have their own style of coffees.
The common bica is like an espresso but slightly smoother, sipped quickly at the counter, while an abatanado is the answer to an Americano, but stronger. There’s also the carioca which uses a second press espresso instead of new grounds to give it a lighter flavor and strength (and can be sour).
For something milder, order a galão, Portugal’s answer to the latte, served tall and milky. If that’s too much liquid, the meia de leite is half milk and half espresso served in a cup slightly larger than an espresso cup (so it’s slightly stronger). Too strong? There’s the garoto, or “little kid” (also called a pingo in the north): served in an espresso cup, it’s espresso with more milk than coffee.
Italy – Espresso, Cappuccino, Macchiato & Marocchino
Italians take their coffee like they take life: short and intense. A shot of espresso is a quick jolt at the standing coffee bar counter, never lingered over. In the mornings, locals indulge in a frothy cappuccino, but don’t order it after 11am unless you want puzzled stares. A macchiato (“stained” with milk) is a good middle ground. You’ll find that most locals take their coffees at a standing coffee bar, which are everywhere, from cities to villages and highway rest stops.
You’ll also find the marocchino — espresso with cocoa powder and foam, sometimes even Nutella — which is a sweet indulgence from northern Italy similar to mocha.
Spain – Café con Leche & Cortado
In Spain, coffee is a social glue. Those who like mild coffee may find Spanish coffee a little more bitter than they’re used to, which can be attributed to the torrefacto method of preserving roasted coffee beans.
A café con leche (half espresso, half hot milk) is the default breakfast companion, while the cortado — espresso “cut” with just a splash of milk — is stronger, sipped mid-morning at the local bar. For a really mild drink, the manchado or leche manchada consists of mainly warm milk “stained” with a splash of coffee. As a nightcap, there’s the carajillo — instead of milk, it has alcohol (typically rum, whisky or brandy)!
France – Café Crème & Café au Lait
The French café, especially in Paris, is more about people-watching than gulping down caffeine, so prices can be (very) steep. A café crème, or espresso with steamed milk, is more of a breakfast-at-home drink, while a café au lait — filter coffee with warm milk — is perfect for lingering at a sidewalk table.
A noisette coffee — noisette means hazelnut, but it refers to colour not flavour — is an espresso with just a touch of milk. It’s a chic alternative to an espresso in the afternoon.
Austria – Wiener Melange & Einspänner
In Vienna, cafés are cultural institutions, once the gathering place for writers and musicians. The Wiener Melange — made with one shot of espresso, steamed milk, and a dollop of milk foam — suits long afternoons with cake.
For drama, order an Einspänner (referring to the single-horse carriages used by Viennese coachmen) — a double-shot espresso capped with a swirl of whipped cream. The drink is known for the contrast of hot and cold, sweet and bitter, and its luxurious, velvety texture. It’s also popular in Japan’s retro kissaten (coffee shop), where it’s called Vienna/Wiener Coffee.
Vienna’s grand café culture has also influenced other European countries farther north, in places like Hungary, Czechia, and Poland. Here, coffee is usually served espresso-style, often with cakes or pastries, and cafés act as meeting places for conversation and reflection rather than quick caffeine fixes.
Greece – Greek Coffee & Freddo
Greeks love their coffee strong and social. A traditional Greek coffee (Ellinikós kafés) is simmered in a small pot and served thick with grounds at the bottom. You can even choose your sugar level: Skétos (unsweetened, bold and bitter), Métrios (medium sweet), and Glykós (sweet and velvety).
On hot days, nothing beats a freddo espresso (iced and frothy) or a freddo cappuccino topped with chilled milk foam.
Middle East: Coffee as Hospitality
Both Turkish coffee (S$1.30–4) and Arabic gahwa are brewed strong and served in small cups, usually infused with cardamom (and sometimes other spices).
Saudi Arabia – Gahwa
Poured from ornate pots into small handleless cups, a gahwa is lightly roasted coffee with cardamom, sometimes saffron or cloves. Always served with dates, it’s less about caffeine and more about hospitality and tradition.
Turkey & Lebanon – Turkish Coffee
Served in tiny cups, the classic Turkish Coffee is an unfiltered brew boiled with sugar (and sometimes cardamom) in a small pot called a cezve. Thick, strong, and aromatic, it’s as much a ritual as a drink — fortunes are even told from the grounds left in the cup.
In Eastern Europe, coffee culture reflects centuries of crossroads between East and West. In the Balkans — countries like Serbia, Bosnia, Bulgaria, and Romania — you’ll find strong, unfiltered coffee almost identical to Turkish coffee: potent, bitter, and as thick as mud.
For Bosnian coffee, the difference is in the serve. In Turkey, the coffee is served in a single small cup without the cezve; in Bosnia, it’s served in a full džezva (pot which holds three cups of coffee) on a round iron tray with an empty cup, a glass of water, sugar cubes and a candy called rahat lokum.
Asia-Pacific: Modern Twists on Tradition
Australia’s café scene champions craftsmanship — every flat white is about precision and texture — while across Asia, from Vietnam to Thailand, coffee is bolder, sweeter, and often iced, blending local flavours with colonial legacies. While coffees in most of Asia is super affordable, coffees in Australia are around the same price as western cafes in Singapore.
Australia – Flat White & Long Black
Australia’s coffee culture owes a huge debt to Italian post-war immigrants, who brought espresso machines and the café tradition with them in the 1950s. The flat white — velvety microfoam milk over a double espresso — is often compared to a cafe latte. A latte usually comes in a larger 240ml cup and a flat white is usually around 160ml, and both contain the same amount of espresso.
The long black (espresso and hot water) is much like an Americano, with one simple difference. A long black is made by pouring hot water first and then a shot of espresso, preserving the espresso’s crema. For an Americano, the espresso is poured before the hot water, which dilutes the crema for a milder flavour.
Vietnam – Cà Phê Sữa Đá & Cà Phê Trứng
Vietnamese coffee is bold and unapologetic. The classic cà phê sữa đá pairs robusta coffee with condensed milk over ice — sweet, strong, and highly addictive. For something unique, try cà phê trứng: whipped egg yolk, sugar, and condensed milk layered over hot coffee. It tastes like liquid tiramisu, and usually costs around VND 20,000–45,000 (S$1–2.50).
Thailand – Oliang
A street-stall favourite, oliang is brewed from coffee mixed with roasted grains like corn or sesame, then poured over ice and sweetened with condensed milk. Nutty, toasty, and refreshing — it’s Thailand’s answer to kopi peng, and slightly cheaper: around THB 30–60 (S$1.10–2.20).
The Final Sip
Whether it’s a quick espresso at an Italian bar, a leisurely Melange in a Viennese café, or a frothy cà phê trứng in Hanoi, each cup reflects the rhythms of local life. Of course, many Singaporeans are not just used to kopi at the hawker centre, we have a wide variety of Italian- and Aussie-style cafes in our city, but sampling coffee around the world is akin to tasting culture in a cup. After all, it isn’t just about caffeine. It’s a window into how the world starts its day.
