Saturday, 14 May 2011
Portugal ( Lisbon)
2011
When Vasco Da Gama reached India and Pedro Alvares Cabral was the first European to reach Brazil, little did they know the far away land they encountered would become so important to us in the coffee industry.
Over 500 years later I was on my way to Portugal.
Waiting at the departure lounge at Stansted airport, I too felt I was going into uncharted territory, a place where I knew little about apart from Nata's and Portuguese rice flour muffins.
Landing in Lisbon, I was keen to get to the hotel, drop my bags and start exploring, but it was late and decided to get a good night sleep and star fresh the next morning.
The sun came up and ready I was, down to the lobby out the front door and....shops were closed, even the cafe across the street was not open, this could not be, this is Europe nothing is never closed!
Desperate for coffee and breakfast decided to make my way to Confiteria Nacional http://www.confeitarianacional.com/home.html
Now! this place has not only been trading for over 150 years but also has been in the hands of the same family since the day it first opened its doors back in 1829, so my guess was that it will be open, I was right.
I don't know about you, but when I enter a establishment that has been operating for a very long time, like this one, I get a mixture of excitement and nervousness.
Yep!!!, call me a wimp but its true, I guess that a lot of Coffee lovers out there would also get the same( like going to watch the final of your favourite sports team, hoping they would win)
Waiting for service I wondered, if the old furniture in places like this could talk, whisper you gossip of events gone by, who sat on this chair, who used this table?
I ordered a Cafe latte and Rice flower muffin from the large selection of pastries, both delicious, the coffee well made by a Female Barista, I could tell had lots of experience with the Faema she was operating , its nuttiness cutting through the full cream milk, the muffin freshly baked with that distinctive aroma of having been out of the oven for only a short while.
The little bell at the door warning staff that a customer has entered the cafe was busy that morning, and kept on ringing right up to when I was leaving. Happy that I had found what I went out for that morning, good coffee, good pastry and a fantastic start to my visit to Lisbon
The day was spent visiting the sights of Lisbon, The discoveries monument is a good walk to burn off the breakfast, the Strela Basilica an 18th century church was closed for maintenance, we were quite disappointed as the stained glass is a fantastic sight on a sunny day.
The remains of the convento do Carmo which was basically completely destroyed in the great earthquake of 1755 is also a place that must be visited while in Lisbon, we took a well deserved break sitting by a pillar, wondering about that day back in 1755.
That afternoon it was decided to visit the Famous Pasteis De Belen which has been making their delicious custard tarts since 1837.
This place has to be visited, you can order your coffee and tart and wonder around the inside of this great cafe, at the back, there is a great glass wall that lets you view the kitchens with rows upon rows of freshly made (Nata) custard tarts waiting to be taken to the front of shop.
Espresso and Nata was my choice, the pastry light and flaky the filling warm and sweet which was easy to follow with another one or two tarts, you also get the choice of icing sugar, cinnamon or both shaken on top.
The coffee was very good, there was a persistence presence of robusta which not only gave it a massive caffeine boost but also a noticeable woodiness which was well received by the sweet Nata.
I enjoyed the experience of visiting Pasteis De Belen and hope to be back one day the Nata and coffee are just so good.
The next day was spent visiting the many sites of this city, the cafe at Portas do sol (Alfama) has to be on the list on a warm day, the view is fantastic, the Barista at this cafe must have one of the best views of any cafe I have ever been to, you can see for miles, blue ocean and blue sky.
The area of Alfama is fantastic with small streets waiting to reveal their hidden secrets, a cafe or interesting shops, and many restaurants, hop on the local trams and enjoy the ride.
The after noon was spent at the Castelo dos Mouros, were you can view the work of many generations that ruled this part of the world a long time ago, be ready for some heavy walking.
The last stop for the day was one of the local cafe at plaza do Rossio were the coffee was great and the food fantastic, you can sit back relax and watch the locals go about their day.
The day was coming to a close and the aeroplane was waiting to fly us back to London, Lisbon is a fantastic city that I plan one day to return
Obrigado Lisbon
Landing in Lisbon, I was keen to get to the hotel, drop my bags and start exploring, but it was late and decided to get a good night sleep and star fresh the next morning.
The sun came up and ready I was, down to the lobby out the front door and....shops were closed, even the cafe across the street was not open, this could not be, this is Europe nothing is never closed!
Desperate for coffee and breakfast decided to make my way to Confiteria Nacional http://www.confeitarianacional.com/home.html
Now! this place has not only been trading for over 150 years but also has been in the hands of the same family since the day it first opened its doors back in 1829, so my guess was that it will be open, I was right.
I don't know about you, but when I enter a establishment that has been operating for a very long time, like this one, I get a mixture of excitement and nervousness.
Yep!!!, call me a wimp but its true, I guess that a lot of Coffee lovers out there would also get the same( like going to watch the final of your favourite sports team, hoping they would win)
Waiting for service I wondered, if the old furniture in places like this could talk, whisper you gossip of events gone by, who sat on this chair, who used this table?
I ordered a Cafe latte and Rice flower muffin from the large selection of pastries, both delicious, the coffee well made by a Female Barista, I could tell had lots of experience with the Faema she was operating , its nuttiness cutting through the full cream milk, the muffin freshly baked with that distinctive aroma of having been out of the oven for only a short while.
The little bell at the door warning staff that a customer has entered the cafe was busy that morning, and kept on ringing right up to when I was leaving. Happy that I had found what I went out for that morning, good coffee, good pastry and a fantastic start to my visit to Lisbon
The day was spent visiting the sights of Lisbon, The discoveries monument is a good walk to burn off the breakfast, the Strela Basilica an 18th century church was closed for maintenance, we were quite disappointed as the stained glass is a fantastic sight on a sunny day.
The remains of the convento do Carmo which was basically completely destroyed in the great earthquake of 1755 is also a place that must be visited while in Lisbon, we took a well deserved break sitting by a pillar, wondering about that day back in 1755.
That afternoon it was decided to visit the Famous Pasteis De Belen which has been making their delicious custard tarts since 1837.
This place has to be visited, you can order your coffee and tart and wonder around the inside of this great cafe, at the back, there is a great glass wall that lets you view the kitchens with rows upon rows of freshly made (Nata) custard tarts waiting to be taken to the front of shop.
Espresso and Nata was my choice, the pastry light and flaky the filling warm and sweet which was easy to follow with another one or two tarts, you also get the choice of icing sugar, cinnamon or both shaken on top.
The coffee was very good, there was a persistence presence of robusta which not only gave it a massive caffeine boost but also a noticeable woodiness which was well received by the sweet Nata.
I enjoyed the experience of visiting Pasteis De Belen and hope to be back one day the Nata and coffee are just so good.
The next day was spent visiting the many sites of this city, the cafe at Portas do sol (Alfama) has to be on the list on a warm day, the view is fantastic, the Barista at this cafe must have one of the best views of any cafe I have ever been to, you can see for miles, blue ocean and blue sky.
The area of Alfama is fantastic with small streets waiting to reveal their hidden secrets, a cafe or interesting shops, and many restaurants, hop on the local trams and enjoy the ride.
The after noon was spent at the Castelo dos Mouros, were you can view the work of many generations that ruled this part of the world a long time ago, be ready for some heavy walking.
The last stop for the day was one of the local cafe at plaza do Rossio were the coffee was great and the food fantastic, you can sit back relax and watch the locals go about their day.
The day was coming to a close and the aeroplane was waiting to fly us back to London, Lisbon is a fantastic city that I plan one day to return
Obrigado Lisbon
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